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TOWSON, MD. – Margaret-Ann F. Howie, general counsel for Baltimore County Public Schools, has been named Maryland Pro Bono Attorney of the Year by the Tahirih Justice Center.
Her award is one of seven that will be presented by the organization at its 16th Annual Gala to be held Thursday, April 25, 2013, at the Four Seasons Hotel in Washington, D.C.
The Tahirih Justice Center is a nonprofit organization that offers legal services, advocacy and public education programs to protect immigrant women and girls who are fleeing violence. From its offices in Falls Church, Va., Houston and Baltimore, the organization maintains a network of more than 1,200 pro bono attorneys to partner with its paid legal staff.
In its gala program, the Tahirih Justice Center writes: “The Tahirih Justice Center honors Margaret-Ann Howie with the Maryland Pro Bono Attorney of the Year Award for giving selflessly of her time, energy and expertise to support violence-free futures for immigrant women and children. In 2012, Margaret-Ann devoted substantial amounts of time to take on the complex case of a Tahirih client who faced a number of barriers to justice, which among others things included the recruitment of volunteers from the local Russian community to translate documents. With confidence and persistence, Margaret-Ann delivered professional legal services which empowered her client to achieve the legal protections to which she was entitled under U.S. law, including the legal status she needed to rebuild her life. In addition, Margaret-Ann has encouraged her colleagues to take on pro bono cases with Tahirih.”
Howie has served in the law office of Baltimore County Public Schools since 1993. She presents and writes nationally regarding school violence, student rights, school use of technology, student discipline and other topics, and she served for two years as chair of the In-House Counsel Committee for the National School Boards Association’s Council of School Attorneys.
Howie received her law degree from Columbia University and her undergraduate education from The Johns Hopkins University. Following a year at the Université de Paris (Nanterre), she was awarded a master’s degree in French from Middlebury College. She also holds a master’s degree in theology from the Ecumenical Institute of St. Mary’s Seminary and University.
