ABA SECTION OF BUSINESS LAW TO HONOR ATLANTA-BASED FIRM
WITH NATIONAL PUBLIC SERVICE AWARD

CHICAGO, March 19, 2004—The Pro Bono Committee of the American Bar Association Section of Business Law will present the National Public Service Award to Atlanta-based law firm Sutherland Asbill & Brennan LLP at the section’s Spring Meeting Luncheon in Seattle, Friday, April 2.

The National Public Service Award is presented annually to individuals, firms, or corporate legal departments that have demonstrated a commitment to providing free legal services to the poor in a business context.

Sutherland Asbill & Brennan is a national firm of more than 350 lawyers with offices in Atlanta, Washington, D.C., Austin, Houston, New York and Tallahassee. Since the firm’s founding in 1924, lawyers with Sutherland Asbill & Brennan have exhibited exemplary dedication to providing pro bono legal services to underserved individuals and organizations.

To this end, the firm has adopted a policy of a minimum goal of an average of 50 hours per attorney per year to be spent on pro bono work. Sutherland Asbill & Brennan joined other large firms in becoming part of the Law Firm Pro Bono Challenge, a group that requires its members to contribute at least 3 percent of its annual billable hours to pro bono matters. The firm is also a founding member of the Pro Bono Institute, an organization that facilitates pro bono projects nationwide.

For many years the lawyers of Sutherland Asbill & Brennan have worked thousands of hours to provide pro bono services to those in need. The firm’s various pro bono clients and activities include the state of Georgia’s A Business Commitment, the District of Columbia’s Community Economic Development, Boggs Rural Life Center, Sapelo Island Cultural and Revitalization Society, Georgia Legal Services, and various non-profits in and around Georgia and Washington, D.C.

The National Public Service Award was initiated in 1994 as part of the Business Law Section’s pro bono project, A Business Commitment (ABC). The ABC project was designed to match business lawyers with legal service programs, community development corporations, charitable organizations or individuals that cannot afford to hire lawyers.

For more information about the Spring Meeting, including a complete listing of all programs and meetings, visit the Section of Business Law Web site, www.abanet.org/buslaw/.

With more than 60,000 members, the Section of Business Law is one of the ABA’s largest sections. It provides business lawyers with education and analysis that furthers the development and improvement of business law and helps its members serve their clients competently, efficiently and professionally.

The American Bar Association is the largest voluntary professional membership organization in the world. With more than 400,000 members, the ABA provides law school accreditation, continuing legal education, information about the law, programs to assist lawyers and judges in their work, and initiatives to improve the legal system for the public.