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Longtime Clemmons resident and attorney Sean Lew of Sean Lew, PLLC, Attorney at Law in Winston-Salem is the 2021 recipient of the William Thorp Pro Bono Service Award. Given by the North Carolina Bar Association, this statewide honor recognizes an attorney who has provided ongoing, substantial legal services without charge to a client or client group that could not otherwise afford legal counsel. The Thorp Award honors the memory of William Thorp, a founder of Legal Services of North Carolina (LSNC).

Since 2006, Lew has dedicated more than 732 hours of pro bono legal services to the Hmong of northwest North Carolina, a Southeast Asian ethnic community consisting of many unable to speak English with limited understanding of the American legal system. For many years, he drove to Hickory from his Clemmons home to provide free legal assistance in the areas of immigration and naturalization law the first Friday afternoon of each month to those without financial means to hire an attorney. In addition, he recruited pro bono attorneys from across the state to provide the Hmong with free annual “Ask a Lawyer” workshops covering consumer, family and immigration law. During the pandemic, he gave free remote advice for naturalization applications and developed free legal materials to share remotely with the Hmong community.

A member of the North Carolina Pro Bono Honor Society, Lew received the inaugural NCBA Citizen Lawyer Award in 2007 and served as a past co-chair of the NCBA’s YLD Pro Bono & Poverty Issues Committee. A graduate of UNC’s law school, Lew has practiced law for more than 20 years and has helped countless small business owners and everyday individuals in Clemmons, Lewisville and Winston-Salem with their legal issues. For more information, go to slewpllc.com .