Phelps Honored as New Orleans Pro Bono Law Firm of the Year
NEW ORLEANS — Jan. 7, 2021 — The New Orleans Chapter of The Pro Bono Project named Phelps as its 2021 Pro Bono Law Firm of the Year in appreciation and acknowledgement of the firm’s commitment to improving access to justice in the community.
Every year, The Pro Bono Project honors lawyers, law firms, students, businesses and members of the judiciary who have provided, improved and excelled in the delivery of volunteer legal services.
According to C.C. Kahr, executive director of The Pro Bono Project, Phelps has been instrumental in the organization's success over the last 35-plus years.
"From the earliest days of The Pro Bono Project's history, the support of Phelps Dunbar has been significant. Mary Ellen Roy, Kim Boyle and Harry Rosenberg were key advocates for our pro bono model and offered their professional and personal assistance," Kahr said. "The subsequent leadership of Chris Ralston was equally impactful. He steadily guided the project as board chair, Justice For All Ball committee chair and as a decades long board member. His mentorship in the best of times, as well as those more challenging moments, inspired our staff and volunteers to continue the important and necessary work of expanding civil legal aid to the most needy and vulnerable members of our community."
The Pro Bono Project also made special note of Phelps associate Arthur Kraatz's handling of a complicated eviction case for a vulnerable individual in the New Orleans area. Working with fellow Phelps lawyers—senior lawyer Harry Rosenberg, partners Chris Ralston and Jeremy Grabill, and associate James Gilbert—Arthur resolved the case for the individual and her heirs in the summer of 2021 after he and the group logged more than 600 hours of legal work.
The firm was also recognized for its early participation in The Pro Bono Project's Adopt a Month Program at the Orleans Parish Civil District Court's Self Help Resource Center and for its financial support for the chapter's major fundraisers.
Phelps was honored at a virtual award ceremony. Chris and associate Matthew Slaughter, who currently serves on the chapter's board, accepted the honor on behalf of the firm.
About Phelps Dunbar
Phelps is a full-service law firm of more than 300 attorneys. We blend valuable traditions and progressive ideas to foster a culture of collaboration among our lawyers in Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, North Carolina, and London. Our six core practice groups — admiralty, business, health care, insurance, labor and employment, and litigation — work together to offer clients a progressive, diverse practice and partnership that handles a broad range of sophisticated business needs regionally, nationally, and internationally.