Nashville law firm Bass, Berry & Sims receives national award for public service

Nashville law firm Bass, Berry & Sims received a national award from the American Bar Association recognizing its pro bono work.

The ABA's Business Law Section presented the 2024 National Public Service Award to Bass, Berry & Sims attorney and pro bono member David Esquivel at the association's business law spring meeting in Orlando on Friday, the law firm announced. The award honors the firm's legal work for clients who could not afford representation.

“Bass, Berry & Sims is honored to be recognized by the ABA with this award,” Esquivel said in a statement to The Tennessean. “I’m proud we are continuing the firm’s legacy of pro bono with work that makes a meaningful impact on individual lives and our communities, including work as diverse as challenging wrongful convictions, assisting refugees with asylum, and helping nonprofits expand their footprint to serve more individuals.”

The ABA's award committee said it was impressed with the firm's "enormous impact on the lives" of those receiving its pro bono services, the firm's news release said.

Bass, Berry & Sims logged more than 16,000 pro bono hours for individuals and community organizations in 2023, the firm said.

The firm helped the Tennessee Innocence Project overturn Wayne Burgess' murder conviction in May 2023 based on new scientific evidence that proved Burgess' innocence.

Bass, Berry & Sims also partnered with groups OUTMemphis, Knox Pride, inclusion tennessee and Bridgestone Americas to help more than 300 LGBTQ individuals officially change their name on state documents through the Name Change Project and successfully obtained asylum for 10 Afghans resettled in Tennessee through partnership with Vanderbilt University Law School’s Immigration Practice Clinic and Tennessee Justice for Our Neighbors.

Evan Mealins is the justice reporter for The Tennessean. Contact him at emealins@gannett.com or follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @EvanMealins.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Nashville law firm Bass, Berry & Sims earns ABA public service award