For the second consecutive year Squire Patton Boggs will be presented with a Beacon of Justice Award by The National Legal Aid & Defender Association (NLADA). The Award will be presented at the NLADA’s annual Exemplar Gala in recognition of the firm’s pro bono work related to LGBTQ+, gender, and racial equity.
The Beacon of Justice Awards honor firms who have demonstrated outstanding leadership, vision, dedication and achievement in promoting and supporting equal justice.
Partner and firm-wide Pro Bono Director Corrine Irish said, “A commitment to addressing systemic inequity – whether related to race, gender or LGBTQ+ rights – is deeply embedded in our firm’s culture. We are honored to be recognized and remain even more united in our resolve to continue to promote access to justice and equity in the legal system.”
In 2022, Squire Patton Boggs was engaged in pivotal cases to uphold the rights of LGBTQ+ individuals, including contesting a directive that the parents of transgender children be investigated for child abuse for providing health care and mental health services to their children. The firm continued its project with Equality Ohio, assisting LGBTQ+ individuals obtain legal recognition of name and gender changes. The firm also continued efforts to support women of color in multiple ways and laid the groundwork for the firm’s signature project – a legal clinic providing pro bono legal services to women-of-color owned businesses for New Voices Foundation, a non-profit designed to create an inclusive entrepreneurial ecosystem for women of color-led startups.
Squire Patton Boggs has been voted ‘The Best Place to Work for LGBTQ Equality’ for 14 consecutive years by the Human Rights Campaign. In conjunction with its pro bono work supporting the transgender community, the firm has supported the efforts of the private bar helping queer/trans intersectional communities correct systemic inequities.
Founded in 1911, NLADA is America’s oldest and largest nonprofit association devoted to excellence in the delivery of legal services to those who cannot afford counsel.
To learn more about the 2023 Beacon of Justice Awards, click here.