Pro Bono Report
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Pro Bono Report THE IMPACT PROJECT | IN THE SPOTLIGHT: LOS ANGELES | “WHAT I’M WORKING ON” NG FOR JUS RI TI E CE TN R A P PROJECT SUMMER 2013 ES IV CHANGING L NG FOR JUS RI TI E CE TN R A P PROJECT ES IV CHANGING L SKADDEN, ARPS, SLATE, MEAGHER & FLOM LLP & AFFILIATES Pro Bono Contents 2 DEEP IMPACT 13 AfTER THE STORM 17 NEws & AwARds A conversation with his daughter about the Hurricane Sandy left many of New York City’s shortage of pro bono legal aid for civil matters legal nonprofits temporarily homeless — until 22 SKAddEN FEllOW led partner Fred Goldberg, Jr. to co-found the Skadden stepped in. In fall 2012, Skadden’s 1460 Impact Project, a public-service partnership that Broadway office served as a central hub of New serves low-income Washington, D.C. families. York’s nonprofit legal community. 4 WHAT I’M WORKING ON 14 IN THE SPOTligHT: LOS ANGELES Skadden attorneys handle an extraordinarily diverse This issue’s Spotlight takes us to our Los Angeles array of pro bono matters. We spoke to seven office, where recent pro bono matters have partners and counsel about their current projects. included successfully defending a group of prominent anti-nuclear protesters against 12 SKADDEN EXTERN trespassing charges and helping to reunite an asylum client with her 7-year-old daughter. Since 1998, Skadden’s New York office has part- nered in externship programs with the Lawyers Alliance for New York and the Legal Aid Society’s Community Law Office. In this Q&A, 2012 extern Julie Lanz discusses her six months at Legal Aid. PRO BONO REPORT 1 At Skadden, our commitment to pro bono Over the last five years, Skadden’s lawyers, summer associates work extends throughout the firm. Together, and legal assistants dedicated more than one million our attorneys and staff have averaged more than 200,000 hours per year on pro bono matters hours to pro bono service — 1,062,408, to be over the last five years — a level of commitment exact. To put this commitment to public service in perspective, that speaks to the importance we place on pro that’s the number of hours it would take to: bono work. This issue of the Pro Bono Report highlights just a few examples of those efforts. In Washington, D.C., our lawyers are teaming up with nonprofit legal services providers and in-house corporate counsel to provide pro bono services to families throughout the region. The Impact Project, as Fly to the moon13,979 times the initiative is known, is being widely praised as an innovative and efficient new way to provide legal aid to the under-served. Our Los Angeles attorneys, the subject of this issue’s “Spotlight,” have secured important victories for numerous pro bono clients, ranging from a group of anti-nuclear protesters to Planned Parenthood. We also spoke with several partners and counsel regarding their ongoing and recent Erect 52 Eiffel Towers pro bono work. As these profiles demonstrate, when a partner or counsel agrees to lead a new matter, it often provides pro bono opportunities for attorneys throughout the firm. Of course, the stories in this issue comprise only a small sample of our recent efforts. Our pro bono contributions would not be possible without the dedication of attorneys and staff Build 35,000 cars throughout the firm. As always, we hope you enjoy this update, and we welcome your feedback. Regards, Eric Friedman Race 510,577N.Y.C. marathons NG FOR JUS RI TI E CE TN R A P PROJECT ES IV CHANGING L NG FOR JUS RI TI E CE TN R A P PROJECT ES IV CHANGING L New Pro Bono Project Brings Critical Mass to Washington, D.C. conversation last year between Tax Group co-head Fred The five partners formed a working group with D.C. pro bono Goldberg, Jr., and his daughter, a public interest attorney, counsel Don Salzman and associates Warren Allen and Stephanie A has led to a partnership between Skadden, legal aid groups Selmer. The group discussed the project’s potential focus on children and in-house corporate counsel to provide pro bono services to and families and agreed that “critical mass” required office-wide low-income families throughout the Washington, D.C. area. input. Mike, who leads the D.C. office, scheduled an all-attorney meeting to discuss the initiative. At that meeting, Don enlisted Launched in September 2012, the Impact Project focuses on the three volunteers to research legal service organizations to identify areas in which Skadden’s D.C. attorneys believed they could make possible partners. “That collaborative effort has been essential the greatest impact — guardianship, housing and domestic violence from day one,” says Fred. issues. The initiative seeks to use the participating organizations’ combined strengths to achieve a “critical pro bono mass” and has The results of the research were announced at a second office-wide already taken on matters affecting more than 100 individuals. meeting in June 2012. The Legal Aid Society of D.C. was selected as a partner in domestic violence matters, the Children’s Law Center “We don’t want to reinvent the wheel or replace the great public for guardianship issues and Bread for the City for housing cases. interest work already being performed,” says former partner Cliff Each of the three areas is a virtual practice group, co-chaired by Sloan, who served as a co-head of the project (and is currently a a partner-counsel-senior associate team, with its own training special envoy to Guantanamo Bay). “It’s really about having a programs, website and periodic lunches. major impact on big problems and, in the process, making the pro bono experience more efficient and enjoyable.” Cliff worked to identify corporate partners to join the project, then secured the participation of Cisco Systems, LivingSocial and A Civil Gideon Northrop Grumman. “Although there’s a strong desire by in-house Fred’s conversation with his daughter, Rachel, an attorney with lawyers to do pro bono work, they face some unique obstacles,” the Center for Appellate Litigation in New York, centered on says Cliff. “For example, preparing for a pro bono court appear- the lack of a civil equivalent of Gideon v. Wainwright, the 1963 ance can be more stressful for an in-house attorney, who must U.S. Supreme Court case that requires states to provide counsel to juggle work emergencies with less support. That’s just one way criminal defendants who cannot afford attorneys. Their discussion working together with a firm can help.” inspired Fred to approach Cliff and fellow D.C. partners Mike Naeve, Greg Craig and Chuck Walker with the idea of focusing The Impact Project also helps in-house attorneys overcome a lack resources on specific areas of legal need. of sufficient training, which is another obstacle unique to corporate counsel’s efforts to take on pro bono work. In addition to training “Although many in private practice are committed to pro bono programs, each of the project’s three teams holds regular meetings service, there’s still this feeling that we’re ‘bowling alone’ rather to discuss ongoing issues. than working together on a broader scale,” says Fred. AT A glancE WOrkING grOUP TEam LEadERS Greg Craig (P) Chuck Walker (P) DOMEStic VIOLENCE GUARdiaNSHIP HOUSING The Sharis Pozen (P) John Bentivoglio (P) Steve Harburg (P) Fred Goldberg Jr. (P) Don Salzman (C) Michele Roberts (P) Kathryn Baran (A) Dave Schneider (C) Impact Mike Naeve (P) Warren Allen (A) Nicole Grimm (C) Project > Karis Gong (A) Robert Garcia (A) Cliff Sloan (P) Stephanie Selmer (A) Warren Allen (A) Jose Morales (A) Luke Meisner (A) PRO BONO REPORT 3 From left: Bread for the City Legal Clinic Director Vytas Vergeer, former Skadden partner Cliff Sloan and LivingSocial counsel Danny Andrews. As Cisco General Counsel Mark Chandler old life,” Warren says. “For example, the with the organization’s Klepper Prize for told The Washington Post, “By creating cycle of domestic violence and its range of Volunteer Excellence in recognition of their structure, Skadden is making it easier for emotions mean that some of our clients may work on the Impact Project. lawyers inside a company to participate in get cold feet while seeking a protective order, pro bono projects; it opens up a much more which is very different from what we see with Looking Ahead efficient avenue to do that.” traditional clients, who understand the pitfalls The three Impact Project teams are seek- of not following their lawyer’s advice.” ing ways to involve an even broader range A ‘Healthy Disruption’ of attorneys on matters. The initiative, In addition to providing legal services for Stephanie, who coordinates the administra- for example, recently branched into legal underserved D.C. residents and facilitating tive activities of the Impact Project, agrees. analysis and community outreach in order pro bono work for in-house volunteers, the “It’s been a tremendous opportunity to inter- to address emerging policy issues. Several Impact Project provides Skadden’s lawyers act with a broad range of attorneys and staff.” other Skadden offices are actively pursuing with opportunities to collaborate with in- their own Impact Programs, including Palo house legal teams, legal service providers The initiative already has earned praise Alto, Chicago and London. and, of course, each other. from leaders of the Washington, D.C. legal community. At a February 2013 Center for Cliff says the increasing demand for pro “This project breaks down barriers,” says American Progress panel discussion regard- bono service, coupled with the benefits of Fred.