Hodgson Russ Wins NYSBA President’s Pro Bono Service Award

Hodgson Russ was presented with a 2015 President’s Pro Bono Service Award in the Mid-Size Law Firm category from the New York State Bar Association on May 5, 2015. Hodgson Russ received the award for the breadth and scope of its pro bono contributions in 2014. Hodgson Russ president John Amershadian accepted the award in Albany, New York, on the firm’s behalf.

Last year, Hodgson Russ attorneys provided pro bono legal assistance in 113 cases through the Bar Association of Erie County’s Volunteer Lawyers Project (VLP), which included participation in the VLP’s Attorney of the Morning eviction defense program. The firm is also actively involved in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York Federal Court Pro Se Assistance Program (PSAP), which provides limited-scope legal advice to financially eligible pro se litigants. Hodgson Russ partner Jodyann Galvin was active in founding and promoting the PSAP in its early stages and is credited with recruiting numerous federal court litigators as volunteers, including 10 litigators from Hodgson Russ. The firm also spearheads a Buffalo-area Healthy Homes Initiative that helps low-income tenants seeking alleviation from unsafe living conditions, and the firm actively participates in the Say Yes to Education Buffalo legal clinic initiative, which gives families of Buffalo Public Schools students access to free legal assistance on a range of non-criminal issues.

According to Hodgson Russ’s pro bono coordinator, partner Joshua Feinstein, “Hodgson Russ is committed to providing legal services to individuals and organizations in need as a matter of course. It is an honor to be recognized for these efforts.”