The Samuel T. Gomez Award is presented annually by the Philadelphia Bar Foundation and the Asian Pacific American Bar Association of Pennsylvania to a law student who embodies, through his or her community service, Mr. Gomez’s commitment and compassion for the underserved. This award is designed to encourage and recognize outstanding and exemplary community service among law students, regardless of ethnicity, as evidenced by:

• Active participation in a legal services program;
• Advocacy on an individual and/or class action basis seeking equal access to medical care, housing, employment, and public assistance, or consumer issues, utility issues and INS issues;
• Advocacy on behalf of battered spouses and other victims of violence, and advocacy on behalf of the disabled and patients’ rights.

Because Mr. Gomez taught at the University of Pennsylvania Law School and graduated from the Temple University School of Law, the award alternates between these two schools. The award is presented at the annual dinner of the Asian Pacific American Bar Association of Pennsylvania, in which Mr. Gomez was an active member and through which he was an advocate for community service.

Sooyong Kwon is a second-year law student at the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School. As a Toll Public Interest Fellow, he plans to spend his career ensuring that everyone has adequate support systems to help them achieve their full potential. Before law school, Sooyong worked as a consultant at Yale’s Office of Strategic Analysis, an internal group that helps university administrators tackle complex and challenging problems. He holds his B.A. in Ethics, Politics and Economics from Yale University. At the law school, Sooyong serves as a Public Service Co-Chair for APALSA and a Co-Director for the Penn Law Immigrant Rights Project. He is currently externing with the ACLU-PA in the Immigrants’ Rights team.

Past Recipients

About Samuel T. Gomez, Esq.

This Award was established in memory of Samuel T. Gomez, Esq., a Philadelphia attorney whose life was dedicated to serving the underprivileged, disenfranchise

d and abused. Mr. Gomez spent his professional career at Community Legal Services. He was actively involved in his community, working with such organizations as Asian Americans United, the American Civil Liberties Union, the Mayor’s Commission on Asian Pacific Affairs, and the AIDS Activities Coordinating Office. He lectured in immigration law at the University of Pennsylvania Law School, and worked closely with students in the clinical program.

Above all, Mr. Gomez was a courageous, compassionate and caring person.

Donations to the Samuel T. Gomez Memorial Fund may be sent to:

Philadelphia Bar Foundation
Samuel T. Gomez Memorial Fund
1101 Market Street, 11th Floor
Philadelphia, PA 19107

For more information, please contact Jessica R. Hilburn-Holmes, Esq.