American Bar Association
The American Bar Association Death Penalty Representation Project paid tribute to the work of pro bono attorneys at its annual Volunteer Recognition & Awards Event Sept. 12 in Washington, D.C., honoring law firms Arnold & Porter and Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner with the Exceptional Service Award and attorney Cliff Sloan with the John Paul Stevens Guiding Hand of Counsel Award.
“Pro bono matters in death penalty cases,” ABA President Bill Bay said in recorded remarks. “You have made justice real.”
Sloan, a retired partner and dedicated pro bono death penalty lawyer from Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom who clerked for Justice John Paul Stevens years ago, continues to represent death-sentenced prisoners while teaching the next generation of pro bono lawyers and capital defenders at Georgetown Law School.
At Skadden, Sloan took on numerous pro bono matters, including twice achieving a victory at the U.S. Supreme Court in the landmark case Moore v. Texas. He also has made significant legal contributions by representing numerous amici, including the ABA, at the Supreme Court and other courts.
Sloan spoke glowingly of Stevens, saying, “On the death penalty, as on so many other issues, he was deeply principled, deeply thoughtful, deeply insightful and scathingly honest.”
Arnold & Porter, a national law firm with a longstanding commitment to pro bono capital representation, has a legacy of high-profile cases, such as Troy Anthony Davis, Zacarias Moussaoui, Roger Coleman, James Briley and Dennis Stockton. In 2011, Arnold & Porter received the ABA Death Penalty Representation Project’s Exceptional Service Award for the first time. Since then, the firm has continued to zealously advocate for capital defendants across the country. Within the last six years, Arnold & Porter has secured release for three of its capital clients.
Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner, a 150-year-old international law firm headquartered in St. Louis, has demonstrated an exceptional commitment to representing prisoners facing the death penalty. In Missouri, BCLP has partnered with the Midwest Innocence Project and federal defenders to represent Marcellus Williams, who remains on death row despite DNA evidence that proves his innocence.
Judge Elsa Alcala, a retired judge of the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, was the keynote speaker at the event. Alcala was a judge of the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, the highest court in Texas to hear appeals in death penalty cases, from 2011-18.
After graduating from the University of Texas School of Law, she worked as a prosecutor in Harris County for almost a decade. At the end of 2018, with 20 years of service on the judiciary, she made another career shift toward criminal defense to focus on justice reform advocacy. She has co-written bills and advocated for legislation to improve the justice system and also serves as a board member for the Innocence Project of Texas and the Anthony Graves Foundation.
Of her career journey that led her to be against capital punishment, Alcala said, “It took me a long time to get here. But I agree with you. There are many systemic problems that need to be addressed. I am firmly in the anti-death penalty court.”
(https://www.americanbar.org/news/abanews/aba-news-archives/ 2024/09/aba-dprp-honors-pro-bono-work/)
The American Bar Association Death Penalty Representation Project paid tribute to the work of pro bono attorneys at its annual Volunteer Recognition & Awards Event Sept. 12 in Washington, D.C., honoring law firms Arnold & Porter and Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner with the Exceptional Service Award and attorney Cliff Sloan with the John Paul Stevens Guiding Hand of Counsel Award.
“Pro bono matters in death penalty cases,” ABA President Bill Bay said in recorded remarks. “You have made justice real.”
Sloan, a retired partner and dedicated pro bono death penalty lawyer from Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom who clerked for Justice John Paul Stevens years ago, continues to represent death-sentenced prisoners while teaching the next generation of pro bono lawyers and capital defenders at Georgetown Law School.
At Skadden, Sloan took on numerous pro bono matters, including twice achieving a victory at the U.S. Supreme Court in the landmark case Moore v. Texas. He also has made significant legal contributions by representing numerous amici, including the ABA, at the Supreme Court and other courts.
Sloan spoke glowingly of Stevens, saying, “On the death penalty, as on so many other issues, he was deeply principled, deeply thoughtful, deeply insightful and scathingly honest.”
Arnold & Porter, a national law firm with a longstanding commitment to pro bono capital representation, has a legacy of high-profile cases, such as Troy Anthony Davis, Zacarias Moussaoui, Roger Coleman, James Briley and Dennis Stockton. In 2011, Arnold & Porter received the ABA Death Penalty Representation Project’s Exceptional Service Award for the first time. Since then, the firm has continued to zealously advocate for capital defendants across the country. Within the last six years, Arnold & Porter has secured release for three of its capital clients.
Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner, a 150-year-old international law firm headquartered in St. Louis, has demonstrated an exceptional commitment to representing prisoners facing the death penalty. In Missouri, BCLP has partnered with the Midwest Innocence Project and federal defenders to represent Marcellus Williams, who remains on death row despite DNA evidence that proves his innocence.
Judge Elsa Alcala, a retired judge of the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, was the keynote speaker at the event. Alcala was a judge of the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, the highest court in Texas to hear appeals in death penalty cases, from 2011-18.
After graduating from the University of Texas School of Law, she worked as a prosecutor in Harris County for almost a decade. At the end of 2018, with 20 years of service on the judiciary, she made another career shift toward criminal defense to focus on justice reform advocacy. She has co-written bills and advocated for legislation to improve the justice system and also serves as a board member for the Innocence Project of Texas and the Anthony Graves Foundation.
Of her career journey that led her to be against capital punishment, Alcala said, “It took me a long time to get here. But I agree with you. There are many systemic problems that need to be addressed. I am firmly in the anti-death penalty court.”
(https://www.americanbar.org/news/abanews/aba-news-archives/ 2024/09/aba-dprp-honors-pro-bono-work/)
