Quarles & Brady Names Winners of Inaugural Michael Gonring Pro Bono Award, Donates $4,000 to Nonprofit Organizations
Award announcement marks National Pro Bono Week
MILWAUKEE, Wis. — The national law firm of Quarles & Brady LLP today announced the recipients of its first Quarles & Brady Michael Gonring Pro Bono Award (The Gonring Award). The 2015 inaugural class includes a team of attorneys led by Emily Feinstein and Leah McNeely, Steven Hunter, Danny Lewin, and Melissa McCord. The firm is donating $1,000 to nonprofits designated by each individual honoree. The announcement was made during National Pro Bono Week. The award is named in honor of firm partner Michael Gonring.
A team of attorneys in the firm's Madison office, led by Emily M. Feinstein and Leah M. McNeely, received the Pro Bono Team of the Year Award. The team was recognized for its efforts providing legal services to domestic violence victims. Feinstein practices in the firm's Litigation & Dispute Resolution and Health Law Practice Groups. She litigates matters across the country, ranging from Medicaid overpayment appeals to trade secret cases to insurance disputes. McNeely practices in the firm's Health Law Practice Group, and assists health care providers with a variety of issues, hospital regulatory compliance, medical staff bylaws and related staff matters, and compliance with fraud and abuse laws. The team has designated Domestic Abuse Intervention Services (DAIS) to receive a firm donation in its name.
Steven V. Hunter, a partner in the firm's Chicago office, received the Pro Bono Partner of the Year Award. Hunter's pro bono work includes matters for the Chinatown Legal Clinic, the Family Defense Center, Chicago Volunteer Legal Services, and Northeast Illinois Council of the Boy Scouts of America, Inc., for which he serves as pro bono general counsel. Hunter practices in the firm's Litigation & Dispute Resolution Practice Group. He is a trial lawyer with first-chair experience representing companies in all phases of litigation and alternative dispute resolution, including discovery, "e-discovery," motions practice, arbitration, mediation, jury trials, bench trials, and appeals. A donation will be made to the Edward G. Irvin Foundation in Hunter's name.
Daniel B. Lewin received a Pro Bono Associate of the Year Award. He has completed more than 370 hours of pro bono work on various matters, serving on Guardian ad Litem teams, handling appellate matters, and trying contested hearings on behalf of the Family Defense Center. Lewin practices in the firm's Chicago office and is a member of the Litigation & Dispute Resolution Practice Group. A donation will be made to Foundations College Prep in Lewin's name.
Melissa McCord also received a Pro Bono Associate of the Year Award. She provides pro bono services to the Wisconsin Women's Business Initiative Corporation (WWBIC), as well as Partners Advancing Values in Education (PAVE). McCord practices out of the firm's Milwaukee office, and is a member of the Business Law Practice Group. Her practice focuses on commercial finance, commercial contracting, and other business transactions and general corporate matters. A donation will be made to Our Next Generation on behalf of McCord.
"Truly, I am a better attorney for the pro bono services that I provide," McCord said. "I learned early on that pro bono service is a mutual benefit, and I am lucky to have such wonderful pro bono partners."
The winners will be formally recognized at the firmwide partners meeting on December 1, 2015.
"As a result of the efforts of our honorees, as well as firm attorneys, paralegals, and staff, Quarles & Brady was able to provide 22,850 hours of pro bono service to deserving individuals and organizations," said Dawn R. Caldart, Quarles & Brady director of pro bono and professional development. "We are extremely proud of the firm's longstanding commitment to pro bono work."
The Gonring Award, named in honor of firm partner Michael J. Gonring's longstanding pro bono leadership and commitment to justice for the poor, honors a volunteer attorney or team who has demonstrated dedication to the development and delivery of legal services through one or more pro bono projects during a fiscal year. He has served as the firm's national pro bono coordinator for the past 15 years, and in that capacity has driven the efforts of dozens of attorneys across the firm. He established the firm's pro bono program and made it part of the fabric of the firm.