I'm unsure of the criteria for the reward, but it appears that they considered it an impressive effort to defend an unsympathetic client.
The public benefit from presenting a vigorous defense in all cases (not just ones with sympathetic defendants) is to require the prosecution, as a matter of course, to actually prove their case in accordance with the law, something which should be required in a fair court system.
How does a corporation filing a sham bankruptcy to avoid paying out a legally mandated penalty improve justice?
I can just as easily say that this tactic degrades prosecutorial effectiveness because it disincentives lawyers from taking cases. The corporations will just spin off and kill a business unit and no one gets compensated.
Because Captailism has corrupted our institutions to the point that money rules everything. Democracy and Justice is only for those with enough cash. Like the big4 accounting firms, they arnt the big 4 because they serve the public the public interest. They are the goto because they have the influence and the knowledge to extract as much cash as possible from democracies.
The public benefit from presenting a vigorous defense in all cases (not just ones with sympathetic defendants) is to require the prosecution, as a matter of course, to actually prove their case in accordance with the law, something which should be required in a fair court system.