From left to right: Elizabeth Thomas, Benjamin Sitter and Emma Donahey
McGuireWoods received a 2019 Law Firm Pro bono Achievement Award from the Allegheny County Bar Association, primarily for a Pittsburgh team’s “outstanding” pro bono work in securing a civil rights settlement for an inmate with multiple sclerosis. The award was presented Oct. 2 during the ACBA’s Fall Foundation Reception.
The award recognizes McGuireWoods for “the outstanding work of its attorneys and staff on pro bono programs in Allegheny County over the past year.” The specific work that inspired the nomination was pro bono legal assistance provided to a Pennsylvania inmate who alleged that prison employees deliberately neglected his significant medical needs, violating his constitutional rights under the Eighth Amendment. The case had been ongoing for four years when the court appointed McGuireWoods as trial counsel. During a pretrial conference on March 21, the parties reached a favorable settlement.
The McGuireWoods pro bono legal team included Pittsburgh associates Elizabeth Thomas, Benjamin Sitter and Emma Donahey, who attended the Oct. 2 ACBA reception and accepted the award on behalf of the firm.