2025 Award Winners

25th Anniversary Pro Bono Attorney of the Year: Edward L. Kainen
25th Anniversary Pro Bono Law Firm of the Year: Womble Bond Dickinson
Lied Impact Award: Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck
William S. Boyd Award of Excellence:  Las Vegas Raiders
Justice Nancy Becker Pro Bono Award of Judicial Excellence: Judge Joanna S. Kishner
Vince Consul Memorial Pro Bono Award: Timothy A. Wiseman
Louis Wiener Pro Bono Service Award: Corinne M. Price
Myrna Williams Children’s Pro Bono Award: Law Office of David Sampson 
Public Interest Law Student of Distinction: Vanessa Aponte
Access to Justice Award: Claggett & Sykes Trial Lawyers
Rising Star Pro Bono Award: Maria Rios Landin
Ask-A-Lawyer Community Commitment Award: Marissa R. Temple

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25th Anniversary Pro Bono Attorney of the Year

Edward L. Kainen

Our 25th Anniversary Pro Bono Attorney of the Year has taken cases for the last 25 years. Edward has recruited attorneys to take pro bono cases at events, the annual family law conference, and within his own law firm. He teaches pro bono CLEs to attorneys who take new family law matters, and he mentors attorneys looking to get into family law. He is routinely involved in our Partners in Pro Bono Program, working with law students on pro bono matters. We congratulate our 25th Anniversary Pro Bono Attorney of the Year, Edward Kainen!

25th Anniversary Pro Bono Law Firm of the Year

Womble Bond Dickinson

Womble Bond Dickinson's unwavering commitment to pro bono service and access to justice has spanned a full quarter-century. Over the past 25 years, they have dedicated more than 12,000 hours to pro bono work. They have earned the Lied Award for Most Pro Bono Cases eight times, and the Lied Award for Most Pro Bono Hours six times. They have been named Pro Bono Law Firm of the Year three times, and multiple attorneys within the firm have received individual honors for their outstanding service. This firm takes on cases in every area of our Federal Pro Bono Program, the Family Justice Project, and the Children's Attorneys Project. We congratulate our 25th Anniversary Pro Bono Law Firm of the Year, Womble Bond Dickson!

Lied Impact Award

Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck

Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck is a firm with a long and distinguished history of supporting pro bono work. Their record of service is unmatched. From appeals, to consumer fraud, to representing vulnerable children and victims of domestic violence, they do it all. Since 2014, this law firm has won 7 pro bono awards. They are a two-time winner of the Lied Award for Most Pro Bono Cases, a two-time winner of the Lied Award for Most Pro Bono Hours, and a three-time winner of the Pro Bono Law Firm of the Year Award. This year alone, they worked on 42 pro bono cases and have contributed nearly $1,000,000 worth of pro bono hours. They also partnered with us to expand pro bono services to local artists, creating new pathways to help creators protect their work. In addition, they hosted pro bono CLEs and launched the Associates Challenge seven years ago, which has raised more than $149,000 to support our mission, including a donation of more than $18,000 this year to our Advocacy & Justice Complex campaign!

William S. Boyd Award of Excellence

Las Vegas Raiders

The Las Vegas Raiders are a major supporter of Legal Aid Center of Southern Nevada. When they learned of our work with our Resiliency & Justice Center—combining legal aid, victim support, and mental health services—they surprised us with a check for $500,000 at their inaugural Silver & Black Gala. They agreed to adopt the Community Room in our new Advocacy & Justice Complex, not only contributing another $500,000, but pledging to support our many events in that room. The Raiders Foundation's impact has been felt across this valley, touching lives and uplifting communities through its unwavering dedication to giving back. We are honored to present the William S. Boyd Award of Excellence to the Las Vegas Raiders!

Justice Nancy Becker Pro Bono Award of Judicial Excellence

Judge Joanna S. Kishner

Judge Joanna S. Kishner serves on the Nevada Access to Justice Commission and works on numerous projects to expand legal services to those in need. She represented Children's Attorneys Project (CAP) clients prior to becoming a judge and continues to be a supporter of Legal Aid Center. As a judge, she has been a huge proponent of the Front-of-the-Line Pass, allowing pro bono attorneys to proceed first. She asks other judges to get involved and, because of her efforts, many judges in the Eighth District Judicial Court have now implemented Front-of-the-Line Pass for pro bono cases. She routinely volunteers her lunch hours visiting law firms to encourage them to take pro bono cases. She even recruited this year's Myrna Williams Children’s Pro Bono Award recipient to take their first pro bono CAP case!

Vince Consul Memorial Pro Bono Award

Timothy A. Wiseman

This year's Vince Consul Memorial Pro Bono Award recipient, Timothy Wiseman, has dedicated more than a decade of services to Legal Aid Center, consistently demonstrating extraordinary commitment to pro bono work. He has handled eight complex appeals through our Appellate Pro Bono program and has never hesitated to step in when an urgent case needed immediate placement. His compassion for his clients and his unwavering diligence show in every matter he takes on! His dedication, skill, and reliability embody the very spirit of this award and our late friend Vince Consul.

Myrna Williams Children’s Pro Bono Award

Law Office of David Sampson

David Sampson is a longstanding volunteer with our Children's Attorneys Project (CAP), providing steadfast and consistent service since taking his first case in 2016. In 2025 alone, he has already onboarded seven new CAP cases. The firm's new associate, Amanda Nalder, proactively reached out to us to join the pro bono program, and in just the last seven months, she has already accepted six new CAP cases. Together, the two attorneys now work collaboratively to ensure that children in the system have a strong and compassionate voice. For their unwavering commitment to ensuring their clients' voices are heard, this year's Myrna Williams Children's Pro Bono Award goes to the Law Office of David Sampson!

Public Interest Law Student of Distinction

Vanessa Aponte

Vanessa Aponte was our 2024 Melanie Kushnir Access to Justice Fellow. She volunteers at Ask-A-Lawyer and Community Law Day events and leads the Spanish Family Law Forms clinic. In her time at Legal Aid Center, she inspired countless attorneys to get involved in pro bono, understanding that every time an attorney took a case, a child was given a voice. She regularly attends events with a smile, eager to lend her skills to expand access to justice in our community!

Access to Justice Award

Claggett & Sykes Trial Lawyers

Claggett & Sykes Trial Lawyers is an extraordinary personal injury firm that has opened both their doors and hearts to pro bono service. When the pro bono team visited the firm, partners Will Sykes and Sean Claggett immediately stepped in. Their firm accepted nine new pro bono matters on the spot. Beyond their willingness to take on multiple pro bono matters, the firm's partners toured the Legal Aid Center and, after learning about our Advocacy & Justice Complex campaign, immediately pledged $250,000 to help bring the project to life. Believing more of the legal community needed to understand the critical work being done by Legal Aid Center, Sean Claggett organized tours and events to introduce lawyers to our mission. We are honored to award Claggett & Sykes Trial Lawyers the Access to Justice Award!

Rising Star Award

Maria Rios Landin

Once she obtained her law license just over a year ago, this attorney immediately began making pro bono a part of her life. In her brief time as a pro bono attorney, Maria represented Children's Attorneys Project clients, persons seeking immigration assistance, minors under guardianship, divorce matters, and custody matters. In addition to taking numerous cases, she is a regular volunteer in our Ask-A-Lawyer program. For her dedication to helping our most vulnerable clients, we present the Rising Star Pro Bono Award to Maria Rios Landin!

Ask-A-Lawyer Community Commitment Award

Marissa R. Temple

Marissa R. Temple has participated in our Ask-A-Lawyer program consistently since 2018 and has volunteered nearly every week since 2022. During 2025, she volunteered 124 hours in our Ask-A-Lawyer program. This year, she has participated in 41 Landlord/Tenant and Small Claims Ask-A-Lawyer sessions. In addition to being one of our most dedicated Ask-A-Lawyer supporters, she's taken on pro bono cases representing abused and neglected children and consumer fraud clients. This attorney is a valuable asset to our program—fierce in fighting to protect client rights and incredibly generous with her valuable time!

Louis Wiener Pro Bono Service Award

Corrine M. Price

For over 19 years, Corrine M. Price has served as a dedicated volunteer with Legal Aid Center, where her profound compassion and commitment to serving clients in need have been evident through her handling of 54 pro bono cases. Her practice focuses primarily on complex and sensitive family law matters involving severe domestic violence. She never backs down from giving a voice to survivors of domestic violence. Renowned for her steadfast reliability, she is consistently willing to take on new pro bono cases and is an active participant in the Partners in Pro Bono Program. As a respected member of the legal community, she is deeply invested in mentoring and preparing the next generation of attorneys. In addition to this award, Corinne also received our 2012 Louis Wiener Pro Bono Service Award and was our 2016 Attorney of the Year (which the photo above is from)! 

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