Paying Tribute: Division Honors Committed Public Lawyers

Dorsey Award

LaToya Bell, assistant public defender for Houston County, Georgia, was this year’s recipient of the Dorsey Award. Named in tribute to the late Charles H. Dorsey Jr., longtime executive director of Maryland’s Legal Aid Bureau, Inc., this award recognizes exceptional work by a public defender or legal aid lawyer.

Bell has worked for the Houston County Public Defender’s Office since 2013. She represents indigent clients in serious misdemeanors, felonies and violation of probation cases. Bell is known for working tirelessly for those in need, both inside and outside of the courtroom, and for being deeply involved in her community.

Bell volunteers to help individuals who have recently re-entered society. She provides pro bono legal assistance at the Second Chance Record Restriction Clinic, helping convicted job seekers expunge their criminal records and obtain gainful employment. In support of the Houston County Drug Court, she secured a partnership with Walmart to provide backpacks and bikes for program participants who were without reliable transportation.

On behalf of the Georgia Association of Black Women Attorneys, Bell has organized several community law clinics, where lawyers from all over Georgia provide pro bono legal consultations and advice to members of the community. She is also a volunteer and avid supporter of the First Responder Wills Clinics, which provide free simple wills to EMS personnel, firefighters and police officers. She organizes food drives, partners with local health organizations to provide health screenings, and serves as a mentor to youth groups and law school students.

In addition to her duties as a public defender and her community service work, Bell is an adjunct professor of paralegal studies at Central Georgia Technical College, where she teaches several courses throughout the year. As she was presented with her award, Bell said, Being a public defender is sometimes a thankless job. Each day we go into court expecting to lose the motion hearing or expecting a guilty verdict because we represent those who others view as unworthy of belief. But receiving this reward means that each time I represented a defendant, it was worthwhile. There aren’t millions to be made in this line of work, neither is there great notoriety to be gained, but each day I wake up to fight for justice. I fight because I know that this might be the day I reunite a son to his mother, a father to his children, a woman to her job and reintroduce another person into society to hopefully become a contributing member of our community. I am proud of the work I do, and I’m humbled and thankful for the recognition.

Hodson Award

The Hodson Award recognizes the sustained, outstanding performance or a specific and extraordinary service by a government or public sector law office. It was named to honor the late Major General Kenneth J. Hodson, a former judge advocate general of the U.S. Army and a founding member of the Division. This year the award was given to the Santa Clara County Counsel’s Office in California (SCCCO).

In recent years, the SCCCO, headed by James R. Williams, has challenged federal actions and protected the unique concerns of local governments while providing topnotch legal services to the 1.9 million residents throughout Silicon Valley.

SCCCO obtained a permanent injunction barring implementation of core principles of a federal order to cut funding to “sanctuary jurisdictions” in October 2017. The proposed federal regulations would have stripped federal funding, forcing jurisdictions to choose between funding or eliminating programs that protect local health and safety. When the cuts were announced, SCCCO brought a lawsuit seeking to enjoin implementation of the order, arguing that it was unconstitutional, it coerced local governments in violation of federalism principles, and it usurped Congress’s powers in violation of separation of powers principles. The federal district court issued an injunction against the order in 2017, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit upheld the decision in 2018.

SCCCO also defended protections for young immigrants under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. After threats of rolling back protection for youths, the SCCCO, working with other plaintiffs in related cases, obtained a preliminary injunction that restored DACA’s protections to nearly 700,000 people nationwide.

Challenging the repeal of net neutrality rules, SCCCO argued that the decision failed to consider the significant impact of the repeal on local government agencies. The SCCCO also worked to protect the integrity of the 2020 Census, intervening in a lawsuit to ensure that all county residents, undocumented or otherwise, are counted, as required by the U.S. Constitution. Attorneys with the office are also helping to ensure that county residents understand the importance of census participation and to ensure that residents receive complete and accurate information.

Santa Clara County Counsel James R. Williams accepted the award on behalf of the SCCCO. “I am thrilled that the County Counsel’s Office is being recognized as a nationwide leader in developing innovative legal solutions to some of our community’s greatest challenges — from protecting immigrants’ rights to holding corporations accountable for their role in creating the lead paint and opioid public health crises,” he said. “Our attorneys demonstrate their commitment to effective public service each and every day, and we are proud to be a model of excellence in public lawyering.”

Nelson Award

James M. Durant III is the winner of the 2019 Nelson Award. This award recognizes outstanding contributions to the ABA by a government or public sector lawyer and was established as a tribute to the late L. Clair Nelson, a GPSLD council member who held numerous leadership positions within the association.

Durant is chief counsel of the Office of Science for the U.S. Department of Energy in Chicago and is a retired U.S. Air Force colonel. For more than 27 years, Durant devoted himself to serving the ABA, consistently working to promote diversity and support and engage military lawyer members within the ABA.

His first appointment in the ABA was as the Young Lawyers Division (YLD) liaison to the Standing Committee on Armed Forces Law (SCAFL); in less than 10 years, he was appointed as the committee chair, becoming the youngest ABA standing committee chair and the first active-duty military chair.

During his time in the Young Lawyers Division, he co-created the YLD Diversity Scholarship program, which was replicated by the ABA’s Solo, Small Firm and General Practice Division (GPSolo). In his tenure with the YLD, he was recognized for his excellence in service to military lawyers.

After his time with the YLD, Durant became active in GPSolo. He helped rewrite its bylaws and, after a decade of service, chaired the Division. As chair, he created the Solo Center, a web-based support site for solo practitioners across the nation, and ensured the operation of Military Sez, a support chat room for military practitioners.

As an ABA member, Durant advocated for reduced fees for military members, authored more than a dozen articles for ABA publications, and has been a keynote speaker for ABA-sponsored conferences around the globe. He continues to serve on the Judicial Standards Task Force and is currently a member of the ABA Board of Governors.

“I am proud to have been able to do the great work of the ABA, not only for the government practitioner, the solo practitioner, and the military, but for all of us dedicated professionals serving the law,” said Durant upon receiving the award. “This award is not a James Durant award; it is a group recognition of the many who made a difference in the bar, and I am proud to accept it under that understanding.”

The Division congratulates all of the winners for their exceptional public service. Nominations for the 2020 National Awards are due April 6, 2020. Please visit the Division’s website at www.governmentlawyer.org for details.