Pierce Atwood Recognizes Attorneys and Staff at its 2017 Pro Bono & Community Service Awards Ceremony

Pierce Atwood encourages pro bono, community service, and charitable activities as part of its firm culture. One way we do so is by recognizing those in our firm who have made outstanding pro bono and community service contributions. At our fourth annual Pro Bono & Community Service Awards Ceremony, we recognized the efforts of our attorneys and staff in 2017 by presenting these firm awards:

McKusick Community Impact Award:  Named after Vincent Lee McKusick, former Chief Justice of the Maine Supreme Judicial Court and Pierce Atwood friend and lawyer for more than 50 years, the McKusick Community Impact Award recognizes one attorney and one staff member annually who have made significant, positive impacts in their communities through pro bono and/or community service. Award recipients select a charitable organization to receive a monetary donation made on their behalf by Pierce Atwood. The winners are:

  • Liam Paskvan, an associate in our Energy Practice Group, regularly takes on pro bono immigration matters through Maine’s Immigrant Legal Advocacy Project (ILAP), and was the driving force in organizing the first-ever Pro Bono Fair in our Portland office. For nearly three years, Liam has been working with an immigrant family of a disabled, widowed asylum seeker. In 2017, Liam won a significant victory for our client who had been denied disability-related benefits. Liam successfully appealed the Maine Department of Health and Human Services’ denial. Collaborating with firm immigration attorney Katie Minervino, Liam also successfully obtained an extension of the family’s employment authorization documents, thereby allowing the client’s children to continue their US employment, and for the client to work as she is able.
     
  • Tanya Allen, a legal assistant in the Trusts & Estates practice group, volunteers at the Rockingham County House of Corrections, speaking in the “Solutions, Transitions, and Recovery” program for inmates in recovery from drug and alcohol dependency. Tanya is a certified AMIAS (Al-Anon member Involved in Alateen Service), a program for children ages 7-18 who are affected by someone else’s drinking or drug use. She also volunteers with Make-a-Wish New Hampshire.

Scribner Firm Impact Award: Named after longtime former partner Fred Scribner, whose legacy endures through the firm’s commitment to the community, its employees, and the law, this award is given annually to one attorney and one staff member who work to keep pro bono and community service top of mind throughout the firm.

The 2017 winners are Jared des Rosiers, a partner in our Energy Practice Group, and the members of the firm’s 2017 Charitable Giving Committee. Jared was head of the firm’s Pro Bono and Community Service program from 2013-2017. Under his leadership and commitment, the program flourished, receiving our highest-ever level of engagement with pro bono and community service. Without his leadership and dedication, the program would not be as successful as it is today. Thanks to the Charitable Giving Committee for their thoughtful planning that went into multiple fundraising projects throughout 2017. By identifying and implementing numerous, diverse, and interesting giving opportunities, the firm saw its largest-ever fundraising totals.

Pro Bono Attorney of the Year:  Recognizing the attorney who has contributed the highest number of pro bono hours in a year, this award was presented to Griff Leschefske for the second year in a row. Griff, a Trusts & Estates associate in the Portland office, contributed 257 hours of pro bono service in 2017, providing legal services to CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates) and several other individual and organizational clients.

For more information about Pierce Atwood’s firmwide pro bono and community service efforts, please click here to view our 2017 Pro Bono & Community Service Overview.