For Immediate Release
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CONTACT: Christi Powers
State Bar of Wisconsin
(800) 444-9404, ext. 6025
cpowers@wisbar.org |
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Four local lawyers honored at State Bar Annual Convention this
Week
MADISON, May 6, 2003 - Four Milwaukee-area lawyers
will be recognized for outstanding public service on Wednesday at the
State Bar of Wisconsin's annual convention, where some 1,000 lawyers
will convene at the Midwest Airlines Center from May 7 to 9. Chief
Justice Shirley Abrahamson and Bar President Patricia Ballman will
present the awards and provide remarks.
Recognized for their volunteer efforts and community service, Atty.
Barbara J. Graham, Atty. Megan M. Rosborough, Atty. Rachel Schneider,
Atty. Harry F. Franke and Atty. James J. Podell will be honored at the
5:30 p.m. ceremony, in Ballroom CD at the Hyatt Regency. Two Marquette
Law School students, Erin Grall and Erin Karshen, will also be
recognized for their student activism efforts through the Public
Interest Law Society.
Atty. Barbara J. Graham, director of the
Catholic Charities Immigration Legal Services (ILS), will receive the
Attorney of the Year Award for her work with the Hispanic
population in providing counsel on immigration matters. Graham has
implemented several nonprofit legal education programs in matters such
as citizenship appeals, passport applications, green card renewals and
battered immigrant protection. In two years, ILS has overseen nearly
1,500 cases representing immigrants from 44 different countries
currently living in ten eastern Wisconsin counties. Additionally, ILS
will receive the 2002 Pro Bono Award for a legal service entity for
developing a broad-based community project that assists the
underrepresented immigration population in the Milwaukee area.
Atty. Rachel A. Schneider, Quarles &
Brady LLP, will receive a 2002 Pro Bono Award for her volunteer
activism and leadership of the Milwaukee County Bar Association's Legal
Services for the Indigent Committee. Schneider has spearheaded two
projects promoting volunteer lawyer advocacy on domestic violence issues
and has also helped recruit a team of lawyers to provide free counsel on
parental rights proceedings.
Atty. Harry F. Franke, from the law firm of
Cook & Franke, will be honored with the Belle Case La Follette
Outstanding Professional Award for his outstanding contribution
toward the advancement of the legal profession. As a founding partner of
his 35-member firm, Franke is recognized as a role model for his
community service efforts. Having been in active duty during World War
II as a lieutenant colonel, Franke also served a two-year term in the
Wisconsin State Assembly and a four-year term in Wisconsin State Senate.
During his legal career, Franke has sat on several civic boards
including Rotary Foundation, the United Way and the Greater Milwaukee
Committee.
Atty. James J. Podell, from the firm of
Podell & Podell, will receive the Gordon Sinykin Award of
Excellence for his community outreach efforts to provide legal
education and public service. Podell is past chair of the State Bar's
Family Law Section and also served as president for the local chapter of
the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers. He is the retired editor
for both the Wisconsin Journal of Family Law and also the American
Journal of Family Law and has previously lectured at the Wisconsin
Supreme Court Judicial College.
Two Marquette Law School Students will be recognized for their
volunteer efforts as board members of the Public Interest Law
Society:
Erin K. Grall, a recent Marquette Law School
graduate, will receive a 2002 Outstanding Public Interest Award
for her efforts and membership in the Pro Bono Society and also for her
contributions as vice president of Equal Justice Works (formerly known
as the National Association for the Public Interest of Law) after
serving as Midwest coordinator for one year. She helped develop a loan
repayment program at Marquette and also worked for the Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission in Washington DC last year. She will join her
father's law firm Grall, Fanara & Glenn in Vero Beach, Florida, to
practice law affecting women's rights.
Erin Karshen, a third-year Marquette Law
School student, will also receive a 2002 Outstanding Public Interest
Award for her efforts in working with the Waukesha Court Self-Help
Program and as serving as co-president for the Public Interest Law
Society for three years. As an Evans Scholarship recipient, Karshen
attended law school while also clerking for judges in the criminal and
traffic division of the Waukesha County Court. She is a member of the
Pro Bono Society and served on the national board of directors for the
Equal Justice Works committee as the Midwest regional
representative.
For more information, visit www.wisbar.org/convention/2003.
The State Bar of Wisconsin is the mandatory professional association,
created by the Wisconsin Supreme Court, for attorneys who hold a law
license in Wisconsin. With more than 20,000 members, the State Bar aids
the courts in improving the administration of justice, provides
continuing legal education for its members, and assists Wisconsin
lawyers in carrying out initiatives to educate the public about the
legal system.
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