NLADA Announces Winners of the 2016 Kutak-Dodds Prizes

	Jane Perkins		Lisa Greenman

Washington, D.C. - The National Legal Aid & Defender Association (NLADA) is very pleased to announce that Jane Perkins, Legal Director at the National Health Law Program, and Lisa Greenman, Attorney for the Federal Death Penalty Resource Counsel Project, will receive the 2016 Kutak-Dodds Prizes.

The Kutak-Dodds prizes recognize extraordinary contributions to advancing access to justice in both civil legal aid and public defense. Perkins is this year’s recipient from the civil community, and Greenman receives the award for achievements in the public defense arena. Both winners will be honored at the NLADA Exemplar Award Dinner on Thursday, September 29, 2016, at the Omni Shoreham Hotel in Washington, D.C.

At the Exemplar Award Dinner, Eric Holder, Partner at Covington & Burling LLP and former U.S. Attorney General, will be honored with the Justice John Paul Stevens Lifetime Achievement Award and Louise Pentland, Chief Legal Officer and Company Secretary of PayPal Holdings, Inc., will be honored with the 2016 Exemplar Award.  

“I am thrilled that Jane Perkins and Lisa Greenman have been selected as the 2016 Kutak-Dodds Prize winners,” said Jo-Ann Wallace, NLADA President & CEO. “The intersection of health care and law is often overlooked and the impactful work of Lisa Greenman and Jane Perkins deserves to be spotlighted.”

Perkins, who has worked at the National Health Law Program for more than 30 years, is being recognized for engaging in litigation and advocacy on behalf of low-income people, people with disabilities, and children in all 50 states. In addition to her work at NHeLP, Perkins is a Senior Attorney with the Southeast Region of the Network for Public Health Law.

Greenman, an Attorney with the Federal Death Penalty Resource Counsel Project, is being honored for her advocacy for people with autism, intellectual disability, and other mental health issues who face serious criminal charges, including the death penalty.

“This year’s nominees showed us that our legal field is teeming with lawyers tenacious about justice, advocacy, and maintaining a fair and just legal system,” added Wallace. “As we listen to newscasts and read headlines, we are reminded daily of the importance of our legal system, but so many of us often forget about the real people that help to make it work.” 

Since 1989, the Kutak-Dodds Prizes have been awarded to attorneys who have significantly contributed to the human dignity and quality of life of individuals unable to afford legal representation. The prizes are jointly sponsored by The Robert J. Kutak Foundation and NLADA in memory of Robert J. Kutak and Kenneth R. Dodds.  Each Prize carries a cash award of $10,000.

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The Kutak-Dodds Prizes, established in 1989, are jointly sponsored by the Robert J. Kutak Foundation and NLADA and bestowed in memory of Robert J. Kutak and Kenneth R. Dodds. Both men were former partners in the Omaha, Nebraska Office of Kutak Rock LLP, and practitioners and advocates of public service, legal education and high ethical standards throughout their lives. In addition to legal services for the poor, the Kutak Foundation supports education in professional ethics, minority scholarships and a variety of other public interest projects. The Foundation is maintained by Mr. Kutak’s former friends and associates.

The National Legal Aid & Defender Association, founded in 1911, is America’s oldest and largest nonprofit association devoted to excellence in the delivery of legal services to those who cannot afford counsel.  NLADA has pioneered access to justice at the national, state and local levels through the creation of our public defender systems and other important institutions from The Sentencing Project to the Legal Services Corporation. A leader in the development of national standards for legal aid and indigent defense, NLADA also provides advocacy, training and technical assistance for equal justice advocates across the country.