Indiana Pro Bono Commission Recognizes Contributions To Pro Bono with Annual Randall T. Shepard Award

The Indiana Pro Bono Commission recently recognized Carl Pebworth and Hammond Mayor Thomas McDermott, Jr. with the Randall T. Shepard Award for excellence in pro bono.  Pebworth and Mayor McDermott were presented the award during a dinner on Friday, October 3, 2009 at the Hyatt Regency downtown Indianapolis.

Carl Pebworth, who led Baker & Daniels to become one of Indiana’s leading law firms committed to pro bono services, was recognized for many outstanding achievements. Pebworth has committed himself to a collaboration between Baker & Daniels and Indiana law institutions including Indiana University School of Law-Bloomington, Indiana University School of Law-Indianapolis and the University of Notre Dame School of Law to develop pro bono projects staffed by Baker & Daniels attorneys who are assisted by law students. Pebworth hopes that he can be instrumental in encouraging these students to pursue pro bono work both during and after law school.

Hammond Mayor Thomas McDermott, Jr. (left), Chief Justice Randall T. Shepard (center) and Carl Pebworth (right).

Pebworth’s other pro bono work includes Keep Indianapolis Beautiful, Commons Project, Indianapolis Parks Foundation, Mayor’s Taskforce on Code Compliance, Mayor’s Housing Taskforce, Neighborhood Advocacy Corporation, and United Way Day of Caring. Pebworth is also a member and former chair of the Indiana State Bar Association Pro Bono Committee. Pebworth graduated from University of Michigan Law School in 1991.

Thomas McDermott, Jr., the Mayor of Hammond, served six years in the United States Navy as a nuclear submariner.  He was a nuclear electrician and the ship’s only diver.  After serving his country during the Persian Gulf War, Mayor McDermott attended Purdue University-Calumet and later the University of Notre Dame Law School.

Currently serving his second term, McDermott was the mind behind the Hammond Legal Aid Clinic, the first municipally run legal aid clinic, and the sole reason it is still operating today. The clinic opened in October 2004 and began facing problems almost immediately.  Citizens of Hammond saw their real estate tax bills triple due to a court-ordered state-wide reassessment.  For this reason, the City Council declined to fund the clinic.  Remaining fully committed to his vision, McDermott funded the clinic himself.

Kenneth Feinberg helped honor the recipients by speaking at the event.  Feinberg was appointed by Attorney General John Ashcroft to be the Special Master of the 9/11 Victims’ Compensation Fund – a position where he served for 33 months entirely pro bono. He administered all aspects of the program including evaluating applications, determining appropriate compensation and disseminating awards.

 In the aftermath of the Virginia Tech shootings, Feinberg was called upon again to become the chief administrator to the Hokie Spirit Memorial Fund. Feinberg has served as a court appointed special settlement master in many cases most notably serving as the arbitrator determining the fair market value of the Zapruder film of the Kennedy assassination as well as helping determine the allocation of legal fees in the Holocaust slave labor litigation. 

Read "9/11 Victim Fund About Love, Not Money" by Bill Brooks