Pro Bono Work Earns Sheldon Tepler Katahdin Award

Pro bono work is very much ingrained at the law firm of Hardy, Wolf and Downing, where attorney Sheldon Tepler has once again received Maine’s Katahdin Award for his free services to help low income residents in need of civil representation.

Created by the Maine Supreme Judicial Court, the Katahdin Award has two main goals. The award honors the pro bono work of Maine’s attorneys, who are among the nation’s most generous in terms of donating their skills and time to help those who cannot afford legal counsel. The award also strives to encourage more attorneys to help to meet their community’s unmet legal needs.

Katahdin Award honors pro bono work

This year, the Katahdin Counsel Recognition Program bestowed its award on 138 attorneys who donated at least 50 hours or more per year of pro bono work. Sheldon Tepler’s commitment to serving the public good is exemplary of the overriding ethos at Hardy, Wolf and Downing. Many of our attorneys offer legal counsel on a pro bono basis throughout their careers, whether through community service initiatives, advocating on behalf of educational organizations, or representing personal injury victims with limited means.

In the case of Tepler, his journey in pro bono work began with a simple phone call to Legal Aid. Every second Wednesday, he represent tenants getting evicted, ensuring their legal rights are preserved at every turn.

Maine personal injury lawyers support the community

A partner at Hardy, Wolf and Downing since 1986, Sheldon Tepler earned his master’s degree at Columbia University and graduated from the University of Pennsylvania Law School. Tepler has been honored both by the Maine Bar Association and civic groups, and has successfully litigated hundreds of personal injury cases in the Lewiston and Portland area.

In addition to protecting the rights of disadvantaged individuals, pro bono services at Hardy, Wolf and Downing are viewed as an instrumental way to give back to the community and to help further the pursuit of justice in Maine.

Partner attorney Michael Welch devotes countless hours on various boards including Advocates for Children – the local council which helps prevent child abuse and neglect. Hardy, Wolf and Downing proudly sponsors the annual AFC Holiday Festival, with all proceeds benefiting local families and children. Welch is also a member of the Leadership Counsel for Wayfinder Schools, which helps students at risk of not completing traditional high school, and offers a home-based Passages program for teenage parents.

A graduate of Northeastern University School of Law, Michael Welch has a strong passion for workers compensation law and finding strategies that can financially benefit clients who’ve been injured in car accidents, falls and construction sites due to safety issues. 

Hardy, Wolf and Downing are Maine injury lawyers who are passionate about the diverse community in which we live and work. For more than 35 years, we’ve shown our dedication, legal expertise and compassion, whether through pro bono work, the boards we serve on, or the more than $100 million in damages procured on behalf of our clients.