PLAN Excellence Awards: Erica Briant named Outstanding Attorney Advocate

(updated March 29, 2024; posted Dec. 30, 2023)

HARRISBURG - The Pennsylvania Legal Aid Network celebrated outstanding advocacy across the Commonwealth at the Excellence Awards March 27 in Harrisburg. Erica N. Briant of LASP was honored with the Outstanding Attorney Advocate Award.

Lt. Gov. Austin Davis observed in the keynote address, "I know that legal aid organizations across the Commonwealth are advancing the rights of low-income individuals on a daily basis. Your work is worthy of more support from the state and we're working every day to ensure that happens.

“The folks who are being honored tonight are real heroes. They are attorneys, paralegals and other advocates who make a real impact on Pennsylvanians' lives, helping them find employment, access to health care and deal with domestic violence. They provide support and advice for people who are struggling and in crisis. They are nothing less than legal angels. The work -- that all of you do -- gives Pennsylvanians hope. You advocate for your clients, giving a voice to the voiceless, making sure those who are closest to the pain are just a little bit closer to the power." As Lieutenant Governor, Davis chairs the PA Board of Pardons.

Hon. Kim Berkeley Clark, who was the first African-American President Judge of Allegheny County, congratulated all legal aid advocates for their ongoing work across the state. "I just feel grateful, thankful and blessed to be part of what has happened in Pennsylvania with the Pennsylvania Legal Aid Aid Network and all the programs, all the advocates and just privileged to see the people that come into my courtroom every day and that come into courtrooms all over Pennsylvania and know that they are getting representation and we are really trying to make access to justice a true thing for everyone." She closed by sharing the poem, "Grateful, Thankful, Blessed," that she wrote during the pandemic.

Erica Briant is LASP's Director of Community Engagement & Training. She started at LASP in 2014 as an Equal Justice Works fellow and later became Staff Attorney and Community Engagement Unit Supervising Attorney. Her legal work helps clients gain a fresh start through a practice focused on mitigating the collateral consequences of criminal records and helping clients obtain legal name changes.

She and some of the Community Engagement Unit team are actively filing petitions for clients under Clean Slate 3.0 in Bucks, Chester, Delaware and Montgomery counties and presenting multiple CLEs to train attorneys and encourage pro bono volunteer participation. The CEU also encompasses disaster legal aid and the Regional Disability Advocacy (DAP) Program.

Front row (from left center): Mariha Morales, Paralegal; Megan Reinprecht, Community Engagement Unit (CEU) Staff Attorney; Kathryn Palladino, Norristown Managing Attorney.

Middle row:Noelle Gambale, CEU Staff Attorney; Carolyn Johnson, Chief Counsel; Erik Hansen, PLAN Legal Director of Grants & Compliance; Erica Briant, Director of Community Engagement & Training; and Shawn Boehringer, Executive Director.

Back row: Laurel Anderson, CEU Staff Attorney; Guy Marinari, Staff Attorney; and Charles Burrows, Staff Attorney.

Further reading

StaffMarion FraleyPennsylvania Legal Aid Network, PLAN, PLAN Excellence, staff award