Austin Hirsch, Lowell Sachnoff, and Reed Smith LLP honored at Annual Dinner

The Bulletin recognized Reed Smith, Chicago partner Austin Hirsch and counsel Lowell Sachnoff at the Annual Dinner and Meeting on November 7, 2019. Over the past decade, Hirsch and Sachnoff have spearheaded efforts by Reed Smith lawyers who have supported the Bulletin in its mission to reduce man-made threats from nuclear risk, climate change, and disruptive technologies.

Sachnoff, counsel in Reed Smith’s Chicago office and founding member of the office’s legacy firm Sachnoff and Weaver, is a two-time member of the Bulletin’s board – after his first term from 2005 – 2014, he joined the board again in 2015, and will move into a consultant position when he retires from the board at the end of this year. Hirsch has served on the board since 2010 and currently serves on the Bulletin’s Executive Committee as the Treasurer of the Governing Board and the Chair of its Finance Committee.

“It’s an honor to be recognized by the Bulletin for our long-standing trusted partnership,” said Hirsch. “Reed Smith has enjoyed supporting the Bulletin’s important mission and forming deep relationships with leaders in the scientific community.”

Over the past few years, Reed Smith lawyers from multiple offices have contributed more than 250 pro bono hours to support the Bulletin’s efforts. The firm has negotiated the Bulletin’s publishing contracts and helped protect the intellectual property rights of the Bulletin’s trademarks, including negotiating a resolution with a third-party preserving future protection and use by the Bulletin of its globally-recognized Doomsday Clock.  Reed Smith also helped the Bulletin with respect to its governance and bylaws, assisting in returning the Bulletin to its roots at the University of Chicago by extricating it from an existing lease and provided global advice for data security.

“The Bulletin has a fantastic history of distilling the impact of the threats we face, and inspiring real change,” said Sachnoff. “It’s a privilege to work so closely with an organization that passionately defends scientific advancement as a method to safeguard our health and future.”

The Bulletin’s Annual Dinner took place prior to a meeting of the group’s Science and Security Board to set the Clock, which will be announced at the National Press Club in Washington D.C. in January 2020. “We are extremely grateful for Reed Smith’s significant support of our mission. Over the years, Lowell and Austin have been instrumental in safeguarding and guiding our efforts, which has enabled citizen engagement and inspired action across the world,” said President and CEO of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, Rachel Bronson, PhD.

The Annual Dinner featured a keynote address by Eric Horvitz, a recognized leader in Artificial Intelligence and the Director of Microsoft Research Labs. Former California Governor Jerry Brown, the Bulletin’s executive chair, presented a lifetime achievement award to former US Secretary of Defense William Perry, who is on the organization’s Board of Sponsors. Recipients of the Bulletin’s Leonard M. Rieser Award, part of the Next Generation Program created to ensure new voices steeped in science and public policy, Erin Connolly and Kate Hewitt discussed their award winning article “American students aren’t taught nuclear weapons policy in school. Here’s how to fix that problem.”

Videotaped remarks from the Annual Dinner will be posted soon on the Bulletin’s website.