Drinker Biddle to Receive Philadelphia Bar Foundation Pro Bono Award
Drinker Biddle has been chosen as this year’s recipient of the Philadelphia Bar Foundation’s Pro Bono Award, a prestigious honor recognizing one firm that “performs outstanding volunteer efforts in providing legal services to those in need.”
The foundation selected Drinker Biddle to receive the award for its “thousands of hours of pro bono service and investment of time and dedication from its attorneys in providing direct service through legal aid agencies.”
The firm was nominated by the Public Interest Law Center of Philadelphia (PILCOP), with whom Drinker Biddle has partnered on pro bono matters for many years. In recent years the firm has partnered with legal services organizations on cases including a federal class action against the School District of Philadelphia to require translation services for non-English-speaking parents of Philadelphia students with special needs; the re-sentencing and parole of a youthful Pennsylvania inmate incarcerated for life for felony murder; and local redevelopment efforts, family law matters, landlord-tenant disputes, debt collection disputes, and homeless advocacy through multiple law clinics in the city.
“We encourage our lawyers to dedicate themselves and their considerable talents to causes that matter to them, and to those who would otherwise be voiceless,” said Drinker Biddle Chairman and CEO, Andy Kassner. “We are proud of the passion and focus our lawyers demonstrate when undertaking this commendable work, and are extremely grateful to the Philadelphia Bar Foundation for this meaningful recognition.”
The Philadelphia Bar Foundation, Philadelphia’s philanthropic hub for legal aid and the promotion of access to justice for all, presents annual awards to recognize the volunteerism of leaders and innovators in the city’s legal community. The Pro Bono award will be presented to the firm at the Foundation’s Access to Justice Benefit in November.