WilmerHale Honored With The 2008 NLADA Beacon of Justice Award
WilmerHale was selected specifically for two significant victories that the firm achieved in its pro bono representation of defendants on death row. In December 2006, the firm represented Vernon Evans, a Maryland death row inmate, when the Maryland Court of Appeals held that the procedures for implementing lethal injection were adopted without complying with the state’s Administrative Procedure Act and indefinitely postponed Vernon Evans’s death.
In August 2006, the firm obtained a victory for Virginia death-row client Darick Walker when the Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, reversing its own prior holding, permitted Walker to go forward with a Brady claim, finding that prosecutors had suppressed statements that would have undermined a key witness's trial testimony.
This is the second time that WilmerHale has been recognized for its pro bono work by the NLADA. In 2007, the firm received the Beacon of Justice Award for its pro bono representation and courageous work on behalf of the detainees at Guantanamo Bay, which continues today.
NLADA is one of the nation’s leading advocates for front-line attorneys and other equal justice professionals who make a difference in the lives of low-income clients and their families and communities. Click here to learn more.