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O’Melveny’s David Lash is Recognized as 2016 UCLA Law Alumnus of the Year

Los Angeles -- May 4, 2016 -- O’Melveny’s David Lash was honored May 3, 2016, at the UCLA School of Law Alumni of the Year Award Luncheon at the Millennium Biltmore Hotel.

Lash, O’Melveny’s managing counsel for pro bono and public interest services and a 1980 graduate of UCLA Law, was recognized for his dedication to public and community service.

He helped formalize and expand the firm’s pro bono program, creating a firmwide infrastructure to support it. Under Lash’s leadership, O’Melveny’s pro bono program has received the American Bar Association’s prestigious Pro Bono Publico Award and has consistently been recognized as one of the top pro bono programs in the United States by numerous publications.

Lash, who said he was moved by the honor, noted that he came to admire O’Melveny’s longstanding commitment to pro bono work before joining the firm, when he was executive director at Bet Tzedek, the Los Angeles legal aid group, which relies heavily on pro bono lawyers from the city’s law firms.

“I became a true believer in how important pro bono work is for the clients, for our democracy and for the lawyers who participate,” Lash said. “The things that lawyers can do to help people living in poverty, and advance other important causes, can be quite profound.”

He added that he saw managing O’Melveny’s pro bono program as a great opportunity, describing it as a “chance to help ramp up and grow and nurture and inspire a program that was already very strong.”

About O’Melveny

O’Melveny’s clients shape markets, set precedents, and break boundaries. They are stalwarts and innovators, the names you trust and the next big thing. And for more than a century, O’Melveny has been right beside them, kicking down walls and putting up defenses to help our clients achieve their most important goals. With approximately 700 lawyers in 15 offices worldwide guided by the principles of excellence, leadership, and citizenship, we uphold a tradition of treating our clients’ challenges and opportunities as our own. What do you want to achieve? For the answers, please visit www.omm.com.

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