NEW YORK– LAWFUEL – The Legal Newswire –The annual Abely Awards, co-sponsored by Sanctuary for Families, Davis Polk & Wardwell and Columbia Law School, will be presented this coming Monday, October 1, 2007. The awards recognize individuals dedicated to assisting victims of domestic violence and were established to honor the memory of Maryellen Abely, who was a pro bono attorney for clients of Sanctuary’s Center for Battered Women’s Legal Services, an associate at Davis Polk, and an alumna of Columbia Law School. She died in 1995 after a long fight with cancer. This year marks the 11th annual Abely Awards.
Since 1997, the Abely Award for Leading Women & Children to Safety has been presented annually to a person who has helped victims of domestic violence with the compassion, energy, and dedication for which Maryellen Abely is remembered. This year’s recipient is The Honorable Jack B. Weinstein, Senior U.S. District Judge, Eastern District of New York. The award will be presented by The Honorable Judith S. Kaye, Chief Judge of the State of New York. Previous award recipients include: The late Honorable Paul Wellstone and the late Sheila Wellstone, The Honorable Ruth Bader Ginsburg, The Honorable Charles Schumer and The Honorable Judith S. Kaye.
The Abely Pro Bono Achievement Award was created in 2001 to recognize the contributions of extraordinarily dedicated attorneys who have consistently demonstrated a professional commitment to improving the lives of clients of Sanctuary’s Legal Center. This year’s recipient is Ms. Cynthia B. Rubin, a partner at Flemming Zulack Williamson Zauderer LLP.
Media welcome to attend
WHAT: Abely Awards Presentation to The Honorable Jack B. Weinstein &
Ms. Cynthia B. Rubin
WHEN: Monday, October 1, 2007, 6:00 – 7:30 p.m.
WHERE: Davis Polk & Wardwell, 450 Lexington Ave., 8th Floor Conference
Center
About Sanctuary for Families: Sanctuary for Families is the largest non-profit agency in New York State providing services exclusively to domestic violence victims and their children. Sanctuary’s integrated network of direct services—including shelter, counseling, and legal advice and representation —reaches over 8,000 of New York City’s most vulnerable women and children annually. Our education, awareness-building, and advocacy initiatives connect with more than 20,000 other community members. Sanctuary’s Legal Center is the largest of its kind in the country. Sanctuary’s attorneys and support staff, along with a roster of more than 400 pro bono attorneys, legal interns, and volunteers, offer comprehensive, culturally and linguistically sensitive legal advice, assistance, and representation to battered women in cases involving divorce, child custody/visitation, child and spousal support, immigration, and prosecution of batterers in criminal matters. Sanctuary envisions a society in which freedom from violence is a basic human right.
About Davis Polk & Wardwell: Davis Polk & Wardwell is a global law firm based in New York City. For more than 150 years, our lawyers have advised industry-leading companies and global financial institutions on their most challenging legal and business matters. Davis Polk ranks among the world’s preeminent law firms across the entire range of our practice, which spans such areas as capital markets, mergers and acquisitions, credit, litigation, private equity, tax, investment management, insolvency and restructuring, executive compensation and intellectual property. The firm has more than 600 lawyers in offices in New York, Menlo Park, CA, Washington, D.C., London, Paris, Frankfurt, Madrid, Hong Kong, Beijing and Tokyo. Through the firm’s extensive pro bono program, we provide pro bono legal services to those who cannot otherwise obtain legal representation, and we do so with the same dedication and commitment to excellence with which we represent our paying clients. We cooperate with a broad range of established pro bono service providers, such as Sanctuary for Families, so that our efforts are broadly channeled and likely to benefit either deserving individuals or recognized groups.
