Greenberg Traurig’s Caroline Heller Receives President’s Pro Bono Award from the State Bar Association

NEW YORK--(EON: Enhanced Online News)--Greenberg Traurig is pleased to announce that Caroline Heller, a shareholder in the litigation practice of the firm’s New York office, has received the President’s Pro Bono Service Award from the New York State Bar Association. She accepted the award yesterday at the bar association’s 22nd annual pro bono awards ceremony in Albany.

“We are proud of Caroline’s dedication to pro bono service and her many outstanding achievements on behalf of clients facing challenging circumstances”

Each year the bar association recognizes those who have made an outstanding contribution to ensuring low-income New Yorkers have equal access to justice. According to the bar association, “These prestigious awards recognize the dedicated members of our profession who have provided outstanding pro bono legal services to some of New York State’s neediest individuals – low-income families, the homeless, veterans, battered women, and immigrants seeking asylum.”

The bar association presents an award to an attorney from each of the 13 judicial districts. Heller won the award in the First Judicial District.

“We are proud of Caroline’s dedication to pro bono service and her many outstanding achievements on behalf of clients facing challenging circumstances,” said William Silverman, the head of Greenberg Traurig’s pro bono program in New York. “Her success in the courtroom and the leadership she provides within the firm exemplify the high ideals of Greenberg Traurig’s pro bono program.”

Heller is one of the leading pro bono lawyers in New York in two critical areas: 1) the representation of parents of children with disabilities in due process actions for free, appropriate public education both at the administrative hearing level and in federal court; and 2) the representation of women who are victims of domestic violence in custody, visitation, child support and protective order actions. While she specializes in those areas, in 2011 she also successfully represented a Vietnam War veteran in his fight for veteran’s benefits. In 2011, she directly represented or supervised the representation of a total of 11 pro bono cases.

“I am honored to receive the President’s Award, and I appreciate the New York State Bar Association’s effort to encourage pro bono service with this awards program,” Ms. Heller said. “Pro bono efforts are particularly critical now as economic conditions make it increasingly hard for many New Yorkers to afford legal representation.”

When not working on pro bono matters, Heller manages a successful litigation practice focusing on complex commercial litigation and business disputes on a nationwide basis in the fields of professional liability, partnership disputes, securities litigation and entertainment disputes.

About Greenberg Traurig, LLP

Greenberg Traurig, LLP is an international, full-service law firm with approximately 1800 attorneys serving clients from 34 offices in the United States, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East and Asia. In the U.S., the firm has more offices than any other among the Top 10 on The National Law Journal's 2012 NLJ 250. For additional information, please visit www.gtlaw.com.