Young Conaway Proudly Announces 2021 Pro Bono Award Winners
Each year Young Conaway presents pro bono awards during the firm’s Annual Retreat. These awards, named after two of the firm’s founding members, are given to the Associate and Partner who have provided exemplary pro bono legal services to the community and the Bar over the past year. Award winners are given the opportunity to make a $1,000 contribution to the charity of their choice. This year’s recipients continue Young Conaway’s long standing commitment to representing the neediest in our community.
2021 William F. Taylor Award
The William F. Taylor Award is presented to an Associate who has provided exemplary pro bono legal services to the community and the Bar. The 2021 William F. Taylor Award was presented to Katelin Morales, an Associate in the firm’s Bankruptcy and Corporate Restructuring practice. Katelin was selected primarily for her representations of two asylum matters which were referred to the firm by CLASI and DVLS. Ms. Morales has extensive pro bono immigration and asylum experience. Since joining the firm, she has led several teams of Young Conaway attorneys in these matters.
Ms. Morales contributed $1,000 to Aldea – The People’s Justice Center which provides a holistic approach to the multi-faceted needs of immigrant community members, including through legal, social, educational, and medical services. The main office for Aldea is located in Reading, PA.
2021 H. James Conaway, Jr. Award
The H. James Conaway, Jr. Award is presented to the Partner/Counsel who provides exemplary pro bono legal services to the community and the Bar. This year’s honor went to Ryan Newell, a partner in the firm’s Corporation Litigation and Counseling section. Mr. Newell was chosen for his multi-year guardian ad-litem representation of a now 15 year-old. Mr. Newell accepted this complicated appointment from the Office of the Child Advocate.
Mr. Newell contributed $1000 to Everytown for Gun Safety. Everytown is the largest gun violence prevention organization in America. It was formed in 2013 when the Mayors Against Illegal Guns and the Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America organizations came together with the shared goal of ending gun violence.
2021 H. James Conaway, Jr. Award
This year, the firm was pleased to present a second special H. James Conaway, Jr. Award to Timothy Jay Houseal. Mr. Houseal, a partner in Young Conaway’s Complex and Specialty Litigation section, has been Chair of the firm’s Pro Bono Committee since its formation in 2004. For years, he has removed his name from the award recipient pool despite providing untold hours of pro bono services to the community on the firm’s behalf. Recently, Mr. Houseal was involved in a pro bono matter in which he and co-counsel obtained a judgement for back wages and repatriation expenses for seven Ukrainian sailors stranded on a vessel in the Delaware Bay. The sailors were permitted to enter through U.S. Customs in Philadelphia at the conclusion of this extensive admiralty/maritime action. Due to efforts of the Ukrainian Consulate and U.S. Immigrations Services, the seamen were granted asylum and hope to be reunited with their families either here or in Ukraine.
Mr. Houseal provided his charitable contribution of $1000 to the Sunday Breakfast Mission. The Sunday Breakfast Mission, under the direction of Rev. Tom Laymon, provides care and support to the homeless, addicted and impoverished through religious centered programs which meet their spiritual, social and physical needs. Mr. Houseal is the Treasurer and has been a Board Member of the Sunday Breakfast Mission from 2007 to present
https://sundaybreakfastmission.org/
Pro Bono Services at Young Conaway
In 2021, the attorneys of Young Conaway again invested over 6,000 hours in various pro bono and DEI projects. While this work includes a variety of matters, we prioritize work for indigent clients through DVLS, CLASI, the Office of the Child Advocate, court appointments, the ACLU, and activities that support our adoption of Stubbs School. In addition, Young Conaway led Delaware’s large legal firms with the highest percentage of individual attorney participation in the annual appeal for Delaware Combined Campaign for Justice on top of the Firm’s annual donation to the Campaign.