The BellSouth Corporation Legal Department, led by Executive Vice President and General Counsel Marc Gary, will receive the 2005 Laurie D. Zelon Pro Bono Award from the Pro Bono Institute at Georgetown University Law Center. The award will be presented on March 4 as part of the 2005 Pro Bono Seminar/In-House Corporate Pro Bono Forum in Washington, DC. 

“In BellSouth we see a corporation where an internal commitment to good corporate citizenship has empowered its departments -- the Legal  Department in particular -- to assume a leadership role in the larger community,” said PBI president Esther F. Lardent.

As an organization, BellSouth Corporation has received accolades for its policies that promote diversity as a competitive business advantage. The Legal Department, however, has taken its diversity initiatives beyond the organizational chart by organizing and hosting conferences for law firms and other corporate counsels. The result is the Diversity Statement of Principle, which is now supported by more than 500 chief legal officers, including the General Counsel of most Fortune 200 companies.

“What’s exceptional about this project is that BellSouth had the foresight to work with the leaders of large legal departments and law firms, persuading them to take a stand for diversity in their own work, and ensuring the commitment to diversity throughout their organizational cultures,” says PBI Corporate Pro Bono Project Director Nima Rowhani.

BellSouth’s attorneys have also made an impact on access to justice by leading efforts in Georgia to study the status of indigent defense in that state and to develop a strategic plan to reform the existing system. BellSouth’s leadership in this effort resulted in a comprehensive report and series of detailed recommendations for improvements that were incorporated into legislation enacted by the Georgia General Assembly and signed into law by Governor Sonny Perdue.

Most notably, the Legal Department has taken on a wide range of pro bono activities that have benefited families, children, and individuals in the communities in which its employees live and work. These projects include assisting grandparents in adopting the children in their care; advising low-income individuals and families on issues such as wills, bankruptcy, and consumer credit; representing immigrant victims of domestic violence, trafficking, and other violent crimes seeking safe refuge in the United States; aiding tenants in reclaiming improperly withheld security deposits from their landlords; representing truant children and their families, and; enacting durable powers of attorney for firefighters and police officers.

“BellSouth’s Legal Department has made an impact on justice on so many levels,” says Lardent, “The positive response we’ve received since we’ve announced this award demonstrates how inspiring their efforts are.”

The Laurie D. Zelon Award, named in honor of one of the founders of the Pro Bono Institute’s Law Firm Pro Bono Challenge, is presented each year to an individual or organization that has provided exemplary pro bono service. In awarding the Zelon Award to BellSouth’s Legal Department, PBI cited the organization’s noteworthy commitment to community, diversity, and access to justice, along with its leadership and partnership initiatives.

“I am honored to accept this award on behalf of the BellSouth Legal Department. At BellSouth, we have a long tradition of giving back to the communities in which we work and of promoting diversity as an important business initiative,” said Marc Gary, Executive Vice President and General Counsel for BellSouth Corporation. “I am proud to lead a Department that continues both traditions in so many important ways. I commend BellSouth’s attorneys, paralegals and support staff for committing their time and expertise to these endeavors, and I thank the Pro Bono Institute for recognizing our efforts.”  Gary also serves on the board of the Atlanta Volunteer Lawyers Foundation.

Established in 1996, PBI is a non-profit organization mandated to explore and identify new approaches to the poor and disadvantaged unable to secure legal assistance to address critical problems.  The Institute administers a number of projects designed to enhance access to justice, including: the Law Firm Pro Bono Project, the Corporate Pro Bono Project, and the Reinventing Pro Bono Project for public interest organizations.