Lindsay C. Harrison, D.C. Law Associate, is First Recipient of ABA Award Recognizing Young Lawyer Professionalism

CHICAGO, June 18, 2010—Lindsay C. Harrison, an associate in the District of Columbia office of national law firm Jenner & Block LLP, is the first recipient of the American Bar Association Rosner and Rosner Young Lawyers Professionalism Award.

Harrison’s selection recognizes her commitment, professionalism and effectiveness in volunteer legal work, including representing Jean Marc Nken, a Cameroonian immigrant contesting denial of asylum and a deportation order, that resulted in her making her very first oral court argument in an emergency appeal before the Supreme Court of the United States.  She prevailed in April 2009, winning a temporary stay of Nken’s deportation, and she continues to represent Nken in subsequent proceedings before the Board of Immigration Appeals and in settlement negotiations with the federal government.

The award will be presented Aug. 6 during the 2010 ABA Annual Meeting in San Francisco.

“Lindsay Harrison exemplifies the highest ideals of the legal profession in her dedication to lawyer professionalism and client protection,” said Donald B. Hilliker of Chicago, chair of the Coordinating Council for the ABA Center for Professional Responsibility.  The ABA award is jointly administered by the center and by the Young Lawyers Division.

“Many of us who have practiced law over decades would be challenged at the prospect of briefing a Supreme Court case and preparing to argue it within eight weeks.  Not only was she successful in upholding the rights of her client, but she also established law that is incredibly important for tens of thousands of immigrants fleeing their home countries to escape persecution based on their race, religion, nationality, politics or other factors,” Hilliker said.

“There could have been no finer choice for the inaugural presentation of this award,” said Seth Rosner of Saratoga Springs, N.Y., an active member of the center for many years.  The award is supported by the Rosner and Rosner Justice Fund, named by donor Seth Rosner in honor and in memory of his partners, Oscar S. Rosner, his father, and Jonathan L. Rosner, his brother. The award honors young lawyer commitment to legal and judicial ethics, lawyer professionalism, client protection and professional regulation.

Rosner noted the award honors service to the legal profession and to the public, and said “Harrison represented Nken as a volunteer, and in addition to representing other clients on a volunteer basis, she is active with the Young Professionals Leadership Board of the National Association for Urban Debate Leagues, is a volunteer mentor for the Point Foundation, and is engaged in other philanthropic and public service endeavors,” he said

Since 1978, the ABA Center for Professional Responsibility has provided national leadership and vision in developing and interpreting standards and scholarly resources in legal ethics, professional regulation, professionalism and client protection mechanisms.

With nearly 400,000 members, the American Bar Association is the largest voluntary professional membership organization in the world.  As the national voice of the legal profession, the ABA works to improve the administration of justice, promotes programs that assist lawyers and judges in their work, accredits law schools, provides continuing legal education, and works to build public understanding around the world of the importance of the rule of law.

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