CHICAGO, June 13, 2025 — Two lawyers and the legal affairs team of a multinational corporation are this year’s honorees for the American Bar Association Pro Bono Publico Award, which annually recognizes individuals and entities for demonstrating outstanding commitment to volunteer legal services for low-income and disadvantaged persons.
The awards, which began in 1984, represent the top honor given by the ABA Standing Committee on Pro Bono and Public Service, which over the years has spotlighted pro bono efforts of individual lawyers and small and large law firms, government attorney offices, corporate law departments and other institutions in the legal profession. They will be presented during a special awards ceremony in October.
The 2025 Pro Bono Publico Award honorees are:
Anna V. Stearns of Black Mountain, North Carolina. Stearns opened her doors at Sneed & Stearns PA to anyone who needed legal assistance in the immediate wake of Hurricane Helene in 2024. She partnered with Legal Aid of North Carolina to convert her office to a Legal Aid outpost, conducting intake for impoverished neighbors seeking legal help. “Her willingness to take on these roles underscores Anna’s selfless spirit and dedication to the community’s recovery,” said CEO Ashley Campbell of Legal Aid of North Carolina. “To date, Anna has spent hundreds of hours serving Helene survivors.”
Raphael (Rafi) Prober of Washington, D.C. Prober is co-head of Akin's Congressional Investigations practice and previously served as an associate deputy attorney general at the U.S. Department of Justice. Prober’s pro bono work has included representing a witness testifying about the dangers of violent extremism in connection with the Jan. 6 hearings and St. John’s Church and the Episcopal Diocese of D.C. in connection with the 2020 Lafayette Square protests. Prober also served as the lead pro bono counsel representing Holocaust survivors transported toward Nazi death camps by the French railroad SNCF. This effort, spanning decades, culminated in an historic $60 million settlement from France to the survivors and their families (This case has been chronicled in the award-winning podcast Covering Their Tracks).
Microsoft Corporate, External and Legal Affairs. The Microsoft division joined the Seattle Clemency Project to serve the legal needs of those who have been granted early release from incarceration or protected from unjust representation. Over the years, Microsoft has contributed more than 7,710 hours of free legal and professional services, equating to millions of dollars in representation and direct client services. “The pro bono attorneys and paralegals at Microsoft have not only changed the lives of their clients but have also contributed significantly to the mending of our post-conviction ecosystem in powerful ways,” said Executive Director Musa Abdul-Mateen of the Seattle Clemency Project.
Past years recipients can be found here.
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