Lebanon attorney Patrick T. Hayes has been named the honoree of the 2006 L. Jonathan Ross  Award for Outstanding Legal Services to the Poor. He will receive the award at the Midyear Meeting Honors & Awards luncheon on Thursday, Feb. 16 at the Radisson Hotel/Center of New Hampshire, Manchester.

From the frontlines of Pro Bono volunteering to leadership roles as a former NHBA President (1997-98), Hayes has been a stalwart supporter of the Bar Association’s legal services programs.

His participation has included longtime service as a member of the NHBA Delivery of Legal Services Committee in the 1990s, which he chaired for a number of years., and involvement in the comprehensive legal services planning effort undertaken 10 years ago.

Hayes also has been a mainstay for the Pro Bono Program’s DOVE Project in the Upper Valley since its inception. Pat’s passion for justice is evident in his spirit of volunteerism and his fun-loving nature was apparent while posing in an “Uncle Sam” costume during a recruitment effort to expand the panel of attorneys for DOVE.

An advocate with WISE, an Upper Valley domestic violence prevention group, boasts “[Pat] is there for us at a moment’s notice; when I think of Pat, I think of his generosity to WISE.  He really understands the complexities of domestic violence and we depend on him for some of our toughest cases.”

“He is always willing to help Pro Bono—challenging issues and clients never faze him,” said Carolann Wooding, the NHBA Pro Bono coordinator.