On April 27th, 2017, Mark A. Cunningham and Michael W. Magner, both partners in the firm's Corporate Compliance & White Collar Defense Practice Group, were presented with the 2017 Orleans Public Defenders' Clyde Merritt Award for their extraordinary pro bono representation of Taryn Blume, a former investigator of the Orleans Parish Public Defenders. Established in 2012 to honor Clyde Merritt, a loyal advocate for public defense, this award recognizes the attorneys' and Jones Walker's deep commitment to the fight for public defense in New Orleans.