VBF’s Own Judith Dickson Honored with VBA Pro Bono Award
Attorney Judith Dickson, a long-time volunteer with the Vermont Bar Foundation, was honored on March 15th as one of three recipients of the VT Bar Association‘s Pro Bono Service Award.
Dickson served on the Bar Foundation’s board from 2001 through 2007, on the VBF Grants Committee from 2008 to 2012, and is currently chairing the VBF’s LRAP Committee on which she has served since 2007. She was the driving force behind the creation of the Loan Repayment Assistance Program which provides assistance to help pay down law school debt for attorneys entering public service employment.
A former Vermont Legal Aid attorney and head of the Disability Law Project, Dickson retired from VLA in 1999. She started volunteering at the Vermont Refugee Resettlement Project one day a month, but gradually expanded to 2 days a week, helping refugees apply for green cards and petitioning for relocation of their family members to the US.
The two other attorneys receiving this year’s Pro Bono Service award also have ties to the Bar Foundation. Kate Kennedy had worked for Have Justice-Will Travel, a recipient of VBF grants, before starting her own solo practice in Randolph. Kate now takes cases for the Windsor-Orange Legal Assistance Project, a low bono project funded by the VBF. Peter Lawrence of Bennington helped train low bono lawyers for the Bennington County Legal Assistance Project, also funded by the VBF. He also represents BCLAP clients.
