Lawrence Bar Association President Carol-Ann Fraser announced that the 2011 Lawrence Bar Association Leadership award will be presented to Sheila C. Casey at the LBA Spring Dinner on April 7. The Leadership award is presented to an attorney who best exemplifies the ideals of the legal profession.

Attorney Casey is the Executive Director of Neighborhood Legal Services, which provides free civil legal services to low income residents of Northeastern Massachusetts. She has been active in the Bar Association since returning to her hometown of Lawrence in 1998. She returned as a staff attorney at Neighborhood Legal Services and became its Executive Director in 2006. Attorney Casey was on the Executive Committee of the LBA since, and was elected its President in 2007.

President Fraser said that it was an easy choice this year. “Sheila has been and continues to be an inspiration to so many of us. Her work with and for the indigent reflects the highest ideals of the legal profession.” When notified of the award, the highest honor the Lawrence Bar Association can award an attorney, Ms. Casey said: “ I am overwhelmed by this honor. I have dedicated my life to helping those in need who have nowhere else to turn. In these hard economic times it is inspiring to see that the Lawrence Bar Association recognizes the needs of so many low income residents and publicizes the good work that so many attorneys do.”