Atlanta (February 3, 2020) – Morris, Manning & Martin, LLP has announced the winners of its 2019 volunteerism awards: the Wells-Graham Award for Outstanding Service and the Pro Bono Super Stars.
Matthew Sours, a partner in the firm’s Real Estate Development and Finance practice, has been selected as the honoree of this year’s Wells-Graham Award. It recognizes an individual who goes above and beyond to support the firm’s corporate social responsibility initiative – MMMPact – and the community.
Sours is an active volunteer and supporter of the Kyle Pease Foundation, which raises funds to improve the lives of people with disabilities, as well as CURE Childhood Cancer. He regularly serves lunch at the Aflac Cancer Center at Scottish Rite Hospital as part of his involvement with CURE. Sours also volunteers for numerous firm-sponsored events, such as Mercy Care and Service Juris, and chaired MMMPact’s Diversity Initiative for several years.
“This is an extremely well-deserved award,” said MMMPact Chair Christina Graham. “Since joining the firm 16 years ago, Matt has lead by example by going that extra mile to support charitable organizations that are close to his heart, but also those that MMMPact supports. He’s been involved with MMMPact from the beginning and is still very involved with MMMPact’s initiatives in addition to many other charitable causes.”
Sours said he is both pleased and humbled to receive the award. “MMMPact’s commitment to our communities has enabled me to become involved with several nonprofit organizations that help so many people. I feel like the rewards I’ve received – in the form of friendships that will last a lifetime – far outweigh any contribution I make.”
The leaders of MMMPact also announced its MMM Pro Bono Super Stars, who each dedicated more than 50 hours of free legal services in 2019 to people, families and nonprofit organizations who could not otherwise afford them. The 2019 honorees are:
Mark Block, Ward Bondurant, Sabahat Chaudhary, Rebecca Connolly, Elliott Coward, Alex Heaton, JD Howard, Maria Kachniarz, Josh Kirschner, Abby Larimer, Hillary Lukacs, Stephen McCullers, Lesley O’Neill, Dragan Plavsic, Bonnie Rothell, Ellenor Stone and Matthew Wochok.
“This year the firm has 17 Super Stars, approximately double last year’s number,” said Jeff Douglass, Chair of MMMPact’s Pro Bono Initiative. “Our attorneys provide their expertise in nearly every area of public interest law, including children’s rights, social entrepreneurship, community development, anti-human trafficking, homelessness, and veterans’ rights. It’s a testament to how the firm has increased its pro bono effort and our emphasis on serving all of our communities.”
As its 2020 MMMPact partner, Manning & Martin LLP has chosen Pro Bono Partnership of Atlanta (PBPA). This organization matches nonprofit organizations in need of pro bono legal services with experienced transactional attorneys, counseling them on a variety of business needs ranging from contracts to employment matters to intellectual property issues.
About Morris, Manning & Martin, LLP
Morris, Manning & Martin (www.mmmlaw.com) is an Am Law 200 law firm with national and international reach. We dedicate ourselves to the constant pursuit of our clients’ success. To provide our clients with optimal value, we combine market-leading legal services with a total understanding of their needs to maximize effectiveness, efficiency and opportunity. MMM enjoys national prominence for its real estate, corporate, litigation, technology, healthcare, intellectual property, energy & infrastructure, capital markets, environmental, international trade, and insurance practices. MMM has offices in and around Atlanta, Raleigh-Durham, Savannah and Washington, D.C.
Media Contact for MMM: Terri Thornton, (404) 932-4347, Terri@TerriThornton.com
