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Hennepin County Bar Association Recognizes Members for Pro Bono
Service
Minneapolis
(3-09-06): --
Each year, the Hennepin
County Bar Association (HCBA) recognizes three attorneys
who have made a significant contribution through pro
bono service. These awards are presented to individuals
in recognition of the time, knowledge, and devotion
given for the good of the community. The Pro Bono
Publico awards were presented at the 26th
annual Bar Benefit held at the Radisson Plaza Hotel.
Attorneys Bricker Lavik, Ian Ball, and Abigail Turner
were recognized for their commitment to pro bono
service.
Three award categories honor
volunteer lawyers for their dedication. The
Distinguished Service Award recognizes an individual for
career-long volunteer work on behalf of the community
and the two Excellence Awards recognize current or
recent excellence in service by individuals – one from
the private sector and one from the public sector.
Bricker Lavik,
recipient of The Distinguished Service Award,
began his career as an attorney at the Legal Aid Society
representing clients in cases involving consumer credit,
garnishments, repossessions, evictions, and more. He
brought three Department of Housing and Urban
Development complaints that resulted in the creation of
784 new units of low-income housing. As lead counsel in
a class
action case raising deceptive trade
practices claims, he won rent abatement claims for
tenants in a 100-unit apartment building.
Lavik has continued his
efforts in private practice since joining the law firm
of Dorsey & Whitney in 1986 and becoming the director of
the firm’s Pro Bono program in 1996. His commitment to
ensure that low-income clients received access to legal
services has been evidenced in several new initiatives
including a new clinic at Sabathani Community Center.
In this clinic, in partnership with the Volunteer
Lawyers Network (VLN) and United Health Care, attorneys
draft health care directives and power of attorney
documents for low-income senior citizens.
Lavik has worked tirelessly
on boards, committees and task forces, often behind the
scenes, to promote the delivery of high quality legal
services to low-income people. He works to raise
awareness of the need for pro bono assistance within the
legal community and to make equal access to justice a
high priority for the state and county bar associations.
Ian Ball,
a solo practitioner, was the recipient of the Private
Sector Pro Bono Excellence Award. He has volunteered
for VLN since 1989, and has been one of their most
prolific volunteers these past sixteen years,
particularly in the area of bankruptcy. In addition to
volunteering for VLN, Ball also puts his expertise to
use as an active volunteer for Central Minnesota Legal
Services, St. Cloud Area Legal Services of St. Cloud,
Lutheran Social Services, and the Family Means Consumer
Credit Counseling.
Ball understands that
financial problems may often be related to alcoholism,
drug use, divorce, or a problem with a child. His
philosophy of caring is evident in his commitment to
serving the less fortunate. Colleagues have long
recognized Ball as one who consistently goes the extra
mile for his clients.
Abigail Turner,
litigation director at Mid-Minnesota Legal Assistance,
received the Public Sector Pro Bono Excellence Award.
She has a continuing commitment to increasing access to
justice for recent immigrants and refugees, evidenced
throughout her career stretching from Boston to
Washington to Alabama and to Minnesota. She has devoted
her legal career to representing those disadvantaged by
poverty, race, or disability who need legal
representation to see that justice is reached.
Most recently Turner has
made extraordinary efforts to help victims of Hurricane
Katrina, including developing a disaster relief manual,
setting up a hotline at the Legal Aid society, setting
up outreach at the Red Cross Center, and coordinating
Katrina relief clinics.
Tight public funding for
legal services continues to drive an expanding need for
legal services by those who cannot afford
representation. The HCBA is proud to support legal
access through a variety of programs and through
generous grants made by the Hennepin County Bar
Foundation. With pride the association recognizes these
members who rise to the call and volunteer their time
and knowledge for the benefit of our community.
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