Brookline’s Marty Rosenthal Receives Pro Bono Publico Award

BROOKLINE, MA — Longtime Brookline resident Attorney Marty Rosenthal received the Pro Bono Publico Award from the Massachusetts Bar Association (MBA) at the MBA Access to Justice Awards Celebration on Wednesday.

Presented annually by the MBA, the Access to Justice Awards recognize the efforts of attorneys and law firms who have made significant strides in enhancing access to justice.

Award winners are chosen by the MBA’s Access to Justice Section Council after receiving nominations from MBA members and other attorneys. This year’s ceremony featured a keynote address from former Massachusetts Congressman Joe Kennedy III, who is now the Managing Director at Citizens Energy.

According to the MBA, the Pro Bono Publico Award is given to an individual who has been instrumental in developing, implementing, and supporting pro bono programs for the MBA, a local county bar association, or a pro bono program of a law firm, has developed a pro bono program sponsored or organized through an agency in the state, or has performed significant or meaningful pro bono activity.

Described by one friend as the “conscience of the justice system,” the MBA said Rosenthal has dedicated his five-decade professional life to Deuteronomy’s “justice, justice thou shalt pursue” — in court, in Board of Bar Overseers cases, in politics (especially Brookline’s), and in pushing for fair, humane justice systems.

Rosenthal served as the Committee for Public Counsel Services’ first Training Director, training hundreds of public defenders and bar advocates, and as the main author of the Criminal Defense Training Manual and Performance Guidelines. After two years clinical teaching, and now as a solo practitioner, he has served on innumerable volunteer committees and in Brookline elected offices while also representing many whom he calls “mere humans.”

"The MBA proudly presents Rosenthal the Pro Bono Publico Award for his holistic, tireless dedication to his clients, and to justice,” the MBA said in a statement.

Founded in 1911, the Massachusetts Bar Association is a non-profit organization that serves the legal profession and the public by promoting the administration of justice, legal education, professional excellence, and respect for the law. It represents a diverse group of attorneys, judges and legal professionals across Massachusetts.