Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Presents Prestigious Adams Pro Bono Publico Award to Ann Milner for Pioneering Rosie’s Place Debt Clinic

L-R: Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Chief Justice Ralph D. Gants; Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Justice Geraldine S. Hines; Attorney Roger J. Reid; Attorney Bancroft "Bats" Wheeler; Attorney Carolyn Goodwin, Director for Public Service and Pro Bono at the Boston University School of Law accepting the award on behalf of 2016 Boston University Law School graduate Alexandra Tucker; Ropes & Gray private investment funds partner Ann Milner.

The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court’s prestigious Adams Pro Bono Publico Award has been presented to Ropes & Gray private investment funds partner Ann Milner, who has been instrumental in the development and implementation of a pioneering debt defense clinic for clients of Rosie’s Place. Rosie’s Place was founded in 1974 as the first women’s shelter in the United States, and it now provides support, housing and education services to 12,000 women each year.

Each week, a team of Ropes & Gray attorneys, paralegals and staff members travels to Rosie’s Place to help shelter guests cope with the financial, legal and emotional burdens that accompany the burden of debt. Since its start in 2015, the team has grown to more than 40 attorneys, four paralegals and several staff members from different Ropes & Gray departments who have committed to making a difference in the lives of more than 150 Rosie’s Place guests.

This is the second time in recent years that a Ropes & Gray attorney has been honored by the SJC with this award. A Ropes & Gray attorney won the Adams Award in 2013 for her work establishing Ropes & Gray’s medical-legal partnership with Dot House Health, a community health center in Dorchester. Ropes & Gray has committed to providing Dot House patients with legal services in five core areas – immigration, housing, family law, education, and income supports, and the program serves as a nationally recognized model for providing high-quality pro bono legal services that enhance the health and well-being of low-income families. That medical-legal partnership is in its eighth year and more than 400 lawyers from Ropes & Gray have provided pro bono services.

Law360 recently named Ropes & Gray a “Pro Bono Firm of the Year” for its work over the last year, which included tackling numerous challenging issues on behalf of the National Center for Lesbian Rights in the landmark marriage equality case at the U.S. Supreme Court, for a class of inmates at the New York City jails on Rikers Island, as well as for a Massachusetts man, George Perrot, who was released from prison after serving 30 years for a crime he didn’t commit.