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To Recognize and Celebrate Barnes & Thornburg LLP as the 2025 Recipient of the Legal Aid of Southeast and Central Ohio’s Exceptional Service by a Law Firm or Corporation Award
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WHEREAS, Barnes & Thornburg LLP is the 2025 recipient of the Legal Aid of Southeast and Central Ohio’s Exceptional Service by a Law Firm or Corporation Award; and
WHEREAS, Barnes & Thornburg’s Columbus office is a shining example of how legal professionals can use their skills to uplift communities with pro bono legal services; and
WHEREAS, Early experiences in volunteering and exposure to legal systems laid the foundation for their careers. Internships, college service projects, and transformative moments beyond their hometowns inspired the team to pursue law and use it as a tool for equity; and
WHEREAS, As a firm, they have stepped up for years to handle various requests from Legal Aid’s rural service area, where local attorney numbers are declining and more recently have taken on family law needs for low-income families. Volunteering through LASCO has not only strengthened the firm’s connections with the central Ohio community but also deepened the team’s understanding of the legal system-its strengths, its gaps, and its human impact.; and
WHEREAS, Through the firm’s decision to attend LASCO expungement clinics as their annual “Day of Service,” Barnes & Thornburg helps clients remove barriers to employment and housing-offering hope and opportunity; and
WHEREAS, Legal Aid of Southeast and Central Ohio, in conjunction with the Ohio Poverty Law Center, is committed to searching out the patterns, causes of, and solutions to the repetitive and fundamental legal problems facing low-income Ohioans and pursuing the legal recourse needed to address those problems; and
WHEREAS, Legal Aid of Southeast and Central Ohio is comprised of advocates who are passionate about providing legal services to low-income individuals, and it is an honor and a privilege to work with an organization that is committed to making the daily lives of Columbus residents better - a fact exemplified by the service of people such as Barnes & Thornburg LLP; now, therefore
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF COLUMBUS: That this Council recognizes and celebrates Barnes & Thornburg LLP as the 2025 Recipient of the Legal Aid of Southeast and Central Ohio’s Exceptional Service by a Law Firm or Corporation Award.