Partner Jolie-Anne S. Ansley of the San Francisco office and Christopher B. Yeh of the Los Angeles office were named Keta Taylor Colby Award recipients by the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area (LCCR).
The Colby Award recognizes pro bono attorneys who have provided outstanding representation to the poor and under-represented through the Second Chance Legal Clinic. The Second Chance Legal Clinic helps clients overcome barriers to employment and housing because of past arrest and conviction records. Jolie-Anne and Christopher represented a low-income client who was in a continuous cycle of poverty due to his suspended driver’s license. The client was unable to pay his parking ticket fines and fees, which led to his suspension. Because he did not have a valid driver’s license, he was unable to accept a job offer to pay for the fines. The attorneys used a little-known procedure offered by the San Francisco County courts which reinstated their client’s license while putting him on a monthly payment plan. Jolie-Anne and Christopher’s hard work removed a significant barrier to improve a client’s life opportunities.
Ansley focuses her practice on environmental, water and energy law, representing clients in both judicial and administrative proceedings. Yeh is a trial lawyer who focuses on complex businesses and intellectual property disputes. Congratulations to both attorneys for their determined pro bono efforts and for being the recipients of the 2016 Keta Taylor Colby Award.