Paul "Skip" Spaulding of Farella Braun + Martel Receives Wiley W. Manuel Award for Pro Bono Service
Honor Awarded by Legal Aid of the North Bay at Organization's Annual Pro Bono Recognition Dinner, May 3, 2002
SAN FRANCISCO, CA (May 1, 2002): Paul P. "Skip" Spaulding, a partner with the Environmental Practice Group of the law firm of Farella Braun + Martel LLP, has received the Wiley W. Manuel Award for his work on behalf of Legal Aid of the North Bay's (LANB) litigation of an affordable housing dispute in Marin County.
The award will be presented to Spaulding at the organization's annual Pro Bono Recognition Dinner, Friday, May 3. The dinner - featuring Associate Justice Carlos R. Moreno of the California Supreme Court as keynote speaker - honors more than 250 volunteer attorneys who contributed their time to provide legal services to low income and elderly residents of Marin and Napa counties.
"It is a privilege to honor those attorneys who selflessly contribute enormous hours of pro bono legal assistance to serve the needs of the low income and the elderly," said R. Christopher Locke, president of the board of directors of Legal Aid of the North Bay, and also a partner at Farella Braun + Martel. "This year I am delighted to recognize the efforts of my partner, Skip Spaulding, among those receiving the Wiley Award, as I am personally aware of his generous pro bono commitment to the organization and its clients."
Spaulding has 24 years of experience in all facets of complex litigation and environmental law, both in private practice and as Managing Attorney and National Litigation Director for the Sierra Club Legal Defense Fund. In that capacity, he was lead counsel in many high-profile public interest environmental cases in the western United States.
He earned his J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center and his B.A. in History, with distinction, from the University of Michigan.
In addition to Farella's Spaulding, 22 other attorneys were honored as recipients of the Wiley W. Manuel Award for 2000 and 2001.
The Wiley W. Manuel Award was established in 1989 by the State Bar of California. The late Justice Manuel served as a California Supreme Court Associate Justice from 1977-1981, following 23 years with the Attorney General's office, the last three of which were as chief assistant attorney general. Justice Manuel's legal career and his personal life were marked by a dedication to hard work, public service and the concept of equal justice for all segments of society.
With offices in San Rafael and Napa, LANB's mission is to provide social justice, economic equity and opportunity, and seek due process and equal protection of the law by providing low income and elderly residents with access to high quality, effective legal services through direct representation, pro per support services and impact litigation. LANB's most recent project was the creation of a Justice Center in which legal services will be co-located to provide comprehensive counseling, guidance and representation to low income and elderly residents of the community.
Since its founding in 1962, Farella Braun + Martel has achieved a national distinction for its complex commercial litigation practice, its high profile cases, prestigious client base and the acumen of its business practice. With 125 attorneys in the firm's San Francisco office, Farella Braun + Martel serves a diverse group of clients from multinational corporations to emerging businesses including VISA U.S.A., Inc., Verizon Wireless Services, Dolby Laboratories Inc., The Robert Mondavi Corporation, McKesson Corporation, General Electric Company, The University of California, Sony Corporation of America, Dainippon Screen Manufacturing Co. Ltd., and Round Table Franchise Corporation.
Farella Braun + Martel also maintains an office in the Napa Valley, focused on the wine industry and related businesses. The firm's practice areas include complex commercial litigation, intellectual property litigation, insurance coverage, construction litigation, environmental counseling and litigation, employment litigation, white collar crime, real estate, land use, corporate and securities, tax, family wealth and business planning and the wine and agribusiness industries.
