On October 21, 2020, the AIDS Legal Referral Panel (ALRP) held its “From the Heart” 37th Annual Reception & Auction as a virtual celebration to honor Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati as 2020 Firm of the Year, as well as Michael J. Steel (2020 Clint Hockenberry Leadership Award) and James A. Dal Bon (2020 Attorney of the Year Award). Hillary Ronen, member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors representing Supervisorial District 9, served as guest host, and remarks were given by ALRP Executive Director Bill Hirsh.
Wilson Sonsini partner and ALRP board co-chair Scott Zimmermann accepted the award on behalf of the firm. To view the award presentation by Hillary Ronen and Scott’s acceptance, please see the event recording here.
Founded in 1983, ALRP is a public interest firm that has long provided top quality pro bono legal services to people living with HIV/AIDS in the San Francisco Bay Area. Wilson Sonsini has provided pro bono legal services to referrals from ALRP in various matters, including primarily asylum cases in recent years. Among those, the firm recently overcame the statutory one-year bar to obtain asylum for a transgender woman from Thailand, successfully arguing that the extraordinary circumstances of the case warranted asylum. ALRP and Wilson Sonsini also have collaborated to host educational sessions for pro bono attorneys.