Philadelphia VIP Honors Outstanding Volunteers at Annual Awards Ceremony

Philadelphia, PA, April 28, 2013 --(PR.com)-- Law firms of all sizes, businesses, and individual attorneys receive awards as a result of their extraordinary commitment to VIP, its clients and the community. Last year, Philadelphia VIP’s pro bono attorneys and professional staff assisted in closing more than 1,700 cases for individuals, families and small businesses who could not afford attorneys and whose cases would not have been handled by other public interest organizations. The estimated value of the legal services provided in 2012 is more than $3,600,000. Over 1,000 volunteers responded to these requests to handle issues in a wide range of practice areas such as assisting individuals, nonprofits and small businesses maintain income during the economic downturn, supporting the stability of families, preventing homelessness amidst the housing crisis, promoting community economic development by investing in local communities, adoption processes, and zoning issues.

The 2013 award recipients worked tirelessly to ensure access to justice for all citizens of Philadelphia.

The Justice William J. Brennan, Jr. Award went to Berner Klaw & Watson LLP; Blank Rome LLP; George Aman; TE Connectivity; and Willig, Williams & Davidson.

The Silver Gavel Award recipients were Dechert LLP; Don Parman; GlaxoSmithKline; Hangley Aronchick Segal Pudlin & Schiller; and Segal McCambridge Singer & Mahoney.

Those honored with the Bronze Gavel Award were Astor Weiss Kaplan & Mandel, LLP; Berger & Montague, P.C.; Leslie Love Engle; Lincoln Financial Group; and Pepper Hamilton LLP.

The Juris Award was given to Department of Records, City of Philadelphia and the Amicus Award was given to Michael J. Trudgeon, CEO of The Reliable Companies.

Philadelphia VIP (www.phillyvip.org) was founded in 1981 by the Philadelphia Bar Association and Community Legal Services to meet the legal needs of low-income Philadelphians by recruiting and training attorneys to provide pro bono legal services. Since that time, the organization has recruited and trained thousands of private attorneys to create a pool of attorneys to provide consistent, high-quality representation to low-income clients with critical legal needs. VIP continues to implement creative and effective ways to bridge the gap between marginalized individuals, families and communities with legal needs and lawyers possessing the skills and ability to meet those needs. Today, VIP’s diverse volunteers serve more than 3,000 clients annually with legal issues that affect basic human needs. Philadelphia LawWorks, a project of Philadelphia VIP, is a pro bono referral program that serves nonprofits, small businesses and homeowners.