Susman Godfrey is pleased to announce that the American Bar Association’s Litigation Section will bestow its John Minor Wisdom Public Service and Professionalism Award on Neal Manne, co-Managing Partner of the firm. The ABA’s award, which will be given on May 7 at the organization’s national meeting, recognizes Manne for his decades of pro bono work on cases seeking equal justice under the law.
The award is named for Judge Wisdom, a renowned scholar who served as a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit for 42 years and was known for his devotion to the constitutional rights of all citizens. Each year, the ABA’s Litigation Section recognizes one lawyer nationally who has made outstanding contributions to the quality of justice through a commitment to disadvantaged, disenfranchised, or other under-represented individuals or groups.
In addition to his extremely active commercial litigation practice and his long-time management of Susman Godfrey, Manne devotes hundreds of hours annually to high impact pro bono cases. In the last few years alone, Manne has successfully challenged the constitutionality of the misdemeanor cash bail system in Harris County, Texas, won compensation for an exonerated death row inmate in the Texas Supreme Court, helped secure lifetime disbarment of another death row exoneree’s unethical prosecutor, helped defeat an attempt by the State of Texas to bar resettlement of Syrian refugees in Texas, and recovered insurance proceeds for Houston’s historic Alley Theater after it flooded during Hurricane Harvey. More details on Manne’s pro bono cases can be accessed here.
“Neal’s recent pro bono work has shined a spotlight on racial and economic justice issues of national importance: challenging the structural inequality in cash bail systems that jail poor people arrested for minor offenses, while releasing wealthier people on bail, and providing a further measure of justice to death row inmates released after wrongful convictions that were rooted in racism.”
Manne’s co-Managing Partner, Kalpana Srinivasan.
“Our firm has never been more active in pro bono cases that seek to advance civil rights and liberties. I am grateful to the ABA for recognizing this work, and to Susman Godfrey for its deep commitment to equal justice for all.”
Manne added.
A Managing Partner at Susman Godfrey since 2011, Manne represents plaintiffs and defendants in all types of litigation throughout the country. He is routinely recognized as one of the most successful litigators in America. He has been honored and recognized repeatedly for his pro bono leadership, including by the American College of Trial Lawyers, of which he is a Fellow.
