CHICAGO, October 11 LAWFUEL – Lawyer, attorney, law, legal news – Steven V. Hunter, an associate in Piper Rudnick LLP’s Litigation practice group, has received the Distinguished Service Award from the Chicago Volunteer Legal Service Foundation, the law firm has announced.
Mr. Hunter won the prestigious award, CVLS said, for his outstanding pro bono work performed through the Asian American Legal Service Clinic. He will be honored at an awards ceremony in Chicago on November 9.
“Steven has done an amazing job, taking on some of the thorniest cases for some of the most difficult clients the clinic has to offer. His dedicated work over the last two years has included taking on at least one new case virtually every month, on issues as varied as child custody, tort defense, foreclosure, SSI, and consumer disputes. He is unafraid to tackle anything and consistently gets great results,” said Richard Klawiter, a partner in Piper Rudnick’s Real Estate practice group and Pro Bono Coordinator for its Chicago office.
Catherine M. Burkhardt, a partner in the firm’s Franchise Litigation group who heads the Asian American Legal Services clinic, said, “Steven is truly the most deserving award winner I’ve seen in the seven years I’ve been with the clinic. I’m very proud to work with him and thrilled to see him recognized for all his hard work.”
Mr. Hunter concentrates his law practice in product liability, environmental, finance, health care and general commercial litigation. He litigates cases for such clients as factor financing companies, major automobile manufacturers, major automobile credit companies, heavy equipment manufacturers, chemical manufacturers and HMOs. Mr. Hunter has represented clients in all phases of litigation, including arbitrations and trials. He has secured defense verdicts in arbitrations for major automobile manufacturers and has successfully prosecuted the claims of a major automobile credit company at arbitration.
In addition to his work through the Asian American Legal Services Clinic, Mr. Hunter also litigates a great variety of additional pro bono cases. Earlier this year, on a pro bono basis, he represented the victim of a racially motivated hate crime as first chair and trial counsel, ultimately securing a $152,500 verdict against the defendant. Mr. Hunter also represents juvenile defendants through Piper Rudnick’s Juvenile Justice Project, in conjunction with Bluhm Legal Clinic at Northwestern University.
Mr. Hunter is the recipient of Piper Rudnick’s 2003 Junior Associate Pro Bono Award.
The Asian American Legal Services Clinic, based at 4753 North Broadway in Chicago, serves a broad spectrum of people, from many countries and from the U.S., who have all been impacted by poverty, abuse, or discrimination. The clinic provides them with pro bono legal services in many areas of civil law, among them divorce, child custody, landlord-tenant problems, and immigration questions. Piper Rudnick sponsors and supports the clinic through CVLS.
Chicago Volunteer Legal Services Foundation offers quality legal services on a pro bono basis to low-income Chicagoans who could not otherwise afford access to the law. Its core clientele is the working poor. CVLS is entirely funded from private sources.
