News

Judge Edward Ginsburg to Receive 2014 ABA Pro Bono Publico Award

  • 8/8/2014
  • Volunteer Lawyers Project of the Boston Bar Association
  • Source: Massachusetts > MassProBono

The American Bar Association Standing Committee on Pro Bono and Public Service has chosen Judge Edward M. Ginsburg (Retired) as a recipient of its 2014 Pro Bono Publico Award. Judge Ginsburg is being honored for his work with Senior Partners for Justice (SPJ), a pro bono program he founded at the Volunteer Lawyers Project of the Boston Bar Association in 2002, upon his retirement from the Probate and Family Court. Read more about Judge Ginsburg here. Each year, the ABA Standing Committee on Pro Bono and Public Service presents five Pro Bono Publico Awards to individual lawyers and institutions in the legal community that enhance the human dignity of others by improving or delivering volunteer legal services to the poor or disadvantaged.

With a corps of nearly 1000 volunteers, including many experienced practicing and retired lawyers and retired judges, Senior Partners for Justice has provided free legal assistance to several thousand low-income litigants, primarily in family law, guardianship, and consumer cases. That translates to more than eight million dollars in donated legal services. For the clients helped, the services are invaluable.

Describing Judge Ginsburg’s extraordinary contributions, VLP Executive Director Sheila Hubbard states: “Judge Ginsburg’s energy, enthusiasm, and commitment to improving and delivering volunteer legal services to low-income clients is unparalleled in our state.  The work he has done here has been the model for several other efforts across the state and country.”  The Massachusetts Access to Justice Commission and Supreme Judicial Court Standing Committee on Pro Bono Legal Services, in their letter of support, echo this thought and add that Judge Ginsburg “has transformed what it means to be a retired lawyer and judge in Massachusetts by creating, inspiring, and leading Senior Partners for Justice.

The Pro Bono Publico awards will be presented at a luncheon on Saturday August 9th at the ABA’s Annual Meeting which is being held in Boston this year. 

The ABA Standing Committee on Pro Bono and Public Service provides national leadership in policy, outreach, implementation and technical assistance activities designed to encourage, expand and improve pro bono activities and programs.