BBA Pro Bono & Public Service

Awards & Honors

John G. Brooks Legal Services Award 

Named in honor of former BBA President John G. Brooks, who championed legal services for the poor throughout his six-decade career as a lawyer, this award was established to recognize professional legal services attorneys for their outstanding work on behalf of indigent clients in greater Boston. 

2024 Recipient 

Rosie’s Place
Rosie’s place was founded in 1974 as the first women’s shelter in the United States. Today, it is a vibrant multi-service community center that offers emergency shelter, meals, legal assistance, wellness care, one-on-one support, housing and job search services, and community outreach.

Previous Recipients 

• 2023 Massachusetts Advocates for Children   
• 2020 City Life/Vida Urbana, GBLS, Harvard Legal Aid and the WilmerHale Legal Services Center of Harvard Law School  
• 2019 Matt Cregor, Mental Health Legal Advisors  
• 2018 Leslie Walker, Prisoners Legal Services

Thurgood Marshall Award  

Established to recognize private attorneys in greater Boston for their extraordinary efforts to enhance the human dignity of others through improving, developing, or delivering civil or criminal legal services to low-income clients in Massachusetts. 

2023 Recipient 

Kevin Prussia, WilmerHale 
The BBA recognized Kevin Prussia of WilmerHale with the Thurgood Marshall Award for his participation in Geddes v. City of Boston and his ongoing work to devise strategies to address the constitutional issues posed by the City’s current proposals for the area known as Mass. & Cass.

Part of the BBA’s mission is to facilitate access to justice. Kevin’s participation in Geddes v. City of Boston lived up to that mission, seeking justice for the most vulnerable members of our community.

Hannah L. Kilson 
President, Boston Bar Association 

Previous Recipients

• 2023 Ronaldo Rauseo-Ricupero, Nixon Peabody  
• 2020 Ropes & Gray   
• 2019 Foley Hoag LLP   
• 2018 Blue Cross Blue Shield Legal Department  

2018 Recipient 

Senator Cynthia Stone Creem, Massachusetts Senate 
The Boston Bar Association presented Senator Creem with the Distinguished Legislator Award for her dedication to creating a fairer justice system in Massachusetts. Senator Creem has served in public roles for over 30 years, including as President of the Newton Board of Aldermen and a member of the Governor’s Council before becoming a State Senator in 1999. She has chaired the joint Criminal Justice Committee, opposing the death penalty and reforming sex offender registry and drunken driving laws. As Senate Chair of the Joint Committee on Judiciary, she reformed the Probation Department, modernized alimony laws, secured the right to DNA testing in criminal cases, and enacted sentencing reforms. Senator Creem also championed buffer zones for safety around health clinics and played a key role in the criminal justice reform bill.  

Previous Recipients

• 2017 Rep. Kay Khan  
• 2015 Rep. John Fernandes  
• 2008     Sen. Steven C. Panagiotakos  
• 2007 Rep. Robert A. DeLeo