Manatt Pro Bono Administrator Gisella Soto was a recipient of Public Counsel's 2021 Pro Bono Award, where she was honored by the Children's Rights Project. She was recognized among professionals dedicated to going above and beyond in providing impactful legal services to vulnerable individuals and communities and ensuring justice for otherwise voiceless groups.
The Children's Rights Project - Adoptions Project honored Soto as their Adoptions Project Most Distinguished Volunteer for her accomplishments in the adoption forms and process, her efforts to solve benefit issues for children with special needs and assisting adopting parents whose primary language is Spanish. Soto also successfully reorganized Manatt's Pro Bono Adoption Program so families could finalize their adoptions remotely in the midst of the stay-at-home orders during the COVID-19 pandemic. Public Counsel praised her accomplishments, saying that "Gisella’s caring and determination to support children in the foster care system and their families shines brightly and she has helped hundreds of families in her many years of dedicated service."