BBA Law Day Dinner: Celebrating the Leaders who Shape and Protect the Rule of Law
Last week, the BBA hosted its annual Law Day Dinner, which brings together members of the bar, the bench, and the business communities to recognize leaders who shape and protect the rule of law. The event is always one of the highlights of the year here at the BBA, and this time was no exception. The dinner included a keynote speech delivered by Congressman Seth Moulton and presentations of the Thurgood Marshall Award to Elaine Blais of Goodwin and the John G. Brooks Legal Services Award to Anne Mackin of Greater Boston Legal Services (GBLS).
To kick things off, BBA President Carol Starkey, of ConnKavanaugh, addressed the crowd, reflecting on the reason behind this annual event and the original proclamation of Law Day by President Eisenhower 59 years ago. She noted that all in the room were bound by their dedication and commitment to the law and its role in protecting individual rights, preserving justice, and ensuring equality. She took a moment to recognize the judges, custodians of the rule of law, in attendance and expressed gratitude to all members of the Boston legal community for their consistent selfless volunteerism, thoughtful policy contributions, intelligent debate, and persistent advocacy. She concluded her opening remarks by noting that the bar, collectively, continues to ensure, just as President Eisenhower said, that “the importance of law in the daily lives of our citizens is a source of national strength.”
She went on to present the Thurgood Marshall Award to Elaine Blais, partner and head of litigation in Goodwin’s Boston office. The award recognizes attorneys in private practice in Greater Boston for their extraordinary efforts in enhancing the human dignity of others by providing legal services to Massachusetts’ low income population. Attorney Blais has been representing adults seeking asylum through Political Asylum/Immigration Representation (PAIR) and Immigration Equality for nearly a decade and representing unaccompanied immigrants and refugee children in their deportation proceedings through Kids in Need of Defense (KIND) for the past five years.
In a moving acceptance speech, Blais told the story of one particular child she and her team were able to assist in remaining in the U.S., a nine-year-old girl who had been living with her grandmother in El Salvador after her parents fled when they were threatened for standing up to a local gang. This young girl was forced to flee as well when the attention of the gang became directed toward her. Thanks to the hard work and dedication of Blais and her team, the girl was found eligible for asylum, and Blais is now helping to work on the green card application. This story highlights what a difference dedicated pro bono work can make, and Blais herself concluded with a call to action, asking members of the bar to use their unique positions as lawyers to assist those most in need.
Carol Starkey then returned to the stage to present the John G. Brooks Legal Services Award to Anne Mackin of GBLS. This award is presented to professional legal services attorneys for their outstanding work on behalf of indigent people in the Boston area. Attorney Mackin has worked in legal services for nearly 30 years, and joined GBLS’s Immigration Unit in 2013. Since then, she has helped people from all over the world who have witnessed or experienced unspeakable tragedies and faced severe persecutions. Her efforts have ensured that many who are fleeing extreme discrimination and danger are able to seek justice and safe harbor.
In an acceptance speech that displayed her humility and passion, Mackin discussed how privileged she feels to be able to work in legal services and specifically to be able to meet the brave and resilient individuals and children who have decided, as a matter of survival, to make the hard decision to pursue safety. In her work, she regularly takes on cases with individuals, often young children, who have endured unspeakable torture and abuse, wars and natural disasters and persecution on account of their race, gender, sexuality, or beliefs. She offered several harrowing stories, all of which revealed just how important the law and legal help is for these individuals. After making the often devastating decision to flee the only home they’ve ever known, many face a daunting bureaucracy with complicated and convoluted procedural and substantive rules upon reaching the U.S. Though not every attorney can dedicate their life to this work as Mackin has, her inspiring career reaffirms how crucial it is for all attorneys to take up Blais’ call to action in whatever way they can.
Following these moving speeches, Carol Starkey introduced keynote speaker U.S. Representative Seth Moulton. Congressman Moulton was elected to the represent the 6th District of Massachusetts in 2014, and he currently serves on the House Armed Services Committee and the House Budget Committee. After graduating from Harvard in 2001, Moulton joined the United States Marine Corps, where he served four tours in Iraq as a Marine Corps infantry officer, including two as an infantry platoon commander and two as a Special Assistant to General David Petraeus. After leaving the Marines in 2008, with the rank of Captain, Moulton attended Harvard Business School and the Kennedy School of Government, and worked in the private sector as managing director of the Texas Central Railway.
We welcomed Moulton to the Boston Bar once before, in 2015, when he attended the first of an ongoing Veterans Day reception series, where BBA members who are also current or former members of the military gather to share common experiences and challenges. This time, Congressman Moulton presented a captivating keynote speech that highlighted the notion that the role of lawyers and the rule of law is more important than ever.
His speech began with a compelling story about a refugee, Mohammed, who was his interpreter in Iraq. The two spent a great deal of time together, even going on to host a popular local TV show together as part of a media and free press initiative. Moulton explained that Mohammed put his life on the line, in an incredibly public way, to aid the U.S., and when he received a Fulbright Scholarship and left Iraq, his family faced such great threats that they had to flee their hometown. If Mohammed returned, he would be facing a life-threatening situation, so he decided to seek asylum, and Moulton helped him secure an attorney who made it possible for him to stay in the U.S. Moulton noted that, through all of the trials, Mohammed still maintained an amazing faith in the system. Moulton highlighted just how crucial it is for Americans to uphold and maintain this trust in the system, as the core of our democracy is respect for the rule of law and its fair application to all.
Lawyers, of course, play a unique role in maintaining the trustworthiness of the system, and, like Attorney Blais, Congressmen Moulton presented a call to action. He urged the crowd to use their authority as members of the Bar to speak up for the rule of law. He even harkened back to a quote from Ross L. Malone, President of the American Bar Association in 1959, who stated “tyrants throughout history have recognized in lawyers a constant threat to their tyranny.” Because lawyers and the judiciary are those charged with upholding the rule of law, he explained that bar associations are important pillars of our civil society and cited current examples of countries where human-rights lawyers are routinely jailed as “dissidents”.
Following this call, he turned his attention to the two award recipients, who are clearly prime examples of lawyers already going above and beyond this call. He spoke on the deep importance of pro bono and legal services work, like that undertaken by Blais and Mackin. This work is critical in instilling trust in the system that Mohammed relied on when carrying out his service for the U.S. and that the attorney fulfilled when taking on Mohammed’s case and ensuring the rule of law was fairly applied.
The Congressman concluded by recalling the most frequent question he got when he first decided to run in 2014: Why would you want to give up your work in the private sector to pursue public service? He said he no longer hears this question because it’s very clear why this service is crucial. He affirmed that no one should question the services of the members of the bar either, as it also is more important than ever.
Overall, it was a wonderful evening that highlighted the significance of the role of lawyers and the rule of law in upholding democratic ideals and ensuring justice for all. Be sure to check out our photo album and join us next year!
—Alexa Daniel
Legislative and Public Policy Manager
Boston Bar Association
