BOSTON, May 3, 2005 — Goodwin Procter LLP today announced that Jeffrey Simes has been selected the winner of the 2005 New York State Bar Association President’s Pro Bono Service Award in the 1st Judicial District.
The award recognizes outstanding pro bono services of lawyers, law firms, corporations and law students. The award demonstrates to the legal profession and general public the importance of pro bono service in helping to provide all New Yorkers with access to the justice system.
Simes, who is based in Goodwin Procter’s New York office, was selected for this honor because of his tireless pro bono efforts, with particular emphasis on his work on behalf of the National Law Center for Homelessness and Poverty (NLCHP).
Simes was lead trial attorney in a class action lawsuit, filed by NLCHP, on behalf of homeless children and their parents living in Suffolk County, NY. The lawsuit alleged that state and county agencies and school districts responsible for educating and providing social services to homeless children in Suffolk County had, by their neglect or in some instances malfeasance, added to the tragedy of homeless children by denying them appropriate access to a basic public school education. By submitting to a consent order, a settlement was reached by State and County agencies, along with 13 school districts named in the lawsuit. As a result, hundreds of homeless children in Suffolk County are getting the support they need to attend school.