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Pro Bono Award Given to Attorney Rivas at Law Day in Danbury

Attorney Lisa Rivas

Cramer & Anderson Attorney Lisa Rivas, an Associate in the firm’s Danbury office who focuses on Immigration Law, received the Pro Bono Award during Law Day in events in Danbury May 5 for providing free legal assistance and teaching citizenship classes to members of Connecticut’s immigrant community.

The annual Law Day, celebrated in Judicial Districts around the country, featured a morning ceremony at Danbury Superior Court in which the Liberty Bell Award and Pro Bono Award were given. A luncheon followed at Terra Restaurant at Hotel Zero Degrees, featuring a keynote address by Connecticut Attorney General George Jepsen.

As part of Law Day in Danbury, sponsored by the Greater Danbury Bar Association, third-grade students from King Street Elementary School were introduced to the workings of the judicial system, according a story in the News-Times.

Law Day was founded during the Cold War by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in response to military parades that took place in Moscow each May 1, Judge Dan Shaban told students, saying, “Eisenhower started Law Day to show that our strength was not in our military,” according to the News-Times’ story.

Cramer & Anderson Partner Dan Casagrande presented Attorney Rivas with the Pro Bono Award, lauding her for devoting countless nights and weekends during her four-year tenure with the firm to advising newcomers about their rights and obligations on the path to citizenship, as well as giving numerous presentations at local churches, schools, and nonprofit centers on immigration-related topics.

As a volunteer at the Hispanic Center of Greater Danbury for more than five years, Attorney Rivas teaches a citizenship course she made so popular it went from being offered once a year to four times annually. She teaches two of those four classes herself. Attorney Rivas also gives free talks on immigration issues that extend to benefits, drivers’ licenses and more.

To honor that volunteer work, the Hispanic Center of Greater Danbury gave Attorney Rivas the Above and Beyond Award at a Citizens Recognition Breakfast last June.

Attorney Lisa Rivas, second from right, after receiving her Above and Beyond Award from the Hispanic Center of Greater Danbury.

In 2016, Attorney Rivas also won a Connecticut Law Tribune New Leaders in the Law award for her advocacy on behalf of the immigrant community.

Partner Ken Taylor summed up the exceptional attributes demonstrated by Attorney Rivas in his nomination letter for the Connecticut Law Tribune award, which said in part:

Cramer & Anderson Associate Lisa Rivas stands out as a natural for a 2016 New Leaders in the Law award because of how she helps people navigate the sea of immigration complexities. From removal proceedings, asylum interviews and family petitions to employment petitions, National Visa Center processing and Consular processing, she deftly handles immigration-related issues for clients.

Attorney Rivas’ volunteerism, focused on helping the Latino community in Greater Danbury, doesn’t stop there. She is also a member of the executive board of the Latino Scholarship Fund, which last June awarded 10 scholarships totaling $28,000 to graduating high school seniors. Another round of scholarships will be awarded this June.

Attorney Rivas may be reached by phone in the Danbury office of Cramer & Anderson at 203-744-1234, or by email at lrivas@crameranderson.com.

For more information, see the Cramer & Anderson website or call the New Milford office at 860-355-2631. The firm also has offices in Litchfield, Kent and Washington Depot.

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