LSC Honors Texas Attorneys for Pro Bono Service
Contact
Carl Rauscher
Director of Communications and Media Relations
rauscherc@lsc.gov
202-295-1615
HOUSTON, TX—The Legal Services Corporation (LSC) will recognize six Texas attorneys for their pro bono service at a forum on increasing access to justice. The forum and awards presentation will take place at the Magnolia Hotel Houston on January 22 from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. CT. It will also be livestreamed on LSC's Facebook page.
This is the first event in LSC’s milestone 50th anniversary year. Distinguished local and national leaders will share remarks, including Representative Lizzie Fletcher (TX-7), Texas Supreme Court Chief Justice Nathan Hecht, Texas Supreme Court Justice Brett Busby, CEO of Genesis Women’s Shelter & Support Jan Edgar Langbein, former White House Counsel and Partner at Locke Lorde LLP Harriet Miers, and LSC Board Chairman John Levi. Panel discussions will cover domestic violence response and regulatory reform. Further details on the event and panels are available here.
LSC will present Pro Bono Service Awards to six lawyers for their significant contributions to promoting access to justice through volunteer services. The recipients were nominated by LSC’s Texas grantee organizations, Lone Star Legal Aid (LSLA), Texas RioGrande Legal Aid (TRLA) and Legal Aid of NorthWest Texas (LANWT).
The award recipients are:
- Kevin F. King, Partner, Covington & Burling, LLP
King led a team who appealed the dismissal of a case of excessive force against a student and LSLA client to the Fifth Circuit and United States Supreme Court. King and the team dedicated hundreds of pro bono hours working on the case.
- Michael J. McNally, McNally & Patrik, LLP (ret.)
During the last 34 years, McNally has handled more than 400 pro bono bankruptcy cases, serving over 600 LSLA clients. He also chaired the Smith County Bar Association Pro Bono Project for many years, served as a Trustee for the Bankruptcy Court in the eastern district of Texas, and recruited, mentored and trained many new volunteer attorneys for LSLA.
- Jacqueline L. Moy, Chief Counsel, Energy Transfer
Beginning in 2019, Moy led a team of nine pro bono attorneys who provided legal assistance for more than 40 low-income families who had lost their homes in Hurricane Harvey. Answering a request for support from TRLA, she and her team spent four years assisting the families with closing processes on the homes provided by Victoria County Long Term Recovery Group.
- Amy Warr, Partner, Alexander Dubose Jefferson & Townsend, LLP
Warr has provided pro bono assistance to TRLA since 2008. She worked with TRLA to represent the mothers of the 435 children removed from a Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints’ ranch in west Texas. The team demonstrated to the Third Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court of Texas that the state had not met its burden of proof, allowing the children to be returned to their mothers.
- Priya R. Aiyar, Chief Legal Officer, American Airlines
Aiyar has promoted a culture of pro bono service at American Airlines. The airline’s legal team partners with the Dallas-based New Friends New Life charity to provide pro bono services to help survivors of human trafficking with expungement and non-disclosure orders. This allows survivors to obtain housing, employment and other benefits. Aiyar also led American Airlines to donate Advantage miles to LANWT annually.
- Lon M. Loveless, Family Law Attorney, Webb Family Law Firm
Loveless has served as Chair of the State Bar of Texas Family Law Section Pro Bono Committee. For several years, he has presented at Family Law Essentials Seminars that recruit attorneys to take on pro bono cases from local legal aid programs.
Photos of awardees will be available after the event; to request a photo contact Carl Rauscher at rauscherc@lsc.gov.