Each year the Hennepin County Bar Association (HCBA) presents its Excellence Awards to honor individual bar members for their service to the local legal profession, the community, and the association. HCBA is the largest of Minnesota’s local bar associations, with a membership of over 8,000 attorneys and law students serving the profession and the public. This year, the HCBA selected eight attorney members and two organizations from nominations received in different categories, including one member for career contributions to the profession. The 2023 HCBA Excellence Awards will be presented at the association’s annual meeting on June 8, and members will be recognized in the Hennepin Lawyer publication.

This year’s honorees include Dee Baskin, executive director of the Loan Repayment Assistance Program of Minnesota (LRAP) and Mary Kaczorek, managing attorney with Mid-Minnesota Legal Aid (MMLA). Both Baskin and Kaczorek will receive the association’s Improving Access to Justice Award.

Kaczorek has led MMLA’s housing unit through the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic and zealously advocated for remote hearings to benefit MMLA’s clients with low-incomes and disabilities. In addition to supervising attorneys and litigating her own cases in housing court, Kaczorek has also advocated for eviction reform at the Minnesota legislature.

Baskin has been a behind-the-scenes champion for legal aid attorneys seeking public service loan forgiveness and has helped Minnesota attorneys navigate each pause on student loan payments through articles, CLE presentations, and social media updates.