November 20, 2015 - Lynda K. Russell was honored during the Friday, November 20, 2015 session of the 273rd District Court, Honorable Charles R. Mitchell, by Lone Star Legal Aid for her pro bono service with the 2015 Most Contested Pro Bono Cases Litigated Award. Russell was the first Shelby County attorney to be recognized when she received the Most Pro Bono Cases Litigated award in 2014.
Dana G. Bias, Private Attorney Involvement Coordinator with Lone Star Legal Aid said, "I'm pleased and proud to be here for the second year in a row to honor Mrs. Lynda K. Russell for her pro bono service. And she is going to receive an award today from Lone Star Legal Aid and Texas Supreme Court Justice Eva Guzman who is the court liaison to the Texas Access to Justice Commission. And not only does Lynda do a lot, a tremendous amount of pro bono work for us, but she also handles the hard cases, not just the easy cases. So, this year she is receiving the Most Contested Litigated Cases Handled Award."
Following presentation of the award and applause, Bias continued, "I just want to say if it were not for private attorneys like Lynda K. Russell who — because Lone Star Legal Aide can not possibly assist all of the low income individuals that come to us for legal assistance. So we depend on the private bar to assist us in our mission of helping low income Texans receive access to justice. If it were not for attorneys like Mrs. Russell, a lot more people would go unserved."
Russell expressed appreciation, "I couldn't do this without my staff I want you to know because they handle a lot of this. And they're here with me today, Sharla Foster and Brenda Windham, and trust me they are really the ones who deserve this, not me, because they handle so much of this for me." Russell also expressed appreciation to the judges who are patient with them with the pro bono cases.
"We have all kinds of interesting things that come up. But it just makes me feel good to help people because when somebody comes in and they say can you help me and they don't have money, I'll say, I can't help you unless you can get approved through Legal Aid and if they send you too me then I will help you. I always feel like that might be my cousin or my grandma, my mom, or somebody in my family that might need help and I would appreciate if somebody helped them. So that's why I probably do maybe more than I ought to but I can't help that because people are in need and I don't know, that is just my calling in life," said Russell.
Russell also recognized and gave appreciation to her family and friends who were in the courtroom: mother, Edrie Parsons; husband, Phil Hennigan; sister-in-law, Mary Ann Parsons; friends, Sammy and Barbara Dance.
Lone Star Legal Aid Pro Bono Awards recognize attorneys, law firms and community partners who donate their time and legal expertise to ensuring that all Shelby County residents have equal access to the courts. Lone Star Legal Aid (LSLA), a United Way Agency, acts as a safety net for at-risk Texans, providing free civil legal services to clients facing complex legal issues with no ability to afford a private attorney. Headquartered in Houston, LSLA operates an additional 12 regional offices which cover one-third of the state, including 72 counties in the Eastern and Gulf Coast regions of Texas. Lone Star Legal Aid's Nacogdoches office serves Anderson, Angelina, Cherokee, Houston, Jasper, Nacogdoches, Newton, Sabine, San Augustine, Shelby and Tyler counties.
