The Greenwich Bar Association held its annual Law Day Luncheon Friday, May 12, at Indian Harbor Yacht Club.
During the event the 2023 Liberty Bell Award was presented to Christine Lai, Co-Founder and Executive Director of Special Education Legal Fund.
Each year the Greenwich Bar Association honors non-lawyer members of the community who foster a sense of civic responsibility and who have performed outstanding community service, promoting greater respect for the law and contributing to good government in the community.
“Thank you to the Board of the Greenwich Bar Association, especially President Katherine Gent and Law Day chairs Sean Hamill and Steven Georgiades, for this incredible honor,” Ms Lai said. “The Special Education Legal Fund could not be successful and have an impact without the support and dedication of our partner attorneys and advocates who support our students and make our mission possible.”
Special Education Legal Fund (S.E.L.F.) helps economically challenged families of children with learning disabilities to navigate the special education system. S.E.L.F. provides grants of up to $5,000 per child for legal representation to help families achieve better learning and development outcomes. S.E.L.F.’s goal is to level the playing field in the special education system so that no child with a learning disability falls between the cracks due to legal or economic challenges.
Following over a decade of educational challenges for her own son, Christine Lai dedicated herself to making special education and services for people with intellectual disabilities more accessible and understandable to all families regardless of economic status.
The Liberty Bell Award was established in 1967, and past award winners include Stuart Adelberg, David Theis, Peter Crumbine, and many other distinguished individuals and organizations in the Greenwich community.
The Law Day Speaker was Paul Mounds, Jr., the Former Chief of Staff to Governor Lamont and current Vice President of Community & Corporate Alliances at Yale New Haven Health.