An Irell & Manella team consisting of attorneys Christopher Cowan, Gregory Smith and Jonathan Steinberg, and litigation clerk Leslie Schuster, received Public Counsel's 2011 Consumer Law Project Pro Bono Award for representing a mortgage-fraud victim in the California Court of Appeal.  

Irell & Manella has a long-standing relationship with Public Counsel, the largest pro bono law firm in the nation, as well as its Consumer Law Project which represents low-income consumers who have fallen prey to a variety of scams.  Earlier this year, Irell received Public Counsel's 2011 Law Firm Pro Bono Award and in 2008, two Irell attorneys were honored by Public Counsel's Consumer Law Project as "Advocates of the Year."