Dechert Receives Victim Rights Law Center’s Law Firm Champion Award

Dechert LLP is honored to have received the Law Firm Champion Award by Victim Rights Law Center (VRLC) awarded to the firm at its annual gala on October 10 in Boston. The award recognizes the firm for its longstanding work with nationally acclaimed VRLC on behalf of rape and sexual assault survivors.

Partner Brenda Sharton, who previously served as the VRLC's Board Co-Chair for over a decade, accepted the award on behalf of Dechert. Other awardees included Evelyn Yang, wife of former presidential candidate Andrew Yang. Evelyn Yang received a Leadership Award for revealing in 2020 that she had been assaulted by her OB/GYN while pregnant, a revelation that led to hundreds of other women coming forward and Dr. Hadden being put behind bars. Dana Bash from CNN was there to introduce Evelyn Yang and present her with the award.

During the pandemic, Dechert provided crucial support by offering confidential meeting spaces when VRLC lost access to its Boston office. The firm also played a significant role in defending a teenage rape victim in a challenging civil case, leading to a favorable settlement. This case exemplifies the firm's dedication to protecting survivors' rights and privacy.

The award highlights Dechert's ongoing partnership with VRLC, a nationwide organization that was the first and only center of its kind to provide pro bono legal services to victims of rape and sexual assault. With offices in Boston, MA and Portland, Oregon, the VRLC provides direct services to victims and leads national training programs to educated attorneys on how to represent survivors in their own communities across the country. Past Leadership award winners include Anita Hill, Gloria Steinem, E. Jean Carroll and the Boston Globe Spotlight team that broke the Catholic Church sexual abuse scandal.

About Dechert

Dechert is a global law firm that advises asset managers, financial institutions and corporations on issues critical to managing their business and their capital - from high-stakes litigation to complex transactions and regulatory matters. We answer questions that seem unsolvable, develop deal structures that are new to the market and protect clients' rights in extreme situations. Our nearly 1,000 lawyers across 20 offices globally focus on the financial services, private equity, private credit, real estate, life sciences and technology sectors.

About VRLC

Victim Rights Law Center provides free, comprehensive legal services for sexual assault victims with civil legal issues in Massachusetts and Oregon.