Bird, Marella Honored with State Bar of California President's Award for Pro Bono Work.

LOS ANGELES -- The Los Angeles law firm of Bird, Marella, Boxer, Wolpert, Nessim, Drooks & Lincenberg, which focuses on complex criminal and civil litigation, has been honored by the State Bar of California for the firm's commitment to providing free legal services to those in need.

Bird Marella received the 2004 State Bar President's Pro Bono Service Award for medium-sized law firms. Created in 1983, the award is presented each year to California attorneys and law firms credited with making significant contributions in pro bono legal services to those with little income, as well as to organizations that serve the poor.

Bird Marella won the award for its 2003-2004 work as pro bono co-counsel on two impact cases which helped win important legal victories for low-wage garment workers.

"These cases, which present novel legal theories, have been extremely challenging and resource intensive," said Julie A. Su, litigation director at the Asian Pacific American Legal Center (APALC), co-counsel on both cases. APALC nominated Bird Marella for the award.

Said Vincent J. Marella, a founding partner of Bird Marella, "It is exciting that our pro bono work has been recognized with one of the highest honors from the State Bar. But more important to all of us at Bird Marella, it is gratifying that we have been able to help win a significant legal victory that helps to achieve humane working conditions."

Bird Marella attorneys who worked on the cases include Mark Drooks, John McCoy and Ekwan Rhow.

Said co-founding partner Terry W. Bird, "Our commitment to pro bono work is an important part of our firm. The hard work of Bird Marella attorneys helped to establish legal precedent for our clients and people who find themselves in the same working conditions."

The President's Award recognized Bird Marella's work in the following cases:

--With APALC, Bird Marella represented workers who claimed they worked long hours, six days a week, while being routinely denied wages and breaks. The workers endured filthy, poorly lit, vermin-infested working conditions. Recently, the Ninth Circuit court handed down a landmark decision that reversed a lower court's dismissal of the case and opened the door to the workers' claims seeking retailer accountability for workplace violations.

--Also working with APALC, Bird Marella represented workers who claimed they had been cheated out of wages through record falsification, treated inhumanely and fired in retaliation for their complaints and blacklisted from the industry. Bird Marella attorneys negotiated a settlement with the retailer, and won a federal district court judgment of more than $1.4 million against the contract shop where the laborers worked.

--Bird Marella also co-counseled with Bet Tzedek Legal Services last year on the first case settlement in which a retailer has agreed to pay workers under a recently enacted state law that broadened the ability of garment workers to file claims for wage and hour violations.

Bird Marella, founded in 1981, currently has 21 attorneys in its Century City office and is widely regarded as one of the nation's most prominent white collar criminal defense and business litigation firms. The firm has received wide recognition for its excellence as well as its tradition of pro bono service. American Lawyer magazine names it "one of the nation's great specialty litigation firms," and recently, Chambers & Partners described the firm as a "fabulous litigation boutique."