CHICAGO, Sept. 20, 2019 — Bowditch & Dewey, a law firm based in Worcester, Mass., is the 2019 recipient of the ABA Outstanding Medical-Legal Partnership Pro Bono Advocacy Award.
In letters of recommendation, area representatives praised the firm for its steadfast and years-long pro bono commitment to meeting the health-harming legal needs of low-income families in central Massachusetts, including through the Community Legal Aid Medical-Legal Partnership with UMass Memorial Medical Center.
“Bowditch attorneys are undaunted by complex cases and represent families in resource-intensive legal work.” one recommender wrote. “They engage in proactive and creative problem-solving … to address unmet needs, recently hosting a (medical legal partnership) training on special education and participating in a ‘Back-To-School’ check-up to learn if former clients needed additional legal assistance.”
The ABA Standing Committee on Pro Bono and Public Service works with national medical and legal organizations to promote the partnership model through policy and initiatives to increase capacity of healthcare institutions to address health-harming legal issues. Pro bono partners, through the donation of their time, knowledge and expertise, leverage and expand the reach of medical-legal partnerships, which typically combine health and legal services at a single site of care.
The ABA Outstanding Medical-Legal Partnership Pro Bono Advocacy Award will be presented to Bowditch & Dewey today at a national summit in suburban Washington, D.C., for stakeholders in the medical-legal partnership field.
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