Casa Cornelia Law Center is a provider of pro bono legal services to victims of human and civil rights
violations in Southern California. Since 1993 thousands of children, women, and men have turned to
Casa Cornelia for critical legal assistance and humanitarian protection. This year the La Mancha award
ceremony was held virtually and included updates by Executive Director Carmen M. Chavez, Esq. who
shared despite the challenges of this past year with the pandemic, Casa Cornelia has responded to 2,661
persons from 70 nations speaking 54 languages in the Asylum Program (1,181 requests for assistance);
Unaccompanied Children (1,000); and Victims of Crime (480). In addition Casa Cornelia had 522
volunteers who donated 24, 296 hours of service including 320 volunteer attorneys who donated 13,942
hours in screening, counseling, preparing materials and litigating on behalf of Casa Cornelia clients. The
Distinguished Pro Bono Attorney of the Year was Jeff Sheriff, Esq. of Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman
LLP. The Pro Bono Law Firm of the Year was Latham & Watkins LLP. There were 13 Pro Bono Publico Awardees representing nine different law firms. The evening’s celebration included sharing by some of the volunteer attorneys and client testimonies.
