LGA Honors Collie Owens with the 2019 David P. Bobzien Pro Bono Award

The Local Government Attorneys of Virginia, Inc. (LGA) and its board of directors are pleased to present the Spring 2019 David P. Bobzien Pro Bono Award to Newport News City Attorney Collins (Collie) L. Owens, Jr. in recognition of his dedicated support for the provision of pro bono services. His numerous accomplishments include:

  • Employment with the Newport News City Attorney’s Office since 1984, becoming City Attorney in 2012.
  • Becoming involved with legal aid as a board member of the Peninsula Legal Aid Center in 1992.
    • Being instrumental as a member of the Member Committee in merging and separating the Peninsula Legal Aid Center and Tidewater Legal Aid Society into two programs (federal and state) in 2001. The resulting organizations were Legal Services of Eastern Virginia and Eastern Virginia Legal Aid Society. Collie served on the boards of both organizations.
    • Serving as President of the Board of Directors of the Legal Aid Society of Eastern Virginia since 2004, when Legal Services of Eastern Virginia and Eastern Virginia Legal Aid Society merged to form the Legal Aid Society of Eastern Virginia.
    • During his time as Board President, broadly increasing the types of cases handled and the number of cases concluded each year by the Legal Aid Society of Eastern Virginia.

Collie has consistently been a champion and advocate for legal aid in Eastern Virginia, throughout its organizational permutations. His dedication to the mission of providing representation in civil matters to the low-income residents of Hampton Roads is amply demonstrated by the constancy and quality of his service for over twenty-seven years.

The LGA is proud to name Collins L. Owens, Jr. the recipient of the Spring Conference 2019 David P. Bobzien Pro Bono Award. Congratulations Collie!

The David P. Bobzien Pro Bono award was established in 2010 and renamed in 2019 to honor the memory of David Bobzien, Fairfax County Attorney from 1993 to 2016 and the inaugural recipient of the pro bono award. Throughout his career, David Bobzien supported pro bono work to help individuals in need and to strengthen and enrich the legal profession.