Kenneth Babcock ‘81 to Receive ABA Dorsey Award

Kenneth Babcock '81 will receive the American Bar Association's Dorsey Award at the upcoming ABA Annual Meeting in San Francisco on August 5-10.  The award recognizes Babcock, who heads the Orange County-based Public Law Center, for his work on behalf of low-income Orange County residents.

Since taking over as executive director of the Public Law Center 10 years ago, Babcock has helped it to more than double staffing and dramatically increase services.  In 2009, the Center's 26 employees worked with close to 1,000 volunteer attorneys and law school students to assist low-income clients, offering an array of services in areas including bankruptcy, foreclosure, family law, and immigration.

Named for the late Charles H. Dorsey Jr., the longtime director of Maryland's Legal Aid Bureau, the Dorsey Award has been given out by the ABA since 1996 to acknowledge outstanding work by public defenders or legal aid lawyers.