Bass, Berry & Sims attorney and pro bono coordinator Lucinda Smith was named the 2024 recipient of the Janice M. Holder Award bestowed annually by the Tennessee Alliance for Legal Services. This award recognizes a legal professional who has made a significant contribution to advance the quality of justice statewide.
Lucinda was recognized for her work to ensure the legal system is open and available to all Tennesseans by expanding pro bono. During 17 years as director of pro bono programs at Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee and the Cumberlands, Lucinda built up the Nashville Pro Bono Program to provide help in up to 2,500 cases annually and she supervised the expansion of the pro bono program from Davidson County to the organization’s 48-county Volunteer Lawyer Program. Lucinda joined Bass, Berry & Sims in 2019 to work alongside Pro Bono Member David Esquivel to strengthen the firm’s pro bono program. Under their leadership, the firm has increased pro bono hours to more than 40,000 since 2022.
The award is named for retired Tennessee Supreme Court Justice Janice M. Holder who served as the first female chief justice of the Tennessee Supreme Court at the time the court established its Access to Justice Initiative and created the Access to Justice Commission. Read more about the Access to Justice Awards on the Tennessee Alliance for Legal Services website.
