A team of lawyers, including David A. Swerdloff, partner in Day Pitney's Corporate and Business Law department, Eli Salcedo, formerly with the firm, and Aleksander Lamvol, of Sikorsky Aircraft Corp., will receive the award for Outstanding Nonprofit Project of 2012 from the Pro Bono Partnership. They will be recognized for their work with the St. Paul's Child Development Center in Bridgeport, CT.

"We congratulate David, Eli and Aleksander for this well-deserved recognition," said Day Pitney partner Helen Harris, chair of the firm's Pro Bono Committee. "One of the important goals of Day Pitney's pro bono program is to help the deserving nonprofit organizations that enrich our communities, and our work with the St. Paul's Child Development Center exemplifies our commitment to this mission."

Following the closing of the longtime church sponsor of St. Paul's Child Development Center, it became necessary for St. Paul's to reorganize as an independent nonprofit. Over a two-year period, the attorneys involved in the project prepared the organization documents and necessary filings with the Internal Revenue Service and handled lease negotiations with the New England Lutheran Church Synod to permit St. Paul's to retain its location and obtain tax exempt status, without disruption to clients. Today, St. Paul's is an independent nonprofit that continues to serve local children in Bridgeport, CT, and the surrounding area, including children whose tuition is partially or fully funded by the State of Connecticut.

"Day Pitney and Sikorsky attorneys have a strong history of volunteering through the Partnership, for which we are grateful," said Courtney Darts, Senior Staff Attorney, Pro Bono Partnership. "The Partnership undertook nearly 1,250 business legal matters for more than 550 nonprofit organizations in Connecticut, New Jersey and New York last year. More than 80 percent of these matters were undertaken pro bono by expert volunteers like David, Eli and Aleksander."

The award will be presented at a March 13 reception given by the Partnership's Board of Directors in Manhattan. Projects are nominated by clients and attorneys together, and are chosen by attorneys on the Partnership's Volunteer Advisory Committee.

The Partnership was founded in 1997 by members of the corporate bar from Westchester County, NY and Fairfield County, CT, in part to provide pro bono opportunities to its members. Day Pitney legacy firm, Day Berry & Howard, was involved in founding the predecessor to the Partnership's current Hartford Program, which was originally a stand-alone nonprofit located in Hartford, CT, called the Nonprofit Pro Bono Initiative. NPBI merged with the Partnership in 2008.

Since its founding, the Partnership has assisted more than 1,700 nonprofit organizations on thousands of legal matters, enabling them to more effectively feed the hungry, house the homeless, promote the arts, protect the environment and provide essential programs to children, the elderly, immigrants, the disabled and the unemployed.

About Day Pitney
Day Pitney LLP is a full-service law firm with more than 300 attorneys in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Boston, and Washington, DC. The firm offers clients strong corporate and litigation practices, with experience on behalf of large national and international corporations as well as emerging- and middle-market companies and individuals.