Attorneys honored for providing free services to needy clients

Attorneys and law firms were honored for their pro bono work to the community at the Clark County Bar Association and Clark County Legal Services annual benefit luncheon Dec. 14 at the Rio.

Among those recognized for providing free legal services through the Clark County Pro Bono Project, a division of Clark County Legal Services, was Erika Pike Turner, an attorney with the law firm of Gordon and Silver. Turner, 35, received the Myrna Williams Children's Pro Bono Award for her pro bono work in helping children who have been abused and neglected.

"I had no idea, and it was a big surprise," said Turner, who added that she would have worn a suit instead of her Friday casuals if she had known she would receive the honor.

Turner is a University of Nevada, Reno graduate and studied law at American University Washington College of Law in Washington, D.C. A lawyer with Gordon and Silver since 1998, Turner, who takes at least one pro bono case a year, has been working on one particular case for four years.

"It's rare that a case goes four years," said Turner of the case concerning a mentally ill 14-year-old girl. Turner estimated she has put in hundreds of hours on the case and will continue to put in hundreds more.

"Having represented both adults and children, I prefer children," Turner said. "So many need representing."

In addition to Turner, other honorees at the ceremony included: District Judge Elizabeth Gonzalez, who received the Justice Nancy Becker Pro Bono Award of Judicial Excellence given to a judiciary member who encourages pro bono work; Jason Moyes of Albright Stoddard Warnick & Albright, who was awarded the Louis Wiener Service Award for his work in helping victims of domestic violence; Zachariah Larson of Larson & Stephens, who received the Pro Bono Award of Excellence; and Isaiah Jerez, recipient of the Outstanding Pro Bono Law Student Award, which is given to a law student for his or her pro bono commitment to the community.

The Judge Sally Loehrer Pro Bono Service Award, which recognizes an attorney who worked on a civil law case, was awarded to the law firm of Olson, Cannon, Gormley & Desruisseaux.

"The firm had multiple people working on two big cases," said Kimberly Mucha Abbott, the Pro Bono Project Director.

The ceremony also gave out four Lied Awards in recognition of a 2000 challenge grant with Clark County Legal Services and the Lied Foundation.

"When we purchased the building, the foundation agreed to retire the mortgage through the volunteer hours," said Abbott. The mortgage was retired after two years through the pro bono hours donated by attorneys.

The Lied Award recipients are: the law firm of Lionel, Sawyer & Collins, for having more than 900 pro bono hours, the most by a law firm; Goldsmith & Guymon, for having the most cases with 18; Aurora M. Maskall, for volunteering more than 260 hours, the most by an attorney; and attorney Philip Goldstein, for having the most cases with 11.

Other honorees include: Shelley D. Krohn of Goldsmith & Guymon, Pro Bono Attorney of the Year; Hanratty Roberts Law Group, Pro Bono Small Firm of the Year; Jolley Urga Wirth Woodbury & Standish, Pro Bono Medium Firm of the Year; and Snell & Wilmer, Pro Bono Large Firm of the Year.

In addition, the ceremony honored 25 attorneys for donating more than 100 hours of their time to pro bono work and 60 attorneys for donating more than 50 volunteer hours. The attorneys were recognized for the hours they donated from Jan. 1-Nov. 30, 2007.

If you know of a worthy candidate for this column, mail information to Newsmakers, Las Vegas Review-Journal, P.O. Box 70, Las Vegas, NV 89125-0070, or send faxes to 383-4676.