Richards Layton Honored with Two Christopher White Distinguished Access to Justice Awards

September 27, 2019

Firm News

WILMINGTON, Delaware (September 27, 2019) – The Delaware State Bar Association has honored Richards, Layton & Finger with two Christopher W. White Distinguished Access to Justice Awards. The firm has been awarded the 2019 Access to Justice Leadership Award, which is presented to a legal organization that has demonstrated outstanding leadership in the field of pro bono service. An associate at Richards Layton, Jane Trueper, has received this year’s Access to Justice Achievement Award in recognition of her exemplary contribution to pro bono services.

“At Richards Layton, we understand the importance of giving back, and we are proud to receive these awards recognizing our deep commitment to pro bono service,” says Doneene K. Damon, president of the firm. “Through their pro bono efforts, our lawyers create deep roots in the community, experience the fulfillment that comes from doing meaningful work, and, most importantly, work together to improve the lives of others.”

Richards, Layton & Finger has a longstanding commitment to serving others. The firm’s robust pro bono program encourages attorneys to donate their time and talents to causes that are meaningful to them, by joining in-house pro bono teams dedicated to nonprofits, estate planning, federal civil rights cases, children in foster care, and other underserved populations in Delaware. The firm’s attorneys devote many hours to Delaware’s Office of the Child Advocate, serving as guardians ad litem for children involved in child welfare proceedings. Working with Delaware Volunteer Legal Services, the firm’s Protection from Abuse team provides free representation to victims of domestic violence who seek protection from abuse orders.

Ms. Trueper, who heads Richards Layton’s Protection from Abuse team, is recognized as a role model through her extraordinary commitment to pro bono service. She represents petitioners in protection from abuse hearings and children in foster care, and helps low-income individuals with wills, powers of attorney, and advance healthcare directives. Ms. Trueper is also involved with assisting nonprofits, including a local church and a nonprofit working to bring clean drinking water treatment units to schools and hospitals. She is also a member of the Richards Layton team that provides legal assistance to the nonprofit in charge of Eastside Rising, a project that is revitalizing the Eastside community of Wilmington through housing improvement, workforce development, and economic empowerment.

The Christopher W. White Distinguished Access to Justice Awards will be presented by the Delaware State Bar Association at a breakfast on Thursday, October 24, 2019 at 8 a.m. in the Christiana Ballroom at the Chase Center at the Riverfront.

About the Christopher W. White Distinguished Access to Justice Awards
The Access to Justice awards are given in the name of Christopher W. White, a long-time attorney with the Community Legal Aid Society of Delaware and member of the Delaware State Bar Association, who died in 2010 at the age of 48. Mr. White was widely known and respected for his advocacy on behalf of the poor, homeless, disabled, elderly, troubled, and down-trodden people of Delaware.

About Richards, Layton & Finger
Delaware’s largest law firm and one of its oldest, Richards, Layton & Finger helps sophisticated clients navigate complex issues and the intricacies of Delaware law. We advise global companies, business partnerships, leading financial institutions, local businesses, and individuals across a wide range of practices, including corporate law, alternative entities, commercial law, bankruptcy and restructuring, and litigation.