Attorneys Susan Leahy and Sean Leonard have been honored by the Katahdin Counsel Recognition Program for their dedication to pro-bono service in the State of Maine.
Attorney Leahy’s pro bono work focused on litigation to secure an impoverished and disabled client’s deed to two acres of land on which he had built a modest cabin in the early 2000s and also to force the sale of his deceased parents’ property so that he could obtain his share of the sales proceeds and improve his home and the access to it. Susan also won this award in 2024.
Attorney Leonard’s pro bono work focused on child custody and divorce. Sean also won this award in 2023 and 2024.
The Katahdin Counsel Recognition Program was created by the Maine Supreme Judicial Court, in response to a proposal by the Justice Action Group, to focus the public’s attention on the critical role that pro bono publico plays in maintaining a vibrant civil justice system. The purpose of the Katahdin Counsel Recognition Program is twofold. First, to establish an annual process for recognizing and honoring the pro bono work of Maine’s lawyers. Second, to encourage more lawyers to provide such services for Maine’s low-income residents to help to meet their growing unmet legal needs.
Sean is a member of the firm’s Family Law Practice Group. Before joining McLane Middleton, Sean was a partner in a Maine law firm. He focused on various family issues, including parental rights and responsibilities, divorce, termination of parental rights, and adoption. Admitted to practice in New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and Maine, Sean can be reached in the firm’s Manchester office at (603) 628-1370 or sean.leonard@mclane.com.
Susan is member of the firm’s Trusts & Estates Department. In addition to advising on personal estate and tax planning issues, she also advises clients on business succession planning, having spent many years as a transactional business lawyer. Drawing on her experience as a real estate attorney, she counsels families on generational planning, such as involving ownership of lakefront and other vacation properties. She serves as a professional trustee of many private trusts and counsels charitable foundations and other tax-exempt organizations. Admitted to practice in New Hampshire and Maine, Susan can be reached in the firm’s Portsmouth office at (603) 334-6926 or susan.leahy@mclane.com.
To view the full list for 2025, click here.