|
VLP
Honors Volunteers and Celebrates Unprecended Growth
By Stacy Rupprecht
Butler
This year’s Ninth
Annual VLP Awards
Luncheon had more
attendees than
any other luncheon in
the organization’s
history. The increase in attendance
is just one example of the
tremendous
growth that VLP has
experienced in
the past ten years. The number of
attorneys who
volunteer has increased
from 500 in 1996 to more than 1100
this year.
Over one half of eligible
members of the bar now participate
in VLP.
Law students began participating
in VLP programs in 2001; this year,
121
students participated in 1100 VLP cases.
Most important, the
number of clients
served by VLP volunteers
has grown by
372%, from 684 in 1996
to over 3200 this year.
Live mariachi
music welcomed both new and longtime volunteers as they entered
the
ballroom of the Marriot University Park. As guests pocketed VLP CD
cases
handed out as party favors and emblazoned with this year’s
theme, “Worth It,”
Elliot Glicksman once again took the stage to MC
the event. This year’s awards
were presented by Justice Berch
following her keynote address, which
emphasized the pervasive need
for volunteer lawyers willing to serve our
community’s indigent
clients.
Those attorneys
who received the Attorney of the Month award in 2005 were
recognized: Charles Giddings (January); Stacy Rupprecht Butler
(February);
Stephen Portell (March); Eric Sparks (April); Larry
Adamson (May); Dan
Rylander (June); Nancy Coomer (July); Dean
Christoffel (August); Carrie Rednour
(September); G. Todd Jackson
(October); Lisa Anne Smith (November) and
Jason Smith (December).
This year VLP recognized a law student volunteer
each month as well:
Timothy Dufault (January); Lindsay St. John (February);
Jason Barraza (March); Lisa Lewis (April); Jessica Dabbert (May); Zachary
Derbyshire (June); Randi Burnett (July); Aaron Rodriguez (August);
Anna
Christian Ceder (October); Kathy Brody (November) and Michael
Schwartzer
(December).
14 individuals received annual awards
from VLP this
year. Law student Jenny
Dent took home the
Student Leadership
Award and fellow law
student Lindsay St.
John received the
Outstanding Law
Student of the Year award.
Both
students were active participants
and leaders
in the VLP Clinics. Legal
assistants
Sharon Eichhorst and Lynn
Krcmaric of
the law firm of DeConcini
McDonald
Yetwin & Lacy shared the
Millie Crawford
Legal Assistant award
for their ongoing
contributions to VLP
cases. Doris Butler of
Southern Arizona
Legal Aid was honored
with the VLP
Award of Appreciation. Skip
Skinner
was the first recipient of the
newly-minted New Volunteer Attorney award.
Domestic
relations attorney Alyce Pennington and
bankruptcy attorney Kasey
Nye received awards for
service in their particular practice areas. In addition,
the Hon.
Frederic Dardis received the Distinguished Service Award, and Joseph
H. Riley took home the award for Attorney of the Year. This year,
the Lifesaver
Award was shared by Todd Jackson, Abbe Goncharsky and
Jeff Jacobson for
their work in organizing legal assistance for
victims of Hurricane Katrina relocated
to Tucson.
Several
organizations and law firms were recognized for their contributions
to
VLP. The Streich Lang award was shared between Community
Foundation of
Southern Arizona and Kinship Adoption Resource &
Education Family Center.
VLP named the law firm of Bogutz & Gordon
as the recipient of its VLP VIP
Award. Quarles & Brady Streich Lang
received its first Law Firm of the Year
Award.
The VLP’s annual
award winners
represent a small fraction of the
many attorneys and
law students
who have given of their time and
their legal skills in
2005. This
year’s luncheon sent a message
home with all of its
attendees
that their efforts were “Worth It”
to over 3200 clients in
need.
Click here to view the 2005 Hope & Justice Power Point.
Make sure to turn up your
speakers!
Note: This article
appeared in the December, 2005 edition of The Writ,
a publication of
the Pima County Bar Association. View The Writ at
www.pimacountybar.org.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Back to VLP in the News
|
