Farmworker Activist to Receive 2007 Morris Dees Justice Award
The 2007 Morris Dees Justice Award will be presented to Arthur N. Read, Esq., of Philadelphia. The award, sponsored by Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP and The University of Alabama School of Law, will be presented by Morris Dees on November 15, 2007 in New York.
New York, NY (PRWEB) November 15, 2007
Arthur N. Read, General Counsel for Friends of Farmworkers, Inc., a legal services provider in Philadelphia, will receive the 2007 Morris Dees Justice Award from Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP and The University of Alabama School of Law.
The award ceremony will be held at Skadden's offices in New York on November 15, 2007, at 5:30 p. m. Selection Committee Co-chairs Robert Sheehan, Executive Partner at Skadden, and Dean Kenneth Randall of The University of Alabama School of Law, will speak. Morris Dees will present the award, and Alabama blues legend, Willie King, will provide entertainment. The winner will receive an original sculpture created by Jillian Crochet, winner of the Dees Award Design Competition.
The Morris Dees Justice Award was created in 2006 by Skadden and The University of Alabama School of Law to honor Dees, an Alabama graduate, for his life-long devotion to public service. Last year's winner was U. S. District Judge William Wayne Justice.
The selection committee recognized Read for nearly 30 years of tireless, courageous, and effective representation of farmworkers and immigrants. Read was nominated by more than 20 organizations and individuals. As Pennsylvania Secretary of the Commonwealth Pedro A. Cortés noted in his supporting letter, "It is fitting that he be considered in the company of Morris Dees...In a like manner, Mr. Read has dedicated his career and life to providing a voice for the disadvantaged and advocating on behalf of the underprivileged."
Dees, a 1960 graduate of The University of Alabama School of Law, is the co-founder and chief trial counsel for the Southern Poverty Law Center in Montgomery, Alabama. The Center is internationally known for tracking hate groups and extremist activity, conducting tolerance training education and winning cases against white supremacists.
More information about the award is available at www. morrisdeesjusticeaward. com.
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