Event Honors Contributions of Maryland’s Legal Community to State’s Justice System
ANNAPOLIS, MD – Governor Wes Moore today delivered remarks to more than 200 members of the Maryland legal community during the Maryland Legal Aid’s 2023 Equal Justice Council Awards Breakfast. The event honored the significant contributions of Maryland’s lawyers and community partners to provide justice for all Marylanders.
“In Maryland, we prioritize justice and we leave no one behind,”
said Gov. Moore. “We will continue to make progress in partnership: to end the revolving door of our criminal justice system, to break down the poverty to prison pipeline, and to ensure that wealth is never a prerequisite for justice.”
Maryland Legal Aid provides free legal services for Maryland’s most vulnerable individuals, including advice and assistance with expungement of criminal records and other vital civil legal matters through community-based clinics.The organization handles cases that serve their clients’ most fundamental needs, including family, housing, income support, healthcare, employment, and consumer law.
Maryland Legal Aid also represents children in Child in Need of Assistance proceedings and other vulnerable populations, including homeowners facing foreclosure, migrant and seasonal farm workers, people with developmental and mental health disabilities, nursing home and assisted living residents, and veterans seeking benefits.
The morning’s awards ceremony recognized exemplary legal contributors in Maryland. The seven distinguished recipients include:
- Community Partner in Justice - Thread, Loyola University
- Pro Bono Partner of the Year - Ballard Spahr, LLP
- Most Valuable Partner - Honorable Pamela White, Retired Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge
- Exemplar of Justice - Lee Ogburn, Maryland Legal Aid
- Exemplar of Justice - Warren Oliveri, Maryland Legal Aid
- Executive Director’s Award - Reena Shah, Maryland Access to Justice Commission
- Executive Director’s Award - Ward Coe, Maryland Access to Justice Commission
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