Northwestern Legal Services and
the Erie County Bar Association have selected Attorney J.
Gregory Moore as this year’s Pro Bono Attorney of the
Year. During 2006, as a attorney in private practice in
Erie, Moore devoted 84 hours of pro bono representation to
low-income clients in Erie County.
Attorney Moore graduated from the University of Kentucky
in 1969, and after a tour of duty with the U.S. Army in
Vietnam, he completed his law degree from the University of
Akron School of Law.
Over the years Attorney Moore
has been an active participant in the Legal Aid Volunteer
Attorney (LAVA) program that is co-sponsored by Northwestern
Legal Services and the Erie County Bar Association. He has
accepted a wide range of cases on behalf of clients who
could not afford to hire an attorney on their own. Erie County Court of Common Pleas Judge Stephanie
Domitrovich presented Moore with the award as part of the
Law Day festivities held April 27 at the Erie Shrine Club. |

Judge
Domitrovich presents Award to Atty J. Gregory Moore
Janelle Messinger, Paralegal(left),Brian Cabaday,
Paralegal(right)
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Tammy Lamary
is named 2006 Pro bono Attorney of the Year!
The Erie County Bar Association and Northwestern Legal
Services selected Attorney Tammy Lamary as this
year's Pro Bono Attorney of the Year. The award is given
each year to a private attorney who has made a significant
commitment to pro bono representation of low-income clients
with civil cases in Erie County.
Attorney Lamary is a 2003 graduate of the
University of Pittsburgh School of Law, and she currently
serves as law clerk for Judge John A. Bozza on the Erie
County Court of Common Pleas. Prior to joining Judge Bozza's staff, attorney Lamary worked in 2005
as a volunteer attorney in the Erie office of Northwestern Legal
Services. During that time she accepted 50 pro bono cases, and
devoted nearly 300 hours of pro bono representation to low-income
clients in Erie County.
In addition to her legal representation of low-income clients in
civil cases, attorney Lamary also was involved in staffing the custody
clinic at Northwestern Legal Services. "Throughout all of her volunteer work at Northwestern Legal Services,
Tammy was a strong advocate for the rights of low-income clients, and
she was sympathetic to the struggle of poverty-level individuals and
families," explained Bob Oakley, NWLS executive director.
The award was presented to attorney Lamary at the Law Day luncheon on
April 28, 2006 at the Erie Shrine Club. Law
Day is held each spring to celebrate the importance of the rule of law
to our democratic ideals.
Michael Kruszewski Named 2005 Pro Bono Attorney of the Year
The Erie County Bar Association and Northwestern Legal Services
selected Attorney Michael Kruszewski as this year’s Pro
Bono Attorney of the Year for his dedicated service to the Legal
Aid Volunteer Attorney (LAVA) Program. Kruszewski received the award as
part of the Law Day luncheon on April 28 at the Erie Shrine Club.
Attorney Kruszewski joined the LAVA program last year (2004), and he
accepted two cases totaling over 80 hours of pro bono
representation and counsel. He is a 2003 graduate of the University of
Pittsburgh School of Law, and a member of the Quinn Law Firm Bankruptcy
and Creditors’ Rights Practice Group.
The Legal Aid Volunteer Attorney (LAVA) Program is co-sponsored by
the Erie County Bar Association and Northwestern Legal Services. Since
its inception in 1982, it is estimated that over 10,000 pro bono hours
of legal representation and counsel have been given to impoverished
individuals and families in Erie County by LAVA. This translates into
well over $1 million in free legal services to the poor and
disadvantaged over the last two decades.
In honoring Attorney Kruszewski as the Pro Bono Attorney of
the Year, it is also important to acknowledge the support of The
Quinn Law Firm for the LAVA program. In 2004, the Quinn Law Firm
accepted nine pro bono cases, and 85 percent of the lawyers in the firm
actively participate in LAVA.
Attorney Kruszewski was also the recipient of the
Pennsylvania Bar Association's 2005 Pro bono Award.
Jim Richardson
is honored as Pro bono Attorney of the 2004 Year
Northwestern Legal Services and the
Erie County Bar Association honored Erie attorney Jim Richardson as
this year's Pro Bono Attorney of the Year for his dedicated service
to the Legal Aid Volunteer Attorney (LAVA) Program. Richardson
received the award as part of Law Day festivities at the Erie Shrine Club
on April 30th.
In 2003, Attorney Richardson
contributed 46 hours of pro bono representation to low-income
clients as part of LAVA. He has been very active in the program
since it began in 1982, taking 28 pro bono caess and donating 144 hours of
pro bono representation and counsel during that time.
Richardson also served on the Board of Directors of Northwestern
Legal Services from 1982 to 1992, and as president of that board from 1988
through 1991, helping to create the LAVA program as we know it today.
In additional to his many years of
service to NWLS, Richardson has been very active with the Shriner's
Hospital for Children, and with the Boy Scouts of America French Creek
Council.
2003 Outstanding Pro Bono Attorney Award:
Attorney Roger Taft,
of the Law Firm, McDonald, Illig, Jones & Britton,
has been awarded the 2003 Pro bono Award for Outstanding Attorney.
Attorney Taft was honored and presented with the award the Law Day Luncheon held at the Erie Shrine Club. Attorney
Taft
has been an active volunteer attorney for
our Legal Aid Volunteer Attorney Program for 21 years.
He has contributed over 113 hours of pro bono service this past year,
and more than 360 hours since the inception of the program.
We wish to thank Attorney
Taft for this generous contribution and his
dedication to the LAVA Program.
Baxter Receives 2003 President's Award:
David A. Baxter, Esq., NWLS Attorney, receives the
prestigious 2003 President's Award. The award was
presented to David on December 3rd by Russell S. Warner, Esq., President
of the Erie County Bar Association, for his untiring and long-term
commitment to coordination of our Association's pro bono program,
Legal Aid Volunteer Attorneys Program, spearheading our members' legal
assistance to the indigent in our community
Congratulations David!
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