Senate Resolution No. 212

BY: Senator DEFRANCISCO

HONORING Susan R. Horn upon the occasion of her
designation as the recipient of the 2016
Distinguished Lawyer Award by the Onondaga County
Bar Association

WHEREAS, It is the sense of this Legislative Body to recognize those
esteemed individuals within our midst whose professional lives, personal
endeavors and dedicated community service are an example and inspiration
to their colleagues, friends, and family; and

WHEREAS, Attendant to such concern, and fully in accord with its
long-standing traditions, this Legislative Body is justly proud to honor
Susan R. Horn upon the occasion of her designation as the recipient of
the 2016 Distinguished Lawyer Award by the Onondaga County Bar
Association celebrated at its 141st Annual Dinner on October 27, 2016 in
the Grand Ballroom at the Marriott Syracuse Downtown; and

WHEREAS, The Onondaga County Bar Association has been honoring local
attorneys for distinguished service to the profession since 1968; in
order to qualify for the Distinguished Lawyer Award, an individual must
have devoted a full-time professional career to the law, must possess
exceptional skills as a lawyer, must display a devotion or dedication to
the profession as evidenced by participation in projects and activities,
and must possess ethics beyond reproach; and

WHEREAS, After graduating from Brooklyn College of the City
University of New York in 1971, Susan R. Horn earned her Juris Doctor
from Syracuse University College of Law in 1974; as a law student, she
helped found the Prisoners' Rights' Project, worked on the Attica
Brothers Legal Defense and was a member of the Women's Law Caucus; and

WHEREAS, Susan R. Horn began her professional legal career as a
Staff Attorney with Onondaga Neighborhood Legal Services (now Legal
Services of Central New York); later she was a partner in the law firms
of Horn, Finkelstein & Pezzulo and Heath and Horn & Rosenthal, where she
practiced criminal, civil, and family law; and

WHEREAS, While in private practice, Susan R. Horn provided pro bono
work for protesters at the Seneca Women's Peace Encampment, prisoners'
rights cases and political asylum cases for Haitian refugees; and

WHEREAS, Dedicated to her profession, Susan R. Horn served on both
the Boards of the Onondaga County Bar Association and the Onondaga
Citizens League, and was a member of the Syracuse Community Development
Advisory Committee; and

WHEREAS, Since 1990, Susan R. Horn has held the position of
President and CEO of the Hiscock Legal Aid Society, where she previously
served as a Senior and Staff Attorney, representing some of our
society's most marginalized residents; and

WHEREAS, Under Susan R. Horn's leadership, the Hiscock Legal Aid
Society has grown exponentially from a budget of $800,000 to more than

$4 million; today, the Society employs 30 attorneys and a total staff of
nearly 60, and serves more than 4,000 individuals and families each
year; and

WHEREAS, Susan R. Horn serves the community as a member of the
Boards of Directors of the Center for Community Alternatives and the New
York State Defenders Association; she also serves on Onondaga County's
Criminal Justice Advisory Board and several of the New York State Bar
Association Committees, including the Committee on Legal Aid, Committee
to Ensure Quality of Mandated Representation, Committee on LGBT People
and the Law, and the Task Force on Family Court; and

WHEREAS, Currently, Susan R. Horn volunteers with the Central New
York Women's Bar Association's Monday Night Clinic at Vera House,
providing legal advice to domestic violence victims; and

WHEREAS, For her outstanding efforts, Susan R. Horn has received
numerous awards such as the 2010 Faith A. Seidenberg Award by the New
York Civil Liberties Union; she was also named a 2015 Outstanding
Alumnus at the Syracuse University Honors Awards Ceremony; and

WHEREAS, Throughout her remarkable career spanning more than four
decades, Susan R. Horn has continually honored the inherent dignity of
each person she serves; and

WHEREAS, It is the practice of this Legislative Body that those who
enhance the quality of life in their community and have shown a long and
sustained commitment to the maintenance of high standards in their
profession, certainly have earned the recognition and applause of all
the citizens of this great Empire State; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to
honor Susan R. Horn upon the occasion of her designation as the
recipient of the 2016 Distinguished Lawyer Award by the Onondaga County
Bar Association; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be
transmitted to Susan R. Horn.