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PRO BONO AWARDS
To reinforce the firm’s commitment to service and recognize exceptional achievement, Patton Boggs confers annual awards for the Pro Bono Associate and Partner of the Year, as well as Honorable Mentions for pro bono work in every office, and a Community Service Staff Award.
For Outstanding Achievement in calendar year 2007
Michael White from Patton Boggs’s Anchorage office was named the 2007 Pro Bono Partner of the Year, and Dan Mulvihill and Travis Seegmiller, of the firm’s Newark and Washington, D.C. offices respectively, were named the 2007 Pro Bono Associates of the Year. These awards are based on the recommendations of the Pro Bono Committee, co-chaired by Denise Vanison and Mike Forshey.
Patton Boggs’ Managing Partner Stuart M. Pape conferred the awards and honorable mention recognitions to a diverse group of thirteen partners and associates from five of the firm’s offices, remarking that “in conferring this honor, we consider not only the quantity of pro bono work (well above the firm’s 100 hour requirement for associates and salaried of counsel), but also such factors as the variety and depth of pro bono work, a consistent commitment to public interest law, initiative in seeking pro bono opportunities, and a willingness to handle not only popular high impact cases and causes, but also lower profile work for individual indigent clients, struggling grassroots organizations and community groups of very limited means.”
Mr. White was presented with the Partner of the Year for demonstrating exceptional advocacy skills on a variety of individual and organizational pro bono matters. Mike leads the Anchorage team handling a land rights issue for a Native American claimant; provides advice and counsel regarding the formation of a disabled veteran’s small business, and donates countless hours to the National High School Mock Trial Championship, which was established in 1984. Mike has been a committed and active volunteer – participating as a judge, serving on the Mock Trial Championship’s national Board of Directors, and advising the nonprofit for over 20 years.
In the Associate of the Year category, Dan Mulvihill was selected for having devoted a significant amount of time to the representation of a desperate mother in her appeal of a District Court Order granting a petition to return her daughter to Argentina under the Hague Convention. Dan is also a member of the Newark Prisoner Reentry Legal Services Steering Committee, which helps formerly incarcerated individuals with civil legal matters that are barriers to successful community reintegration. In addition, Dan is a member of the stellar trial team now challenging the constitutionality of New Jersey’s electronic voting machines.
In the 2+ years since the firm opened the Newark office, Dan has played a pivotal role in the development of a vibrant pro bono program, working closely with the Co-Chairs, Public Service Counsel, Pro Bono Committee, Amer Pharaon, John Corbett and others to provide great pro bono opportunities for our lawyers and to maintain Newark’s high pro bono profile – his extraordinary efforts were instrumental in gaining recognition from the Essex County Bar Association, which presented Patton Boggs with the Bar’s Pro Bono Achievement Award for 2008.
Dan shares the Associate of the Year Award with Travis Seegmiller. Balancing his substantial billable hours with an unwavering commitment to public service, Travis handles a remarkable volume and variety of pro bono matters. He compassionately represents individuals in: Section 8 housing, prisoner’s rights, custody, probate, mortgage and landlord-tenant cases, and has even worked with a foster mother to develop a legal and business strategy for bringing a new invention to market.
In the policy arena, Travis provided support for Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice’s Transformation Diplomacy Committee; advised a nonprofit network of Latin American legal academics, policy-makers, activists, think tanks and NGOs dedicated to the promotion of democracy, good governance and globally conscious economic development; and also advised a Belize non-profit dedicated to the education of rural Mayan youth. Travis also commits additional time to teaching and coaching Georgetown Law students at the Harrison Institute for Public Law & Policy.
Partner honorable mention awards were presented to three additional attorneys who have made a significant impact on the firm’s pro bono success. These awards were presented to John McGahren of the Newark office and Yost Conner and Doug Proxmire, from the Washington D.C. office.
Associate honorable mentions included Matthew Block (Anchorage), Adam Connatser and Shannon Conway (Dallas), John Sharp (Denver), Jason Rockwell (Newark), and Jean McCue and Karen Thiel(DC).
This is the ninth year the Partner of the Year Award has been given and the thirteenth year for the Associate Award.
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