The Maine Justice Foundation presents three annual awards: the Howard H. Dana, Jr. Award, the New Lawyer Award, and the Downing Award. The background and criteria for the awards is as follows:
- Howard H. Dana, Jr. Award – Established by the Foundation in 1984 and named for Justice Howard H. Dana, Jr. in 1988, this award is presented as a means of recognizing an individual lawyer’s significant contributions to Maine bar projects that enhance access to civil legal assistance to Maine community members in need and for outstanding service in the advancement of the Foundation’s mission of ensuring access to justice for all.
- New Lawyer Award – Established by the Foundation in 2010, this award recognizes lawyers who have been in practice for fewer than ten years, exemplify the ideals of increasing access to justice, make outstanding and recognized pro bono services or other contributions to the legal profession and public good, and demonstrate a strong commitment to the mission of the Foundation.
- Downing Award – Created by the family of Tom Downing after his untimely death in November 1985, the Thomas P. Downing, Jr. Fund pays for an annual award to remember Tom and to recognize legal aid staff dedicated to access to justice for vulnerable and low-income Mainers. Tom Downing was one of the first attorneys to work at Pine Tree Legal Assistance after its inception. A long-standing process is in place to identify annual honorees. Representatives of Tom’s family and the Executive Directors of the six core legal aid organizations are involved.
We respectfully request nominations for the 2026 Howard H. Dana, Jr. Award and New Lawyer Awards.
Please submit the name of any attorney(s) you would like to nominate along with contact information and two to three paragraphs describing what makes your nominee deserving of the award.
Howard H. Dana, Jr. Award: Please describe how the nominee has made significant contributions to Maine bar projects that enhance access to civil legal assistance to Maine community members in need and for outstanding service in the advancement of the Maine Justice Foundation’s mission of ensuring access to justice for all.
New Lawyer Award: Please describe how the nominee has advanced access to justice or what outstanding pro bono work or other contributions they have made to the legal profession and the public good.
The deadline to submit nominations is November 20, 2026.
Please email your nomination to Linsey MacDougall, lmacdougall@justicemaine.org and Michelle Draeger, mdraeger@justicemaine.org