Columbia Law School has honored Covington & Burling with the 2003 Lawrence A. Wien Prize for Social Responsibility. The annual award ceremony, which took place at Columbia University on August 27, 2003, recognizes those individuals or organizations that have demonstrated a commitment to pro bono activities and community service.
Lanny A. Breuer, a partner at Covington & Burling and vice chair of its Public Service Committee, accepted the award on behalf of the firm. In his remarks, Breuer noted that Covington’s current public service roster includes a wide variety of cases and clients, including several death penalty matters, custody and adoption matters, numerous civil and human rights representations, and consultation to more than 100 non-profit organizations. Breuer also spoke about Covington & Burling’s lead role in providing pro bono legal services for the families of 150 New York firefighters, emergency services workers and other uniformed servicemen and women who died in the World Trade Center attacks on September 11, 2001.
The Lawrence A. Wien Prize for Social Responsibility honors members of the legal profession who put their resources and legal skills to work for the public good. The prize, established in 1982 at both Law and Business Schools, was initially awarded to corporations that exhibited a strong social conscience. Since 1996, in consultation with Mr. Wien’s descendants, the award has been conferred solely by the Law School. It is now presented in conjunction with the School’s Profession of Law Course, which teaches legal ethics to all third-year law students.
