FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Margaret E. Talmers, Executive Director MTalmers@womensbar.org
W. Lola Remy, Director of Pro Bono Programs LRemy@womensbar.org
Women’s Bar Foundation of Massachusetts (617) 973-6666
Women's Bar Foundation to Honor Catherine Summa and
Pamela Berman with its Nery J. Arrano Pro Bono Award
BOSTON – April 8, 2025 – The Women’s Bar Foundation (WBF) looks forward to hosting its signature fundraiser, Whoop it Up for Women! Comedy Night at the law firm of Goulston & Storrs, P.C. in Boston on May 15, 2025. This terrific evening of entertainment and laughter raises critical funds for the Women’s Bar Foundation.
The WBF will present two volunteer attorneys with the Nery J. Arrano Pro Bono Award for their outstanding service to WBF clients.
Catherine Summa of Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough, LLP will be recognized for her work representing low-income survivors of domestic abuse through the WBF's Family Law Project for Domestic Abuse Survivors.
Since November 2024, Catherine has represented 6 clients in 7 matters. Catherine has an open family law matter for one client and has represented 6 clients in 209A proceedings. Catherine is often among the first volunteers to respond to requests for representation. She has a knack for successfully advocating for multi-year orders, which is a tremendous relief for our clients who otherwise would have to return to court each year to renew their restraining orders.
Catherine Summa focuses her practice broadly on litigation and has assisted in matters related to commercial litigation, government investigations, insurance law, and labor and employment. Catherine served as a judicial intern to the Honorable Elspeth Cypher at the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts and the Honorable William Meade at the Appeals Court of Massachusetts. Prior to becoming an attorney, Catherine served as a Captain in the U.S. Army Reserve.
Pamela Berman of Conn Kavanaugh Rosenthal Peisch & Ford LLP will be honored for her work as a volunteer attorney with WBF’s Clemency Project. The Project represents elderly women serving long prison sentences on their petitions for commutation. Success on such a petition means an elderly woman is permitted to return to their community after serving decades of her prison sentence.
This representation can last years, and the clients are facing extraordinary odds as this relief to women serving long sentences has not been granted to any women in the Commonwealth in over two decades. Pam has represented a WBF client in a clemency matter since January 2022, also assisting the client with a discipline charge that arose unexpectedly in the case. She has donated over 1,000 pro bono hours.
Pam Berman has over 35 years of experience as a trial lawyer, specializing in complex commercial litigation and defending against government investigations. Pam understands the unique challenges her clients face and develops tailored strategies to help them achieve their legal and business objectives.
“The WBF is thrilled to honor the incredible dedication of our dynamic honorees. We celebrate their strong commitment to providing critical legal assistance to low-income survivors of domestic abuse and incarcerated women. Through their work, they promote the value of pro bono work to the legal community.” Io Cyrus, Women’s Bar Foundation President.
This year at our Whoop It Up for Women Comedy Night, the WBF is excited to feature comedian Loni Love! Loni is a two-time EMMY, two-time NAACP Image & three-time GRACIE award-winning host, comedian, actress, author, and philanthropist. She has interviewed a variety of influential people including former Vice President Kamala Harris, former First Lady Michelle Obama, Idris Elba, Melissa McCarthy and more. To read her full bio and watch her sizzle reel, visit https://www.wbfcomedy.org.
The generous Whoop It Up for Women! Comedy Night sponsors, numerous law firms and companies, as well as the proceeds from the live auction and raffle, help to raise nearly half of the WBF’s annual budget. These funds make possible the vital work of the WBF’s pro bono projects: the Family Law Project for Domestic Abuse Survivors, the Elder Law Project, the Women’s Prison and Re-Entry Project's interactive legal presentations to incarcerated women awaiting re-entry into society and its Clemency Project. These projects provide low-income individuals, primarily women and their families, with desperately needed legal assistance on critical legal issues.
To learn more and sponsor this exciting event, please visit https://www.wbfcomedy.org/.
About the Women’s Bar Foundation
Established as a 501(c)(3) organization in 1993 by the Women’s Bar Association, the WBF is dedicated to ensuring access to justice for low-income individuals, by creating a community dedicated to providing free legal assistance to those individuals and their families. The WBF recruits and trains volunteer attorneys to address legal issues that disproportionately affect low- income women and their children. To date, the WBF has served thousands of low-income domestic violence survivors, incarcerated women, and elderly women and men. For more information, please visit www.womensbar.org.