Harry Levitt forwards a press release on the 21st Leon Jaworski Community Service Award to be conferred on Scott Atlas by the Houston Bar Association Auxiliary this coming March:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 7, 2007
Contact: Sandy Norris
713.827.0442; swnorris at comcast dot net
HOUSTON BAR ASSOCIATION AUXILIARY
ANNOUNCES WEIL, GOTSHAL & MANGES, LLP ATTORNEY SCOTT J. ATLAS
AS RECIPIENT OF 21st ANNUAL LEON JAWORSKI
COMMUNITY SERVICE AWARD
Award ceremony to take place at Houston Club on March 4, 2008
HOUSTON — The Houston Bar Association Auxiliary has selected Scott J. Atlas of Weil, Gotshal & Manges, LLP as the recipient of its 21st annual Leon Jaworski Community Service Award.
In 1988, the Houston Bar Association Auxiliary (HBAA) inaugurated the Award to honor lawyers for long-time community volunteer service. In recognizing the efforts of an outstanding lawyer each year, the HBAA honors all lawyers who help make the legal profession an abiding source of community good.
The award ceremony and luncheon will take place on Tuesday, March 4, 2008, at 11:30 a.m., at The Houston Club, 811 Rusk in downtown Houston. Individual tickets to the annual luncheon are $50 or $450 for a table for 10 people. Tickets may be obtained by calling Leon Jaworski Award chairperson Sandy Norris at 713.827.0442.
The keynote speaker for the luncheon will be Mr. Dave Daniels, Corporate Relations Manager of Houston Habitat for Humanity. Mayor Bill White will introduce Mr. Atlas and present him with a Mayoral Proclamation at the luncheon.
Mr. Atlas is a partner in the Litigation/Regulatory Department of Weil, Gotshal & Manges, LLP. In addition, he regularly serves on the board or advises a number of nonprofit organizations in connection with their legal affairs, including universities, arts organizations, social service agencies, and other charities.
Mr. Atlas graduated magna cum laude with a B.A. in Mathematics and Economics from Yale University in 1971. He graduated with honors in 1975 from the University of Texas School of Law, where he was selected Editor-in-Chief of the Texas Law Review. In first year moot court, he was on the winning team and selected as best speaker. He was elected to the Friars Society, the oldest honor society at the University of Texas.
In addition to leadership roles in various professional and bar associations, including chairing the American Bar Association’s 70,000-member Section of Litigation, Mr. Atlas has devoted many years to volunteerism and leadership in the Houston community. He is an Ex-officio Member of the Governor’s Criminal Justice Advisory Council, long-time pro bono General Counsel for The Alley Theatre, a Director of Alliance for Judicial Funding, an Executive Committee Member of The University of Texas Chancellor’s Council, and Regional Chair-Elect of the Anti-Defamation League. He served on the Executive Committee of the Cultural Arts Council of Houston and was the founding president of the Houston Shakespeare Festival Board.
He has received several awards for community service including the Karen Susman Jurisprudence Award presented by the Anti-Defamation League in 2002; the Distinguished Alumnus for Community Service awarded by The University of Texas School of Law Alumni Association in 2000; and the Leon Green Award presented by the Texas Law Review Association “for outstanding contribution to the legal profession” in 1997. He has also received numerous awards for pro bono service, including: the Civil Rights All-Stars Award presented by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission for “outstanding contributions in civil and human rights in Houston” (2005), the American Bar Association Pro Bono Award “for having contributed significant work toward developing innovative approaches to the delivery of voluntary legal services to the poor” (1986), and Laurie D. Zelon Pro Bono Award from the Pro Bono Institute “in recognition of his extraordinary and wide-ranging pro bono leadership” (2003).
He has been married for almost 25 years to Nancy F. Atlas, who is a federal district court judge. They have two adult sons.
The Leon Jaworski Community Service Award is named for Leon Jaworski (1905-1982), whose life and achievements reflected a deep commitment to public service.
Past recipients include Thomas D. Anderson; Tom Martin Davis; Herman P. Pressler; William C. Harvin; Gibson Gayle, Jr.; Gail Whitcomb; Sam W. Davis, Jr.; Wyatt H. Heard; Searcy Bracewell; Charles A. Saunders; Bruce La Boon; J. Kent Friedman; E. William Barnett; Daniel C. Arnold; Harry M. Reasoner; Neal Manne; Julius Glickman; Harry Gee, Sr., Charles Szalkowski, and Jonathan Day.
Each year, the HBAA solicits nominations from various arts, health care, service, social, religious and civic organizations in the Greater Houston area. A committee of community leaders considers each nomination and elects the recipient.
This year’s Selection Committee of community leaders included Curtis D. Mooney, Ph.D., President and CEO of Depelchin Children’s Center, as Chairman; Mrs. Sue Burnett, President of Burnett Staffing; Dr. Mary B. McIntire, Dean of Glasscock School of Continuing Studies at Rice University; Dr. David McKechnie, Interim Pastor of First Presbyterian Church; Dr. Tommy Thompson, Executive Vice President and COO of CanCare; W. Thomas Proctor, Houston Bar Association President; and Mrs. Jane Larkin, Houston Bar Association Auxiliary Representative.
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