Volunteers of Legal Service is proud to recognize the hardworking and dedicated attorneys who have served our communities as New York City faced the threefold crises of the pandemic, economic recession, and racial injustice. As a part of our "New York, Together" campaign, we are honoring individual attorneys or attorney teams who have helped to keep our community afloat through pro bono service on civil legal matters.

The VOLS Dean's List is dedicated to the memory of William J. Dean, VOLS' former executive director of 33 years, who tirelessly championed volunteerism across the private bar, in service to underserved communities in New York City.

The submission deadline is Friday, October 1st at 5pm. Each awardee will be recognized in October 2021 with a digital certificate that can be shared on social media, and published in a dedicated section of the VOLS website year-round. Awardees will join an initial list publicized at VOLS' June 2021 awards program (https://volsprobono.org/events/2021awards/#deanslist2021).

INSTRUCTIONS:

Invited sponsors of VOLS' New York, Together 2021 campaign are invited to nominate (2) attorneys or pro bono teams for recognition from your law firm or law department. An internal VOLS committee will then select (1) individual or team from each participating firm or company to recognize together as part of the awards program. When nominating the two attorneys or volunteer teams, we ask you to consider the following criteria:

1. If your team already works with VOLS, at least one of the two nominations should be for an attorney or team who worked on a VOLS matter.

2. Recognizing that a broad range of New Yorkers were affected by the pandemic, please identify nominees who worked for a pro bono client on a civil legal issue related to or exacerbated by the health, economic, or racial justice crises facing our city this year. We welcome suggestions of volunteers who have set an inspiring tone for pro bono leadership within your organization through their contributions and service.

3. VOLS seeks to recognize a range of attorney backgrounds and civil legal service case types, showcasing the various ways that pro bono can make a difference, ranging from brief legal advice to full representation on transactional or litigation matters. We further encourage nomination of candidates from diverse backgrounds by gender, racial, or LGBTQ identity, as well as by area of expertise.

QUESTIONS?
Please email Dorcas Afolayan at dafolayan@volsprobono.org.