Top: (From left) MBA Secretary Christopher A. Kenney; MBA Chief Legal Counsel and Chief Operating Officer Martin W. Healy; Legislator of the Year Awardee Rep. Garrett J. Bradley (D-Hingham); District Court Judge Heather Bradley; MBA President-elect Marsha V. Kazarosian; Keynote speaker Chris Matthews of MSNBC's "Hardball;" MBA Vice President Martha Rush O'Mara; MBA Vice President Christopher P. Sullivan; MBA President Douglas K. Sheff; MBA Treasurer Robert W. Harnais
Second row
Left: (From left) MBA Vice President Christopher P. Sullivan presents the MBA's Legislator of the Year Award to Rep. Garrett J. Bradley (D-Hingham)
Right: (From left) MBA President Douglas K. Sheff honors Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh with the MBA's 2014 President's Award
Third row
Left: (From left) Access to Justice award honorees, including: Defender Award Honoree James B. Krasnoo; Prosecutor Award Honoree Lisa F. Edmonds; Pro Bono Publico Attorney Stephen J. Phillips; Legal Services Award Honoree Gerald D. Wall; Klein Hornig LLP's Teresa M. Santalucia, this year's Pro Bono Law Firm; Rising Star Award Honoree Jessica Berry
Right: Chris Matthews, of MSNBC's "Hardball," delivers the 2014 MBA Annual Dinner keynote address
Bottom: (From left) Jim Kennedy, counsel to the House of Representatives; Rep. Michael A. Costello (D-Newburyport); MBA Chief Legal Counsel and Chief Operating Officer Martin W. Healy; Speaker of the House Robert A. DeLeo; Rep. Angelo J. Puppolo Jr. (D-Springfield)
From judges to top lawmakers, a who's who of the legal and
political worlds turned out for the Massachusetts Bar Association's
Annual Dinner on May 15 to applaud an array of distinguished
recipients for their dedication to the law and community
service.
Chris Matthews, host of MSNBC's "Hardball," offered a sweeping
keynote address, reminiscing about his years as an aide to House
Speaker Thomas P. "Tip" O'Neill and lamenting the
hyper-partisanship of today's Washington.
Rep. Garrett J. Bradley (D-Hingham) was honored with the MBA's
Legislator of the Year Award. Bradley was cited for his work
fighting for funds to spur economic development projects in his
district, as well as his work with the MBA on medical malpractice
legislation.
Bradley also helped forge legislation in 2012 to control health
care costs and has risen to a leadership position that "puts him in
a direct path of every piece of legislation passed in the House,"
said Christopher P. Sullivan, the MBA's vice president.
Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh received the MBA's 2014 President's
Award. Walsh, a Boston native, was cited for his years of work with
the organization on workplace safety issues as well as his long
record as a legislator and now mayor promoting economic
development, civil rights and marriage equality, among other
important causes.
Walsh's commitment to workplace safety issues began decades ago
when he joined a then-fledgling task force on the issue formed by
the MBA.
"I can't think of any other profession that has made service such
a central part of its mission," Walsh noted.
MBA president Douglas K. Sheff reflected on his time in office,
which was dedicated as the "year-of-the-worker" and shaped by the
aftermath of the Boston Marathon bombings.
"[After the] two blasts that changed our lives, the MBA, as
always, was there providing representation to victims and their
families," said Sheff.
Citing his Working Families, Consumer Law and Access to Justice
initiatives, he added: "The MBA took pride in the representation of
the underrepresented."
Sheff, in turn, won praise from Marsha V. Kazarosian, the MBA's
president-elect. "You are a tough act to follow," she said.
Five lawyers and one law firm were recognized with Access to
Justice Awards for their dedication to working with the
underrepresented and underprivileged:
- Gerald D. Wall won the Legal Services Award for his decades of
work providing legal help to immigrants at Greater Boston Legal
Services.
- Stephen J. Phillips won the Pro Publico Bono Award for his
dedicated representation of more than 130 hospice patients at
Baystate Visiting Nurse & Hospice.
- The law firm of Klein Hornig LLP received the Pro Bono Award
for Law Firms for many hours spent helping with local food banks
and representing low-income tenants fighting eviction or
foreclosure.
- James B. Krasnoo, who won the Defender Award, began his career
in the Attorney General's Office but decided to become a bar
advocate after seeing firsthand the plight of defendants without
adequate legal representation.
- Lisa F. Edmonds won the Prosecutor Award for her work with
juvenile offenders and domestic violence at the District Attorney's
Office for the Cape and Islands.
- Jessica Berry received the Rising Star Award for her work above
and beyond the call of duty at the Children's Law Center.