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Bar association honors
Star-Bulletin staff
head of Volunteer Legal
Services for dedication
to community serviceJudy Sobin, executive director of Volunteer Legal Services Hawaii, was honored as Pro Bono Manager of the Year at a recent American Bar Association Equal Justice Conference in Houston.
Robert Grey, chairman of the ABA House of Delegates, cited Sobin's 25 years of community service, dedication to safety, opportunity for women and children and tenacious advocacy for justice and equality.
Nominating Sobin for the award were: Jo Kamae Byrne, president of the Volunteer Legal Services Hawaii (VLSH) board; Coralie Chun Matayoshi, Hawaii State Bar Association president; Dr. Linda Rosen, president, Keiki Injury Prevention Coalition; Lt. Gov. Mazie Hirono and Circuit Court Judge Elizabeth Hifo.
In 1993, VLSH (formerly Hawaii Lawyers Care) was a small pro bono program operating on a modest budget from offices in the YWCA, Byrne said.
"Today, we are in new, specially designed office spaces and our budget has significantly increased along with the scope and number of programs instituted since her (Sobin's) tenure," she said.
Hifo said VLSH, with no increase in core staff the past four years, "nearly tripled the number of people served, doubled its budget, began an endowment fund and expanded services to non-urban centers."
She said Sobin's ability to increase the budget "is particularly impressive because it has occurred during arduous economic times in Hawaii."
VLSH annually serves more than 15,000 people through its projects, including intake and referral to attorneys, community legal clinics, homeless legal and tax clinics, Na Keiki Law Center and Students and Advocates for Victims of Domestic Violence.
Sobin credited the organization's 800 attorney volunteers, staff, AmeriCorps volunteers, the community and clients "who all make pro bono legal services possible."
