This year's recipients were Attorney Leigh-Ann Patterson Durant of Lexington, Associate General Counsel of Clinical Trials and Medical Affairs for EMD Serono, Inc. in Rockland, and formerly of Nixon Peabody LLP; Attorney Holly Sanborn Dyar of Kingston, a solo practitioner in Plymouth; and the Boston office of the law firm of Dechert, LLP.

The SJC Committee also recognized the pro bono work of approximately 70 attorneys in private practice who volunteered to represent people detained or affected by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials' raid in New Bedford on March 6, 2007.  Attorneys from the ACLU of Massachusetts and Greater Boston Legal Services have also been working -- beginning within hours of the raid -- to assist detainees and their families.

"The rule of law and our country's ideals of equality can be compromised when legal representation is out of financial reach," said Carol Rose, Executive Director of the ACLU of Massachusetts. "We commend these attorneys for their unselfish devotion to fairness, as well as the Supreme Judicial Court's Standing Committee on Pro Bono Legal Services for recognizing the importance of this service."

For more information about the Adams Awards, the recipients, and their work, please see the SJC's press release: www.mass.gov/courts/press/pr060507_print.html