2023
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Pro bono civil rights advocacy fuels this prominent patent attorney
Education: JD, Boston University School of Law; BA, New York University Company Name: WilmerHale LLP Industry: Legal Company CEO: Robert Novick and Susan Murley, Co-Managing Partners Company Headquarters Location: Washington, DC and Boston, MA Number of Employees: Approximately 2,000 Your Location: Boston MA Words you live by: Just do it. Who is your personal hero? Thurgood Marshall! What book are you reading? The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander What was your first job? Front desk at a health club Favorite charity: ACLU
As a Black man and as a child of immigrant parents, I have always cared deeply about civil rights and social justice. It is that interest which initially attracted me to the law. I attended college in New York City in the late-90s, during the peak of the Giuliani “stop and frisk” years. While I was at NYU the city was shocked by the police shootings of Amadou Diallo and Patrick Dorismond, and the beating of Abner Louima. These awful events cemented my desire to contribute to the civil rights cause and apply to law school. Although my practice today is patent litigation, I chose my firm – WilmerHale – because of its commitment to pro bono work and issues of civil rights and social justice. That commitment has allowed me to pursue my passion while maintaining a thriving client-paying practice. In the past ten years, I have been involved in over a dozen important and high-profile pro bono matters aimed at advancing civil rights, equality, and criminal and social justice issues. Many of my advocacy efforts have come about through my connection to the American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts, where I serve on the Board of Directors and am currently Chair of the Foundation. I have been on the ACLU Board for 12 years and served as President of the Board for four years until 2018. I am active in the Black Law Students Association at Boston University Law and regularly return to campus to participate in panels and seminars regarding a host of issues, including diversity in the legal profession. As a lawyer, I’ve been able to help non-citizens avoid detention and deportation while they pursue legal status in the United States; help the ACLU identify racial bias in the Boston Police Department’s stop-and-frisk activities; and assist veterans with benefits appeals. At the same time, I help leading life sciences and technology companies in major disputes involving intellectual property and other commercial matters. A career in the law has enabled me to become the best professional I can be while also being able to actively contribute to the betterment of society and help people in a meaningful way.
Interests/Hobbies: Golf Family: Wife and two daughters (4th and 2nd grade)
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2023 Fourth Quarter
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AWARD
Kevin Prussia