Media Contact:
Russell LawsonMarketing Director
Direct: (804) 783-6799
Cell: (804) 240-8862
Fax: (804) 783-7291
Ben Lacy of Sands Anderson Law Firm Receives First Bar Foundation Volunteer Award
Published on: 9/16/2008
RICHMOND, VIRGINIA -- Benjamin R. Lacy, IV, a shareholder and chair of the Government Relations and Lobbying team at the law firm of Sands Anderson Marks & Miller, will receive the inaugural Volunteer of the Year Award from the Greater Richmond Bar Foundation at the Pro Bono Clearinghouse ceremony on September 23, 2008, firm president M. Pierce Rucker announced today.
"The firm is proud to join the Bar Foundation in acknowledging the superb contributions Ben has made to the Foundation's Pro Bono Clearinghouse effort since it started in 2001," said Rucker.
The Greater Richmond Bar Foundation serves the public and legal profession by supporting, facilitating and promoting the delivery of pro bono legal services for non-profit organizations through the Pro Bono Clearinghouse, by providing financial support to others in greater Richmond who provide pro bono legal services, and by involvement in and sponsorship of law-related educational and service projects that encourage public understanding of, participation in and access to our justice system. The award ceremony will be a 5:30 p.m. reception at the offices of the Hirschler Fleischer firm in the Edgeworth Building and Chris Malone, president of the Foundation will preside. Details are available on the Foundation Web site at www.grbf.org.
Lacy leads the Sands Anderson efforts with the Pro Bono Clearinghouse, a way to match available and willing attorneys with the legal needs of citizens and organizations and provide services to them at no charge. Attorneys Lisa Taylor Hudson and John M. Vandenhoff are also team members, and have been working with the Foundation since the Clearinghouse began in 2001.
"The Clearinghouse is a great place to put a large portion of my pro bono time, because it aims to ensure that my skills and those of our other volunteers are put to use in a way that best fits local needs," said Lacy.
The Virginia State Bar rules for professional responsibility request that lawyers in the state put in time to give free legal services to those who might not be able to access the justice system if payment was necessary and to expand access to legal services in other ways, as well.
"Sands Anderson's Board of Directors affirmatively supports the Bar's admonition and we give attorneys who put in pro bono time a process for getting that recognized as part of their annual evaluations," said Rucker.
Lacy is the third of Sands Anderson's attorneys to be recognized in 2008 for pro bono contributions. Phyllis C. Katz was honored by the Virginia State Bar in May with the Lewis B. Powell, Jr., Pro Bono Award, presented annually. Stefan M. Calos was recognized by the Historic Hopewell Foundation with the Heritage Award in June for his pro bono contributions to that organization.
Founded nearly 170 years ago, Sands Anderson has 70 lawyers practicing among its offices in Richmond, Christiansburg, Fredericksburg and McLean, Virginia, and Raleigh, North Carolina. In 2011, it was ranked 11th in the Virginia Lawyers Weekly annual listing of the state's largest law firms. Sands Anderson provides a full range of legal services to corporations and businesses, healthcare providers, financial institutions, state and local governments, the insurance industry and individuals.