Neal Gerber Eisenberg is proud to announce that five firm attorneys have received the 2019 Award for Excellence in Pro Bono Service from the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois and the Chicago Chapter of the Federal Bar Association.
Rudy Radasevich and Collette Woghiren received this award for their pro bono representation of the plaintiff in Trahan v. Lake County Jail Medical Department. In this matter, Radasevich and Woghiren pursued their client’s claims that, while incarcerated, he received inadequate medical treatment for his thyroid disease. The case was ultimately settled on favorable terms.
Woghiren and fellow attorneys Eric Choi, Jonathan Quinn, and Michael Sher were recognized for their work in the civil rights case of Hopkins v. Duckhorn et al. In this matter, the NGE attorneys collectively devoted more than 865 hours to prepare their client for trial against a Chicago police officer for unlawful search and arrest. The work and commitment of these NGE attorneys enabled a vulnerable member of the community to fairly receive his day in court.
This marks the fourth time in the past three years in which the federal district court and Chicago chapter of the Federal Bar Association recognized Woghiren for her pro bono efforts. Moreover, NGE attorneys have earned Awards for Excellence in Pro Bono Service in six of the past nine years.
The awards were presented at the district court’s Twentieth Annual Excellence in Pro Bono and Public Interest Service Award Ceremony on May 1, 2019.
Starting with a focus on basic human needs – health care, housing, education, employment and a safe living environment – the firm’s pro bono activities extend more broadly to representations bearing on other essential attributes of a just and humane society. As a gold-level member of The Chicago Bar Foundation Law Firm Leadership Circle, NGE has established goals that the firm’s attorneys will devote at least 50 hours per year to pro bono, and that the firm averages at least 50 hours of pro bono service per year per attorney. Nearly 5,000 hours of pro bono time were worked in 2018 with 100 percent of practice groups participating in these efforts.
Neal Gerber Eisenberg is a leading law firm dedicated to handling sophisticated matters for entrepreneurs, public companies, and private businesses and their owners. Our attorneys provide legal business solutions to public and private entities of all types—including Fortune 100 companies, financial institutions, nonprofits and high net worth individuals—in connection with domestic and global business transactions and litigation. The firm has built over thirty years of trusted partnerships with clients that span the globe, and we meet each unique client need with the same personalized service and collaboration that provide the most practical solutions for every matter.