Charles F. Wilson, Esq. receiving the Samuel Fallk award from Hon. Chester T. Harhut, president judge of the Lackawanna County Court of Common Pleas

Charles F. Wilson, Esquire, was recently presented with the Samuel Fallk Equal Access to Justice Award by the the Lackawanna Bar Association and Lackawanna Pro Bono.

The Samuel Fallk Equal Access to Justice Award is given to one or more individual attorneys each year for their outstanding pro bono work. This is the second year in which the award has been given in honor of Samuel Fallk. Previously the award was called the Equal Access to Justice Award.

Samuel Fallk was a native of Old Forge and began practicing law in Lackawanna County in 1937 and continued to practice until his death in 2000. For many years, before funding became available, Sam was a one man legal aid society and the public defender, both on a volunteer basis.

He was called upon by the courts to find representation for the poor and indigent. If a fellow lawyer could not be found to volunteer, Sam would take on the case by himself and stands as a model of volunteer lawyering at its best. This years recipient, Charles F. Wilson, exemplifies the qualities which Samuel Fallk demonstrated throughout his legal career.

Attorney Wilson is a partner in the firm of Epstein, Utan, Wilson & Marsili, a firm he has been with for more than 30 years. He graduated from Villanova University in 1965 and from Dickinson University School of Law in 1969.

After graduating from law school, he served as an assistant district attorney for seven years. He has been in private practice since then. He practices primarily in the areas of personal injury, civil litigation, and general practice.

Since Lackawanna Pro Bono began operating, he has handled 13 pro bono cases that the organization referred to him. Those cases involved landlord/tenant and unemployment compensation matters.

His commitment to pro bono service is exemplified in a landlord/tenant case he handled last year in which he was successful in preventing his client from being evicted from public housing.