Program Explanation

We are pleased to announce that, between January 1, 2011 - January 31, 2011, we are accepting nominations for the fourth annual Brown Rudnick Center for the Public Interest M. Robert Dushman Pro Bono and Community Service Awards.  These two awards honor both a successful Brown Rudnick attorney and a successful non-attorney whose professional/work life has demonstrated the commitment to the public interest that distinguished Bob.  (A tribute describing Bob is set forth below.)

The awards are presented annually at the State of the Firm address.

1.      The awards criteria.

a.      The Pro Bono Award will recognize a Brown Rudnick attorney whose career and character have demonstrated the qualities that distinguished Bob: (1) a sustained commitment to pro bono representation and public interest work; and (2) a demonstrated history of nurturing and mentoring other attorneys to pursue the highest ideals of the legal profession, especially with regard to pro bono representation and civic involvement.

b.      The Community Service Award will recognize a non-attorney at Brown Rudnick who has demonstrated a long-standing, exceptional contribution to community service through his/her employment at the Firm, in recognition of the spirit and philosophy of respect and egalitarianism Bob had for everyone in the Brown Rudnick workplace.

2.      The selection process.  The Chair of the Brown Rudnick Pro Bono Committee, the President of the Brown Rudnick Charitable Foundation and the Executive Director of the Brown Rudnick Center for the Public Interest (or their designees) will annually recommend the recipients of each award, subject to the final selection by the Firm’s CEO.

_______________________

Nominations Invited.

We welcome nominations for these awards from anyone in the Firm, from our pro bono clients or from Foundation grant recipients or beneficiaries. 

The nomination need not be long or flowery, but should contain the following information:

Nominator’s name and contact information.

• Nominee’s name.

• How nominator knows the nominee and the nominee’s work.

• A description of why the nominee should receive the 2011 award including specific descriptions and details of the nominee’s work, volunteer activity, philanthropic involvement, mentoring and/or leadership which demonstrate:

  o  For the Brown Rudnick Attorney Award:  (1) a sustained commitment to pro bono representation and public interest work; and (2) a demonstrated history of nurturing and mentoring other attorneys to pursue the highest ideals of the legal profession, especially with regard to pro bono representation and civic involvement.

  o  For the Brown Rudnick Non-attorney Award:  a long-standing, exceptional contribution to community service through his/her employment at the Firm, in recognition of the spirit and philosophy of respect and egalitarianism in the Brown Rudnick work place.

  _______________________

From the Brown Rudnick Center for the Public Interest

Quarterly Newsletter, Fall, 2007

JUST US.

When I was young, I used to admire intelligent people; as I grow older, I admire kind people.

-  Abraham Joshua Heschel

This summer, we lost our friend and colleague, Robert Dushman.  Both young and old admired Robert Dushman, because he was as kind as he was intelligent, which is to say:  extraordinarily.  A partner at Brown Rudnick, this litigator seemed to me always to have his keen mind joyfully engaged behind an inviting and knowing grin.  Those who knew Bob longer and broader than me sigh with deep respect when describing how he mentored them, how egalitarian he was, and how smart.  I do know this:  since the creation of the Brown Rudnick Center for the Public Interest six years ago, there was never a time when I mentioned a pro bono client in need that Bob didn’t immediately respond, never a time when there was a young associate requiring an experienced hand of guidance that Bob wasn’t prepared to volunteer, never a time when there was a discussion requiring logic, or compassion, or both that Bob’s contributions weren’t inspirational and profound.  Bob was an extraordinary attorney – an extraordinary man – disguised in regular guys clothing.

To say that Bob was an accomplished and successful attorney in the “billable world” of the law is really an understatement.  But he also found his pro bono work an essential part of being an attorney and it was extremely satisfying and important to him.   It was ethical, compassionate attorneys of Bob’s generation who provided the impetus for the legal profession’s embrace of pro bono by premier firms, creating broader access to justice for those who would otherwise be without counsel by providing legal representation without regard for a fee. And through his mentoring, and his example, I think that untold number of poor people and worthy non-profit organizations will be represented for years to come, pro bono, by a Brown Rudnick attorney who will have been motivated by Bob Dushman’s intelligence, his kindness, his example. 

Al Wallis

Executive Director

Brown Rudnick Center for the Public Interest