Robinson Bradshaw & Hinson, one of the state’s leading corporate and commercial law firms, has received the North Carolina Bar Association’s 2010 Pro Bono Award for Large Law Firms, one of the most prestigious awards the Bar Association presents each year.
In announcing the award, the Bar Association highlighted the firm’s dedication to the community through pro bono services in 2009 for Legal Aid of North Carolina and Legal Services of Southern Piedmont, both in Charlotte. The firm provided 449 hours of pro bono service to Legal Aid of North Carolina’s Charlotte office last year, 100 hours more than any other large law firm in North Carolina.
In addition, a team of more than 15 Robinson Bradshaw attorneys worked together to assist 50 homeless families who were temporarily housed in the Hall House during the winter of 2009 and had only six months to stabilize themselves and find housing.
“Robinson Bradshaw again demonstrated its long-term commitment to representing the under-served by its actions in 2009 – this shows the level of professionalism that distinguishes the firm,” said Tripp Greason, head of the North Carolina Bar Association’s Public Service Advisory Committee. “The firm’s leadership and commitment to providing the highest quality professional services to persons living in need is exemplary.
“Robinson Bradshaw also fostered and enhanced a pro bono culture in both the participation of its lawyers and the participation of its paraprofessionals, staff, and law students,” Greason said. “The community impact of the firm’s pro bono client service sets a living, active example that all North Carolina lawyers will do well to follow into the 21st century.”
The North Carolina Bar Association, in conjunction with the NCBA Foundation’s Public Service Advisory Committee, will present the 2010 Pro Bono Service Awards on Friday, June 25 during the 112th NCBA Annual Meeting at the Hilton Wilmington Riverside in Wilmington, N.C.
Robinson Bradshaw previously won the North Carolina Bar Association’s Pro Bono Award for Large Law Firms in 1984, the first year the award was established, and again in 2004. The firm was recognized in 1984 for its representation of thousands of disabled North Carolina residents in Patrick Hyatt, et al, v. Margaret Heckler, Secretary of Health and Human Services, a class action lawsuit that evolved to include to two appeals before the United States Supreme Court. The firm became the first in the U.S. to be awarded the Pro Bono Publico Award by the American Bar Association for its work on the Hyatt case.