Covington & Burling LLP received the 2010 Daniel M. Gribbon Pro Bono Advocacy Award for the extraordinary pro bono service it provided in Beale v. District of Columbia et al, a case that addressed conditions of confinement and the wrongful death of an inmate at the District of Columbia Jail.
This is the fifth advocacy award presented since 2006 when the Gribbon Award was established and endowed by the family and friends of Daniel M. Gribbon, the first President of the Historical Society of the D.C. Circuit and a life-long supporter of pro bono legal services.
The Award recognizes an individual who, or a law firm that, has demonstrated distinguished advocacy in a pro bono matter before the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia within the 18-month period prior to the nomination date.
Previous Gribbon Pro Bono Advocacy Awards were presented to:
- Robert Cox and Jennifer Bagosy of Howery LLP in 2006 for their work in a case involving four disabled people who alleged inaccessible facilities;
- Donna Francescani of Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom LLP in 2007 for her representation of a prisoner in a civil suit that alleged inhumane treatment;
- Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP in 2008 for their representation in a contested bankruptcy case; and
- Jason Wallach of Dickstein Shapiro LLP in 2009 for his representation of multiple plaintiffs who brought claims against the United States Parole Commission.
Nominations for the Gribbon Award are managed by the D.C. Circuit Judicial Conference Standing Committee on Pro Bono Legal Services and are due each year in March. Requests for further information should be directed to Standing Committee member Michael F. Williams by telephone at (202) 879-5123 or by email at michael.williams@kirkland.com.