2003 Exemplar Award Honorees

José M. de Lasa embodies the legal profession’s commitment to uphold the American promise of justice for all and stands as an example for general counsel throughout the country. While overseeing the legal department of Abbott Laboratories as the Senior Vice President, Secretary and General Counsel, de Lasa demonstrates his devotion to public service, especially on behalf of the poor and disadvantaged, by generously contributing his time to volunteer activities and being deeply involved in the community. He serves on the board of directors of the Chicago Children’s Museum, the Chicago Council on Foreign Relations, the Midtown Educational Foundation, the Resource Foundation, the Stovir Foundation, the American Arbitration Association and is on the advisory board of the Instituto Cervantes in Chicago.

From early on in his legal career, he has been a dedicated pro bono volunteer, having served as a full time volunteer attorney in the Bronx office of New York Legal Services. He currently contributes his time and talents to help Spanish-speaking clients at Prairie State Legal Services. He has served on NLADA’s Corporate Advisory Committee since 2000, advocating the critical role of corporate counsel in enhancing our nation’s quest for equal justice. Under his leadership, Abbott Laboratories’ legal department has successfully launched its pro bono initiative. Recent projects include advocacy for food stamps with the Legal Assistance Foundation of Metropolitan Chicago, legal in-take for the Center for Disability and Elder Law, not-for-profit incorporations through the Community Economic Development Law Project and legal issues workshops with Chicago public high school students as part of Street Law, Inc. De Lasa was also instrumental in developing a unique, award-winning partnership with the Midwest Immigrant & Human Rights Center and Baker & McKenzie to help immigrants become naturalized U.S. citizens. In his undying efforts to level the playing field for all, de Lasa continues to set the benchmark for not only other corporate counsel but also the entire profession. For his inspirational commitment and contributions to equal justice, NLADA proudly presents the 2003 NLADA Exemplar Award to José M. de Lasa.

Frank S. Moseley is making an impact on the nation’s criminal justice system and upholding the constitutional guarantee made in Gideon v. Wainwright forty years ago. Moseley is a senior trial lawyer at Davis Polk & Wardwell, specializing in class action securities cases, complex commercial contract litigation and international arbitration. He is also a former co-chair of the National Institute for Trial Advocacy and serves on the boards of the Center for the Community Interest and the New York County Lawyers' Association.

Using his litigation skills to the fullest, Moseley has led a team of lawyers at his firm, pro bono, to take on the State and City of New York in a historic case. In a suit designed to combat what is widely considered a crisis in legal representation of the poor in New York, he sued the state and city on behalf of the New York County Lawyers’ Association, challenging the constitutionality of the statutory rates of compensation paid to assigned private counsel who represent children and indigent adults in family and criminal court proceedings. Prior to the suit, fees set by statute in 1986 were the lowest set by law anywhere in the country - assigned lawyers were paid $25 per hour out of court, and $40 an hour in court. The consequence of this statue has been a catastrophe that threatens the very foundation of the justice system: a critical shortage of lawyers to represent the poor and a severe danger that children and indigent adults do not receive meaningful and effective assistance of counsel.

Due to Moseley’s innovative maneuver, in February of this year New York State Supreme Court Justice Lucindo Suarez granted a permanent injunction and ordered the state and city to raise the assigned counsel fees to $90 an hour across the board, citing that a failure to do so violates the constitutional and statutory right to meaningful and effective assistance of counsel. The ramifications of this victory are being felt nationally, as several jurisdictions are now bringing lawsuits over low assigned counsel fees. Moseley’s extraordinary efforts to improve the quality of justice low-income people receive in our court system have set a shining example of what can be accomplished when private attorneys work to uphold Gideon’s promise. For his extraordinary leadership and achievement, NLADA proudly presents the 2003 NLADA Exemplar Award to Frank S. Moseley.

2003 Kutak-Dodds Prize Winners

Lois Wood has devoted her entire 29-year career to providing meaningful opportunities and safe communities to the residents of East St. Louis, Illinois. As the Managing Attorney of Land of Lincoln Legal Assistance Foundation, Wood has been a remarkable legal advocate to improve every aspect of her clients’ lives; from health care, to housing, to education, to consumer rights, her supreme dedication to her clients is unmistakable.

As part of a community-based coalition, she successfully battled to stop the closing of a much-needed local hospital serving the lowest income residents of East St. Louis. She saved the homes of hundreds of African-American installment land contract homebuyers who were the victims of an interstate insurance scam. Through her own aggressive advocacy, and her technical assistance to private attorneys, she prevented the U.S. Farmers Home Administration from foreclosing on hundreds of family farms in Illinois. In a groundbreaking class action suit, she fought on behalf of public housing residents against fraud and incompetence in the operation of public housing in East St. Louis. The suit brought about a federal takeover of the local housing authority and more than $100,000,000 to the community to rehabilitate and replace existing public housing units. This precedent-setting victory led the way for similar takeovers in other cities, including Chicago, Kansas City and Philadelphia.

Wood is currently litigating complex predatory lending cases, spending much of her time with clients, while superbly attending to her managerial duties in the office. In addition, she reaches beyond traditional models of legal services delivery by collaborating closely with many community organizations and social service providers on innovative projects. She also volunteers her time generously and serves on the committees and boards of numerous organizations. Wood’s lifetime of dedication is a model to staff attorneys throughout the legal aid community, and her commitment to providing legal assistance to all who need it is an inspiration for all lawyers. Wood never forgets that even small problems are of enormous consequence in the lives of her clients. After 29 years in East St. Louis, in circumstances that might have caused others to despair, Wood has not lost her commitment, drive or enthusiasm to fulfill the promise of equal access to justice for all. For her unwavering dedication to the pursuit of justice for low-income and disadvantaged persons, the Robert J. Kutak Foundation and NLADA proudly present the 2003 Kutak-Dodds Prize to Lois Wood.

Stephen L. Richards has been on the frontlines of indigent criminal defense and is a leader in the effort to improve representation for men and women facing the death penalty. Prior to his appointment to the current position at the Death Penalty Trial Assistance Division, Richards worked as an assistant public defender in Cook County. For eleven years, he defended the rights of thousands of indigent criminal defendants, fighting for scientifically reliable DNA testing, racially representative juries and a custodial suspect’s right to be informed when an attorney is present and seeking to assist him. In fact, Richards’ extraordinary advocacy was instrumental in the establishment of First Defense Legal Aid, a nonprofit organization that sends pro bono attorneys to the aid of indigent suspects in police custody.

Since 2000, when Ted Gottfried, the Illinois State Appellate Defender, hired him as the first Director of the newly created Death Penalty Trial Assistance Division, Richards has helped revolutionize capital defense in Illinois. The Division, created in response to the state’s appalling pattern of sending the innocent to death row, is involved in nearly every capital case in the state. Under Richards’ leadership, the Division has initiated the first statewide defense capital training program, educated local attorneys and judges on the need for a mitigation investigation conducted by a specialist in each capital case and pioneered other innovations in capital defense such as the use of focus groups, jury surveys and genograms. Despite initial opposition from many sides, the changes in capital practice in Illinois that Richards has brought about in a short period of time have been remarkable. Before the establishment of the Division, Illinois sentenced between 15 and 20 people to death yearly. In 2002, there were only five death sentences. Richards’ unsung, behind the scene efforts also deserve much credit for the historic grant of blanket clemency earlier this year by then Governor George Ryan. Richards chaired the Ad Hoc Committee for Mass Clemency and personally argued two of the clemency petitions before the Illinois Prisoner Review Board. Richards then led a team that represented the accused in the first Illinois capital trial held after clemency, winning a finding of ineligibility and saving the client’s life. Richards’ dedication to assure superior legal representation and a fair trial for those who are most in need is an inspiration to all. For his outstanding achievements in defending and upholding the most fundamental of rights, the Robert J. Kutak Foundation and NLADA proudly present the 2003 Kutak-Dodds Prize to Stephen L. Richards.

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