BUFFALO, N.Y. — Ryan L. Everhart, Esq., an attorney in Hodgson Russ LLP's Labor & Employment Practice Group, received the Guardianship Volunteer Award from the Erie County Volunteer Lawyers Project at the organization's 12th annual volunteer recognition reception, November 30.

The award recognized a pro bono project developed by Mr. Everhart and others at the Firm, including paralegals Linda Mahoney, Lorraine Lubecki, Linda Pratt, and Susan Baumler. The project enables families to obtain guardianship rights for relatives with mental retardation and/or developmental disabilities when they reach the majority age of 18.

Mr. Everhart practices in the area of education law and provides legal representation and consultation to a number of school districts across Western New York. He focuses his practice on special education and developmental disabilities law. Mr. Everhart frequently speaks on the Americans with Disabilities Act, Medicaid, and Social Security law.

The Volunteer Lawyers Project is a program created by Neighborhood Legal Services and the Bar Association of Erie County. The organization recruits, trains, and coordinates the work of over 800 volunteer attorneys who represent low-income people for free in areas such as family law cases, unemployment insurance, tax and mortgage foreclosures, legal documents for the elderly and terminally ill, and more.

With approximately 200 attorneys practicing in all major areas of law, Hodgson Russ is the 205th largest law firm headquartered in the United States, as reported by the National Law Journal. It is one of approximately 100 firms in the country listed in America's Greatest Places to Work With a Law Degree. In addition, Hodgson Russ was recently named one of the country's most admired employers by American Employer Digest. The Firm, which was established in 1817 and is among the oldest law firms in the U.S., is the only law firm that can count two former U.S. presidents, Millard Fillmore and Grover Cleveland, among its alumni. The eight offices of Hodgson Russ are located in Albany, Buffalo, JFK International Airport, Johnstown, and New York City, New York; Boca Raton and Palm Beach Gardens, Florida; and Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

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