We are proud of our lawyers’ recognition for their outstanding legal work that is securing equal rights for people with disabilities throughout the country.
Sid Wolinsky, Shawna Parks, and Mary-Lee Kimber Smith are recipients of the 2013 California Lawyer Attorneys of the Year Award for their remarkable legal achievements, which will require the City and County of L.A. to include the unique needs of people with all types of disabilities in their emergency plans. Their stellar legal work will ensure that nearly 1.3 million people with disabilities will be included in the City and County of L.A.’s emergency planning and will not suffer needlessly when the next disaster strikes.
2012 Recipient of the Dartmouth College Class of 2002 Distinguished Service Award
Julia Pinover ’02 is the 2012 recipient of the Dartmouth College Class of 2002 Distinguished Service Award for her work as an attorney founding the New York office of the non-profit Disability Rights Advocates, and her service on the Civil Rights Committee of the New York City Bar Association.
The Daily Journal
Shawna Parks, Co-Director of Litigation, is named one of The Daily Journal's Top Women Lawyers of 2012 for her groundbreaking work in Communities Actively Living Independent and Free (CALIF) v. City of Los Angeles. In a ruling that was the first of its kind in the country, Judge Consuelo Marshall found that the City of Los Angeles had violated federal and state law by neglecting the needs of more than 800,000 Angelinos with disabilities in its emergency planning. This means that people with disabilities will now be included in the City’s emergency planning and will be safer when the next disaster strikes.
For over five decades, Sid Wolinsky has used the law as a tool for challenging discrimination and securing equal rights for people with disabilities and low-income communities. Mr. Wolinsky’s vigilance in public interest law, including his mentorship to hundreds of law students pursuing public interest careers, has been recognized by the California State Bar. He received the State Bar’s life-time achievement award - the 2011 Loren Miller Award - for his relentless commitment and success in public interest work.
Laurence W. Paradis, Executive Director & Co-Director of Litigation; Mary-Lee Kimber Smith, Staff Attorney; and Jose Allen, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, SF, have been recognized as California Lawyer Attorneys of the Year in 2011 for their stellar achievements in Californians for Disability Rights, Inc. v. California Department of Transportation. This $1.1 billion settlement is to-date the largest architectural accessibility settlement in the country for persons with disabilities. It will result in safer paths of travel for people with mobility and vision disabilities on thousands of miles of sidewalk facilities across the State of California that are owned or maintained by Caltrans.
The Daily Journal
Sid Wolinsky, Director of Litigation, is named one of the Top 100 Leading Lawyers in California by The Daily Journal in 2011.