Honor Susan R. Horn

Senate Resolution No. 212 BY: Senator DEFRANCISCO HONORING Susan R. Horn upon the occasion of her designation as the recipient of the 2016 Distinguished Lawyer Award by the Onondaga County Bar Association WHEREAS, It is the sense of this Legislative Body to recognize those esteemed individuals within our midst whose professional lives, personal endeavors and dedicated community service are an example and inspiration to their colleagues, friends, and family; and WHEREAS, Attendant to such concern, and fully in accord with its long-standing traditions, this Legislative Body is justly proud to honor Susan R. Horn upon the occasion of her designation as the recipient of the 2016 Distinguished Lawyer Award by the Onondaga County Bar Association celebrated at its 141st Annual Dinner on October 27, 2016 in the Grand Ballroom at the Marriott Syracuse Downtown; and WHEREAS, The Onondaga County Bar Association has been honoring local attorneys for distinguished service to the profession since 1968; in order to qualify for the Distinguished Lawyer Award, an individual must have devoted a full-time professional career to the law, must possess exceptional skills as a lawyer, must display a devotion or dedication to the profession as evidenced by participation in projects and activities, and must possess ethics beyond reproach; and WHEREAS, After graduating from Brooklyn College of the City University of New York in 1971, Susan R. Horn earned her Juris Doctor from Syracuse University College of Law in 1974; as a law student, she helped found the Prisoners' Rights' Project, worked on the Attica Brothers Legal Defense and was a member of the Women's Law Caucus; and WHEREAS, Susan R. Horn began her professional legal career as a Staff Attorney with Onondaga Neighborhood Legal Services (now Legal Services of Central New York); later she was a partner in the law firms of Horn, Finkelstein & Pezzulo and Heath and Horn & Rosenthal, where she practiced criminal, civil, and family law; and WHEREAS, While in private practice, Susan R. Horn provided pro bono work for protesters at the Seneca Women's Peace Encampment, prisoners' rights cases and political asylum cases for Haitian refugees; and WHEREAS, Dedicated to her profession, Susan R. Horn served on both the Boards of the Onondaga County Bar Association and the Onondaga Citizens League, and was a member of the Syracuse Community Development Advisory Committee; and WHEREAS, Since 1990, Susan R. Horn has held the position of President and CEO of the Hiscock Legal Aid Society, where she previously served as a Senior and Staff Attorney, representing some of our society's most marginalized residents; and WHEREAS, Under Susan R. Horn's leadership, the Hiscock Legal Aid Society has grown exponentially from a budget of $800,000 to more than $4 million; today, the Society employs 30 attorneys and a total staff of nearly 60, and serves more than 4,000 individuals and families each year; and WHEREAS, Susan R. Horn serves the community as a member of the Boards of Directors of the Center for Community Alternatives and the New York State Defenders Association; she also serves on Onondaga County's Criminal Justice Advisory Board and several of the New York State Bar Association Committees, including the Committee on Legal Aid, Committee to Ensure Quality of Mandated Representation, Committee on LGBT People and the Law, and the Task Force on Family Court; and WHEREAS, Currently, Susan R. Horn volunteers with the Central New York Women's Bar Association's Monday Night Clinic at Vera House, providing legal advice to domestic violence victims; and WHEREAS, For her outstanding efforts, Susan R. Horn has received numerous awards such as the 2010 Faith A. Seidenberg Award by the New York Civil Liberties Union; she was also named a 2015 Outstanding Alumnus at the Syracuse University Honors Awards Ceremony; and WHEREAS, Throughout her remarkable career spanning more than four decades, Susan R. Horn has continually honored the inherent dignity of each person she serves; and WHEREAS, It is the practice of this Legislative Body that those who enhance the quality of life in their community and have shown a long and sustained commitment to the maintenance of high standards in their profession, certainly have earned the recognition and applause of all the citizens of this great Empire State; now, therefore, be it RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to honor Susan R. Horn upon the occasion of her designation as the recipient of the 2016 Distinguished Lawyer Award by the Onondaga County Bar Association; and be it further RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be transmitted to Susan R. Horn.