My AccountAnchorage attorney Keith Thomas was honored for outstanding public service to the Bar with an award given by the Anchorage Bar Association.
Anchorage attorney Joseph Levesque presented Thomas with the Benjamin Walters Distinguished Service Award at the Alaska Bar Convention in Anchorage, Alaska on Thursday, October 27, 2022.
Mr. Thomas is Assistant Public Defender with the Alaska Public Defender Agency. Mr. Thomas was nominated for the Benjamin Walters Distinguished Service Award based upon the action he took at the request of the Anchorage Police Department (Police), this past summer. Mr. Thomas was contacted by the Police that one of his clients was in a mental health crisis. Mr. Thomas rushed to the scene and successfully talked his client out of the residence and into Police custody. Mr. Thomas’ quick action helped to diffuse a difficult situation. This is an example of how Mr. Thomas is committed to the cause and goes above and beyond what is required.
The Anchorage Bar Association has given an Outstanding Service Award for many years now. In 2006 we renamed the award the Benjamin Walters Distinguished Service Award in honor of a longtime Board member and friend who passed away that year. Ben was always willing to give many hours to the community in the legal arena as well as simply giving of his time and effort to community activities in general. Whether it was Boy Scouts or the Rotary Club or the Anchorage Bar Association or people in the local community needing pro bono legal advice, Ben always gave selflessly of himself to help others. It is in that spirit that the Anchorage Bar honors someone who exemplifies these same qualities and in doing so we honor Ben’s memory.