Sonenshine Reception Honors Associates

The 2023 Sonenshine Pro Bono Reception honored associates Kevin Homrighausen and Jack Vanderford for outstanding pro bono contributions benefiting the Orange County community. In particular, the Orange County associates were recognized for their work on behalf of a veteran.

The annual event was conceived by Judge Sheila Prell Sonenshine in 1994, and helps connect lawyers in Orange County with community, cultural, and social services organizations, thereby facilitating involvement and pro bono support.

Supervised by associate Bradley Hyde and counsel David Kuiper, Kevin Homrighausen and Jack Vanderford helped secure relief for a veteran of the Vietnam War. This client was referred to Latham in 2017, but had been trying to receive benefits from the VA after suffering physical and mental injuries in combat for nearly 30 years.

Homrighausen and Vanderford were instrumental in assisting with the multiple appeals and remand briefings with the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (BVA) and Court of Appeals for Veterans’ Claims on behalf of this client, researching the issues, and even proactively finding additional fact evidence that the BVA had not previously considered.