Pro bono pride was on display at the 2009 D.C. Bar Annual Business Meeting and Awards Dinner on June 25 where individual attorneys and law firms were honored for their pro bono service.

The first of the evening’s awardees was Jenner & Block LLP partner David W. DeBruin, who was named Pro Bono Lawyer of the Year. Dave, a former member of the D.C. Bar Pro Bono Committee, has been a leader in the pro bono legal community for many years, serving clients with both civil and criminal matters.

“ [Pro bono] is incredibly rewarding work,” Dave says. “It often can make a huge difference in a person’s life…. Handling cases like these is often why we wanted to become lawyers in the first place.

“ It means very much to me to receive this award, but none of us does this work to be recognized. It adds balance and fulfillment to our careers…. Helping the disadvantaged is the best way to learn what it truly means to be an advocate.”

D.C. Bar Pro Bono Program Associate Director Mark Herzog can attest to Dave’s dedication to pro bono work. “Dave provides the inspiration,” Mark says. “He’s a brilliant lawyer with the compassion of a saint. He makes us all work harder.”

Meanwhile, Jones Day took home the Pro Bono Law Firm of the Year Award for its contributions to the Affordable Housing Preservation Project and other important initiatives made possible by the Pro Bono Program in tandem with other legal services providers.

The highlight of the evening was the presentation of the William J. Brennan Jr. Award to Patricia Mullahy Fugere, executive director of the Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless. When the award was announced in May, many legal services providers were thrilled that Patty was being recognized for her years of exemplary service to the D.C. community.

The Pro Bono Program’s own Tax Sale Redemption Project, a partnership with Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP and the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, was honored with the Frederick B. Abramson Award. The Tax Sale Redemption Project assists D.C. families in redeeming their real property that has been sold by the District due to unpaid taxes. In the midst of the recession, the work of the Tax Sale Redemption Project has been particularly important to our neighbors in jeopardy of losing their homes.

The annual meeting also featured the oath–taking of Kim M. Keenan as the Bar’s 38th president, succeeding Robert J. Spagnoletti. Ronald S. Flagg, a partner at Sidley Austin LLP, was installed as president–elect. In her inaugural address, Kim spoke about how pro bono work carved a path for her early in her career.