Fish & Richardson Receives 2012 Pro Bono Exceptional Service Award from the American Bar Association

Boston, MA, - Fish & Richardson announced today that it has received the 2012 Exceptional Service Award for its commitment and dedication to the representation of prisoners on death row from the American Bar Association’s Death Penalty Representation Project. Fish was selected from a large field of law firms that have done significant pro bono work on behalf of death row inmates.

The Death Penalty Representation Project believes that all persons facing a possible death sentence should have the assistance of competent, effective lawyers at every stage of the proceedings against them. Each year, the Project honors firms that have gone above and beyond in their death penalty pro bono practice through the number of cases handled, substantial financial and hourly commitment, attention devoted to the death penalty debate, and impact rendered on the justice system through legal victory, legislation, and litigation.

Since taking on its first death penalty pro bono case in 2008, Fish attorneys have developed an in-house expertise in death penalty representation. The firm is currently handling five active cases involving 31 attorneys, 10 paralegals, and numerous support staff.

The American Bar Association created the Death Penalty Representation Project in 1986. Its goals are to raise awareness about the lack of representation available to death row prisoners, to address this urgent need by recruiting competent volunteer attorneys, and to offer these volunteers training and assistance. The Project also works for systemic changes in the criminal justice system that would assure those individuals facing death are represented at all stages of the proceedings from trial through clemency by qualified, adequately compensated counsel.