March 4, 2015 (Hong Kong) – Proskauer has been awarded the Pro Bono Citizenship Prize by The Asian Lawyer’s 2015 Asia Legal Awards, for its work on behalf of the Angkor Hospital for Children (AHC) in Siem Reap, Cambodia. The awards recognize those firms who worked on the most innovative and creative deals, as well as those who have emerged as the most knowledgeable and trusted advisors.
Proskauer played a critical role in the 2014 transfer of ownership of AHC from a New York not-for-profit organization to an international entity. AHC was founded by photographer Kenro Izu in gratitude for the inspiration he received from the country’s ancient monuments. Izu and others established Friends Without a Border (FWAB), a New York not-for-profit, to fund, operate and raise funds for AHC. His ultimate intention was to transfer AHC to local control.
Proskauer negotiated the terms of the transfer with FWAB’s counsel, incorporated the international entity — Angkor Hospital for Children Limited (AHC HK) —in Hong Kong and obtained its tax-exempt charity status from Hong Kong’s Inland Revenue Department. This enabled AHC HK to negotiate with the Cambodian government for the necessary approvals to manage and operate AHC locally. The final step was to get the approval of the New York Attorney General, the relevant U.S. regulator because of FWAB’s New York incorporation.
AHC is Cambodia’s first teaching hospital, drawing patients who suffer from serious illness and often from acute malnutrition. AHC provides patients with free treatment and reimburses their travel costs in order to ensure that they will not hesitate to seek care. AHC also established a satellite clinic in a rural town in order to reach a larger number of poor children. Between AHC and the satellite clinic, more than 150,000 children are treated each year.
The Proskauer AHC team was led by partner Yuval Tal and associate Vivian Ho in Hong Kong, with assistance from a global, multi-practice team of senior counsel Elizabeth Mills in Chicago, and associate Kevin Nolan and Pro Bono Initiative chair Scott Harshbarger in Boston.