Allegheny County Bar Foundation Public Service Award
In October 2002, K&L Gates’ Pittsburgh office received the Allegheny County Bar Foundation’s (ACBF) Public Service Award for pro bono work by a law firm.  K&L Gates was recognized for its continuing efforts in handling cases from the Protection from Abuse (PFA) program in record numbers.  During 2001, 44 K&L Gates partners, associates, paralegals and summer associates spent more than 1890 hours representing individuals seeking protection from abuse in approximately 192 cases.

Cynthia Gillespie Award
In connection with the marriage litigation, firm lawers have received recognition from a number of community organizations, including the Northwest Women’s Law Center’s Cynthia Gillespie Award.

Dade County Pro Bono Award
The Dade County Circuit Court presented Daniel A. Casey with the "Pro Bono Award" in 1996.

David Soukup Award
In February 2005, K&L Gates received the David Soukup Award in honor of the fi rm’s pro bono work for the King County Superior Court Dependency Court-Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) Program.

Denise Louie Education Center Pro Bono Award
Currently serving the children of 216 low-income and recent immigrant families, this Head Start agency recognized K&L Gates for its pro bono service in April 2005.

Jefferson Award
In March, 2005, Jamie Pedersen, a partner in the business law group, was honored with a Jefferson Award nomination to recognize his service as board co-chair of Lambda Legal Defense & Education Fund and his pro bono work helping same-sex couples in Washington gain marriage rights. The Jefferson Award honors the work of individuals in service.

Jim Ellis Award
Each year, K&L Gates’ internal Pro Bono Committee selects two attorneys who best exemplifi ed the fi rm’s rich pro bono tradition to receive the Jim Ellis Pro Bono Award. Jim Ellis, a retired partner, has earned regional and national recognition for his lifetime of service to the community in a large variety of signifi cant projects. The recipients of the Ellis Award receive $2,500 each to donate to the charity of their choice. For 2004, Joanne Hepburn and the marriage litigation team received this honor. Hepburn devoted 400 hours in 2004 to pro bono causes, with more than half of those hours spent on a death penalty case now pending before the Virginia State Supreme Court. The marriage litigation team, consisting of Jamie Pedersen, Paul Lawrence, Matt Segal, Amit Ranade, Alina McLauchlan and Denise Lietz, with assistance from many others, together donated 840 hours of legal services in 2004 to two cases challenging the constitutionality of Washington’s ban on marriage for same-sex couples, now being considered by the Washington State Supreme Court.

Neighborhood Legal Services Association in Pittsburgh
In 2002, the Neighborhood Legal Services Association Executive Director, Robert Racunas, recognized K&L Gates's commitment to pro bono efforts, especially in assisting the NLSA in its protection from abuse cases.  In addition, Mr. Racunas acknowledged K&L Gates' recent appellate victory in an NLSA case at the Pennsylvania Superior Court as well as K&L Gates' extraordinary financial commitment during the annual Equal Justice Campaign.  He also noted that a K&L Gates Fellow, financed through K&L Gates’ grant to the Pittsburgh Foundation, will be placed with the NLSA this summer.

Since 1992 our lawyers have provided pro bono legal services to more than 1500 victims of domestic abuse, and engaged in other pro bono efforts on behalf of the organization. NLSA provides free legal representation to indigent clients in Western Pennsylvania on a variety of legal matters. A number of our Pittsburgh lawyers have served on NLSA’s board of trustees. Effective September 2002, Ken Argentieri, a partner in K&L Gates’ Pittsburgh office, serves as President of the Neighborhood Legal Services Board of Directors.

New York State Bar Association Certificate of Honor
Over the past five years, the NY State Bar Association has awarded K&L Gates a Certificate of Honor for coaching a high school participating team in the annual Bar Association’s Mock Trial Tournament.

New York City Board of Education Mentoring Program
As a result of New York office lawyers’ continued participation in the Board of Education’s Mentoring Program, through which we work with local high school students, K&L Gates has been recognized for each of the past six years as a Partner in Education by the NYC Board of Education.

New York Citywide School-to-Work Alliance
The New York Citywide School-to-Work Alliance recognized K&L Gates for its work with New York City schools in 1997.

Pennsylvania Bar Foundation Louis J. Goffman Award
K&L Gates received the Louis J. Goffman Award from the Pennsylvania Bar Foundation for outstanding contributions in providing pro bono representation in Pennsylvania in 1995.

Pro Bono Special Achievement Award
In 1998, Pittsburgh office partner Kenneth M. Argentieri received the Allegheny County Bar Association Public Service Committee’s Pro Bono Special Achievement Award for Outstanding Pro Bono Legal Services.

"Put Something Back" Program
K&L Gates’ Miami office receives yearly recognition for its 100% participation in the Dade County Bar Association’s "Put Something Back" program of pro bono service. The "Put Something Back Program" is a joint undertaking of the Dade County Bar Association and the local courts to provide legal representation in a variety of substantive areas for persons unable to afford the costs of a standard legal representation.

Special Recognition Award for Collaboration for Social Change
In addition, Pedersen won this award from the Greater Seattle Business Association for his pro bono work opposing the Defense of Marriage Act in the marriage rights case.

Spokane Office’s Pro Bono Challenge
Our Spokane office honored Peter Moye for his pro bono works, including consultation to the Girl Scouts of America, the Fox Theater of Spokane and St. John’s Cathedral.

Supreme Court of Florida Pro Bono Eloquence Award
In March 1999, Miami office partner Daniel A. Casey received the Supreme Court of Florida’s Pro Bono Eloquence Award through its State of Florida Guardian Ad Litem Program. Dan was recognized for his efforts in the prosecution of guardianship matters on behalf of abused and neglected children in Dade County.

Unitarian Universalist Affordable Housing Corporation
In 1999, K&L Gates was cited for ten years of service and support to the Unitarian Universalist Affordable Housing Corporation since its inception in 1989. K&L Gates drafted UUAHC's original charter documents and has served as their pro bono general counsel since that time. UUAHC is a nonprofit organization that provides low and no interest loans to nonprofit developers for the acquisition, rehabilitation and/or construction of housing for low and moderate income individuals and families in the greater Washington, D.C./ Baltimore, MD area.

Women Empowered Against Violence
Our Washington office was recognized in 1999 for its outstanding commitment to WEAVE, which provides comprehensive legal and case management services to survivors of domestic violence.