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Adams and Reese LLP New Orleans Partners Martin A. Stern, Ronald J. Sholes and Jeffrey E. Richardson received a Good Apple Award from Louisiana Appleseed at the non-profit organization’s seventh annual Good Apple Gala, which took place Jan. 21 at the National World War II Museum’s Stage Door Canteen in New Orleans.

Stern, Richardson and Sholes were honored together with retired Louisiana Supreme Court Justice Harry T. Lemmon for their research and advocacy to encourage the Supreme Court of Louisiana to create a court rule allowing continuing legal education (CLE) credit for attorneys who perform pro bono work to help indigent clients.

The new rule – which became effective on May 1st, 2015 – enables every attorney who performs pro bono work to receive up to three CLE hours each calendar year. Attorneys who provide pro bono legal representation may receive one hour of CLE credit for every five hours of pro bono representation, up to a maximum of three credit hours per year. Louisiana is now one of 11 states in which attorneys can receive CLE credit for performing pro bono work, according to the American Bar Association.

Stern, Richardson, Sholes and Lemmon were honored alongside three additional Good Apple Award recipients.

As part of the national Appleseed network, Louisiana Appleseed recruits professionals to donate pro bono time to solve problems at their root cause. The organization’s goal is to advance social justice by effecting change at the policy, or systemic, level. Since 2007, Louisiana Appleseed has engaged more than 200 volunteers who have donated more than $1.5 million worth of pro bono time.

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