Quarles & Brady Names 2021 Gonring Pro Bono Award Recipients

Milwaukee – As part of National Pro Bono Week, national law firm Quarles & Brady today announced the recipients of its annual Gonring Pro Bono Award. Attorneys and staff from across the firm involved in four different pro bono projects were selected as 2021 winners. The firm is donating $1,000 on behalf of each winning team to the organization of its choice.

The 2021 Gonring Pro Bono Award winners are:

• Alexis Barkis, Jacqueline Johnson and Dave Morrison for their work with Kids in Need of Defense (KIND), the preeminent U.S.-based nongovernmental organization devoted to the protection of unaccompanied and separated children. The team is assisting two children and one family who have fled violence and poverty and are seeking safe harbor in the United States. The team’s $1,000 donation is being shared by KIND and Legal Aid Service of Collier County (Florida).
• Amanda Blaising, Dave Cellitti, Amy Cotton Peterson, Nick D’Amico, Elizabeth Lacey, Alena Martinez, Patricia Marx, Patrick Maxwell, Debra Millinowisch, Meghan O'Connor and Ted Sullivan for their efforts helping the Melanoma Research Foundation (MRF) merge with its affiliate, the Melanoma Research Foundation Breakthrough Consortium. MRF will receive the $1,000 donation.
• Zach Eastburn, James Goldschmidt and Jeff Davis, who represented a prisoner on two separate successful appeals since 2017, obtaining a rare reversal of the client's conviction in District 1 of the Wisconsin Court of Appeals. Their $1,000 award is being given to Diverse and Resilient, a Milwaukee-based non-profit whose mission is "to achieve health equity and improve the safety and well-being of LGBTQ people and communities in Wisconsin."
• The team providing support to The Veterans Consortium Pro Bono Program (TVC), a leading national nonprofit that provides pro bono legal services for veterans in need who have been unjustly denied benefits or compensation earned from military service. Team members being recognized are Gwendolyn Amoroso, John Aramanda, Cameron Arthur, Ted Barthel, Dave Cellitti, Martin Childs IV, Michael Couch, James Goldschmidt, Otto Hinks, Bradley Jackson, Jacqueline Johnson, Joseph Kohn, Margie Kupsik, Jon Labukas, Elizabeth Lacey, Lukas Landolt, Bryce Loken, Tiffany Li, Nicole Lopez, Tom McDonell, Luis Ochoa, Alexander Park, Kaitlin Phillips, Emily Plakon, Xavier Santistevan, Rachael Scoggins, Jordan Schettle, Gabriela Timis, Julia Wittman, Monica Wright, Ted Yi, Lauren Zenk and Michael Zolfo. TVC will get the $1,000 contribution from this team.

“Quarles & Brady has a long history of serving the communities in which we live and work through a wide variety of pro bono programs,” said Mike Levey, the firm’s national pro bono partner. “The Gonring Award is an important opportunity for us to recognize outstanding work that exemplifies our commitment to helping those in need.”

The Gonring Award honors the longstanding pro bono leadership and commitment to equal justice for the poor of retired firm partner Michael J. Gonring. The award recognizes attorneys who have demonstrated dedication to the development and delivery of legal services through one or more pro bono projects during a fiscal year. Gonring served as the firm's national pro bono coordinator for 15 years before his retirement in 2016. He established the firm's pro bono program and made it part of the fabric of Quarles & Brady.