NLADA and the ABA Standing Committee on Legal Aid jointly sponsor the annual Harrison Tweed Award, which honors state and local bar associations that develop or significantly expand projects or programs to increase access to civil legal services or indigent defense services. Harrison Tweed served as the president of the New York Legal Aid Society and was a national leader of legal aid during the 1940's and 1950's.

2004 Winners

State Bar of Georgia
Mecklenburg County Bar (NC)

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The Author von Briesen award honors an attorney not employed by a legal services or defender program, who has made substantial volunteer contributions in support of the delivery of legal services and/or indigent defense representation. The award celebrates the achievements of the first president of NLADA.

2004 Winner

Donald B. Verrilli Jr.

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Established in 1989, the Kutak-Dodds Prize honors an equal justice advocate "who, through the practice of law, has contributed in a significant way to the enhancement of the human dignity and quality of life of those persons unable to afford legal representation." The award is jointly sponsored by NLADA and the Robert J. Kutak Foundation and carries a cash prize of $10,000. The Kutak-Dodds Prize is named for the Late Robert J. Kutak, a member of the first Legal Services Corporation Board and the late Kenneth R. Dodds, former partners in the Omaha office of Kutak Rock.

2004 Winners

William J. Brennan
Roberto Nájera

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The Charles Dorsey Award is given biennially to an individual who has provided extraordinary and dedicated service to the equal justice community and to organizations that promote expanding and improving access to justice for low-income people. To be eligible to receive this award, an individual must have demonstrated a commitment to equal justice for all through service as an officer, board or committee member of a national or statewide organization devoted to fulfilling the promise of equal justice.

2003 Winner

Alex Gulotta

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Honors a client who, on a compensated or volunteer basis, has provided extraordinary service or support to the delivery of legal services to the poor. The award honors one of the founders of the National Clients Council and the Alliance for Legal Rights. Mary Ellen Hamilton served on NLADA's Board of Directors and remained an active member of the Alliance until her death in 1985.

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Commends a public defender program or defense delivery system for outstanding achievement in the provision of indigent defense services. The achievement may be the result of an effort by the entire program, a division or branch or a special project. This award is co-sponsored by NLADA and the American Bar Association Standing committee on Legal Aid and Indigent Defendants. Established in 1985, this award was named for the founder of the nation's public defender system. Foltz, California's first woman lawyer introduced the "Foltz Defender Bill" at the Congress of Jurisprudence and Law Reform in Chicago in 1893.

2003 Winner

Louisville-Metro Public Defender's Office

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The Reginald Heber Smith Award is presented at NLADA's National Conference, and recognizes the dedicated services and outstanding achievements of civil or indigent defense attorneys while employed by organizations supporting such services. The award may be given up to two years after the attorney's termination of employment with the organization. The "Reggie" is named for the author of the first definitive examination of the unfair administration of justice and its effect on the poor, Justice and the Poor, which was published in 1919.

2004 Winner

Gregory Schell

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