FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: November 19, 2003
Contact: Brian S. Logan 202-467-3750 ext. *856

McNEILLY NAMED WINNER OF SCOUTT PRIZE

The District of Columbia Bar Foundation has selected R. Scott McNeilly to receive the 2004 Jerrold Scoutt Prize. The prize is awarded annually to an attorney who has worked for a significant portion of his or her career at an organization that provides direct, hands-on legal services to the needy in the District of Columbia, has demonstrated a compassionate concern for his or her clients, and exhibited a high degree of skill on their behalf.

Mr. McNeilly is senior staff attorney at the Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless. He joined the Legal Clinic staff in 1994 after five years as a staff attorney at the Legal Aid Bureau in Baltimore, Maryland.

Mr. McNeilly is a leading expert on local and federal public benefits. In addition to his duties at the Legal Clinic providing direct representation to clients, he trains and supervises pro bono attorneys, and is a mentor to his colleagues throughout the legal and social services communities.

A noted speaker and collaborator, Mr. McNeilly drafted legislation that created the District’s Interim Disability Assistance Program (IDA) – a program that provides interim funding for low-income, disabled residents who await determination of federal SSI benefits. He continues to co-lead a citywide coalition of over 100 groups in support of this program and persists in the fight for annual funding.

Patty Mullahy Fugere, executive director of the Legal Clinic, says, “Scott is a truly extraordinary colleague who brings to his work an unswerving passion for all things just. He is incredibly patient and respectful of his clients, and is a trusted resource, upon whom many rely.”

Mr. McNeilly holds a B.A. in sociology and anthropology from Colgate University and received his J.D. from Northeastern University School of Law.

The Scoutt Prize honors Jerrold Scoutt Jr., a founding partner of Zuckert, Scoutt & Rasenberger LLP, for his longtime support of legal services. The prize carries a stipend of $2,500 and is endowed by the firm. The firm also makes a contribution to the foundation’s annual fundraising campaign for distribution to legal services providers.

The prize will be presented at the judicial reception concluding the 2004 Joint Judicial and Bar Conference on Friday, March 19, 2004, 6 p.m., at the International Trade Center, 1300 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW.

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The D.C. Bar Foundation was founded in 1977 to provide lawyers and law firms with an effective vehicle for fulfilling their ethical obligation to ensure that all residents of our community have access to competent legal representation by funding legal services for the underprivileged.

Each year, the foundation accepts applications from legal services providers, performs on-site reviews of all applicants, studies the financial needs of the projects, and analyzes the relative legal needs of the community to allocate its resources.

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