Choate Hall & Stewart LLP has received the Boston Bar Association's 2010
Thurgood Marshall Award for its pro bono "Education Law Project," which was
created in collaboration with the Charles Hamilton Houston Institute for Race
and Justice (CHHIRJ) at Harvard Law School and the Center for Law and Education
(CLE). The award, which was presented to Choate at the BBA’S Annual
Meeting Luncheon earlier this week annual BBA meeting, recognizes extraordinary
pro bono service by members of the private bar.
Choate's Education Law Project seeks to combat the "school to prison
pipeline" problem in Massachusetts, which results in at-risk (predominantly)
minority students ending up in prison after facing school disciplinary
exclusions. Since the program’s inception in 2008, Choate has represented
over 20 students from low-income families on a pro bono basis in educational law
matters before state administrative bodies and in court. In early 2010, Choate
and CLE attorneys were among the first lawyers in the country to
successfully challenge a school district's "zero tolerance" weapons policy as
constitutionally invalid.
In 2009, 25 Choate attorneys participated in the Education Law Project and
dedicated more than 2,000 hours to this work.
"It is an honor to receive the BBA's Thurgood Marshall Award for the
important work we are doing through our Education Law Project," said William
Gelnaw and John Nadas, co-managing partners at Choate, Hall & Stewart
LLP. "Every child deserves a quality education, and we are proud to
participate in efforts aimed at ensuring this basic right."
The Thurgood Marshall Award, which was established in 1991, recognizes
private attorneys in the greater Boston area for their extraordinary efforts to
enhance the human dignity of others through improving, developing, or delivering
civil or criminal legal services to low-income clients in Massachusetts.
Choate Hall & Stewart LLP is a leading law firm with nationally
recognized practices in business and technology, insurance/reinsurance,
intellectual property, litigation, private equity, and wealth management.
The firm’s clients range from Fortune 100 companies to leading venture capital
and buyout funds to technology startups.