The National Law Journal Pro Bono Award—2010
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The Heart of the Matter Pro Bono and Community Service Highlights Summer 2010 In This Issue From the Co-Chairs As Co-Chairs of Jenner & Block’s Pro Bono Committee, we are pleased to share with you the latest Human Rights .................2-3 edition of The Heart of the Matter. This edition chronicles pro bono and public service activities undertaken by Jenner & Block attorneys Death Penalty Matters ...........4-5 in the past two years on behalf of clients whose voices may not otherwise have been heard in the justice system. On all fronts, from criminal to civil matters, from state courts to the U.S. Supreme Indigent Criminal Defense ........6-7 Court, from battles for human rights and civil liberties to death penalty challenges, Jenner & Block attorneys have redrawn the pro bono advocacy map, advancing case law in pro bono matters one Constitutional Rights ...........8-11 groundbreaking case at a time. This issue covers high profile cases, such as Associate Lindsay C. Harrison’s important victory for an Equal Rights .................12-13 asylum client at the U.S. Supreme Court in her first argument ever before any court, and a significant win at the U.S. Supreme Court securing judicial review of administrative decisions in immigration cases. Across the country, Jenner & Block attorneys challenged the use of lethal injections to carry Pro Bono Aid to Non-Profits......14-15 out the death sentence and have advocated for many death-sentenced individuals at the state level and at the U.S. Supreme Court. Jenner & Block continues its longstanding tradition of aiding victims Sharing Our Clients’ Values ........16 of human trafficking and prisoners at Guantánamo Bay and has filed numerous amicus briefs on behalf of public interest groups and underprivileged individuals, challenging courts to clarify key Pro Bono & Public substantive and procedural aspects of the law. Service Awards ...............17-20 Other pro bono advocacy includes a groundbreaking lawsuit challenging inequities in school funding for pupils of different socio-economic status in Illinois and the defense of clients’ First Amendment Awards ........................21 rights. The many ways Firm attorneys give back to their communities through tutoring, educational and other charitable programs are also detailed inside this issue, including transactional assistance Community Service ............22-24 to non-profit institutions and community programs. These and many more pro bono representations are highlighted inside. We are deeply proud of our tradition of public service at Jenner & Block and look forward to a future of serving clients in need. #1 firm in the country for three consecutive years � See page 2 Julie M. Carpenter Jeremy M. Creelan Gabriel A. Fuentes © 2010 Jenner & Block LLP. 353 N. Clark St. Chicago, IL 60654-3456. Jenner & Block is an Illinois Limited Liability Partnership including professional corporations. This publication is not intended to provide legal advice but to provide information on legal matters and Firm news of interest to our clients and colleagues. Readers should seek specific legal advice before taking any action with respect to matters mentioned in this publication. The attorney responsible for this publication is Gabriel A. Fuentes. Masthead image from the Collection of the Supreme Court of the United States. Attorney Advertising. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. The Heart of SectionHuman RightsStart Title the Matter Asylum & Immigration Matters Continuing Tradition of Firm Wins Landmark Asylum Case at U.S. Supreme Court Obtaining Asylum Jenner & Block attorneys helped over 20 individuals secure In a landmark ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court in April Ms. Harrison’s argument and win was also included in asylum in the U.S., permitting the refugees—who had been 2009 clarified an important aspect of immigration the AmLaw Litigation Daily, ABA Journal and Legal Times. persecuted in their native lands on ethnic and political law that affects thousands of individuals seeking Mr. Nken, a pro-democracy advocate in Cameroon, grounds—to remain in the U.S. and seek citizenship. asylum in the U.S. after fleeing persecution abroad. applied for asylum in the United States in 2001. After • Jenner & Block obtained political asylum for a Guinean The 7-2 ruling paved the way for Jenner & Block several years of court and administrative proceedings, client wrongfully arrested at a student protest, imprisoned pro bono client Jean Marc Nken to continue the appeal his motion to reopen his asylum case was denied by in the notorious prison in Conakry and tortured because of his deportation to Cameroon, which Mr. Nken fled the Board of Immigration Appeals. He sought review in of his political affiliation and ethnicity. Partner Brian J. after being detained, interrogated, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Fischer helped his client produce the testimony needed and beaten for his advocacy for Circuit. The Court of Appeals, however, at his removal hearing to convince the Immigration free elections. declined to issue a stay of his removal Law Judge to grant asylum. Partner Katya Jestin also The case was argued on January 21, while the appeal there was pending, participated in the case. 2009 by Associate Lindsay C. Harrison. meaning that he could be deported back It was her first argument in the U.S. to Cameroon notwithstanding the grave • Jenner & Block obtained political asylum for an Eritrean Supreme Court or in any court. danger he faced there. client arrested, beaten and tortured for her membership in an outlawed political organization. Associates worked The Court ruled that asylum applicants Ms. Harrison filed an emergency motion extensively with experts and specialists in medical forensics, in the U.S. who are appealing an order in the U.S. Supreme Court, seeking a stay psychotherapy and country conditions to bolster the asylum of removal by the Board of Immigration and contending that the standard that Lindsay C. Harrison on the Steps claim. Partner Lawrence S. Schaner and Litigation Counsel Appeals in federal court should not be the Court of Appeals had used in denying of the U.S. Supreme Court Laura E. Pelanek participated in the case. deported while their appeal is pending the stay was incorrect and unjustified by if they have a likelihood of success in their appeal and federal immigration law. The Supreme Court granted the • Jenner & Block aided another Eritrean client who had been would suffer harm if deported. The Court rejected the application for the stay and scheduled argument. imprisoned and brutally beaten and tortured 3-4 times a week for criticizing the Eritrean government’s restrictive Government’s position that asylum-seekers should Ms. Harrison said she has long had a particular interest policies. Associate Jacob P. Zipfel’s thorough preparation almost always be deported pending appeal. in immigration and asylum cases. Her father came to of the case at the interview stage resulted in the The decision allowed the Firm’s client a chance to the United States as an immigrant from the Soviet Union granting of asylum without the need for a hearing, a rare appeal his deportation before the Fourth Circuit. On in 1975. Ms. Harrison is a 2003 graduate of the Harvard occurrence in immigration proceedings. Partner Megan B. October 31, 2009 the Fourth Circuit remanded the case Law School. As a summer associate, she was a member Poetzel participated in the case. back to the BIA—another victory for Nken and Harrison. of the Firm’s litigation team that obtained reversal of the This decision brings Nken one step closer to securing lower court’s decision in the landmark Supreme Court • Firm attorneys obtained asylum for a mother and permanent safety from persecution in Cameroon, and to case of Lawrence v. Texas, in which the Supreme Court daughter from Kyrgyzstan in a bride kidnapping case, keeping him in the U.S. with his wife and baby, both of held that the Constitution does not permit a state to where the client escaped from her forced and brutal whom are U.S. citizens. criminalize private consensual sexual behavior. marriage and fled with her daughter to the United States. The case presented a significant advance in asylum law “How many firms would say to the associate who For her work on this case and other matters, by apprising the Court of recent developments in the law gets cert granted in a pro bono case, ‘that’s your Ms. Harrison was honored with the Firm’s Albert E. favorable to the issue of whether victims of domestic argument,’” she told Above the Law. Coverage of Jenner, Jr. Pro Bono award. violence meet the requirements for granting asylum. Partner participated in the case. Jenner & Block Number One for Pro Bono for Three Years in a Row Matthew J. Thomas • Jenner & Block won a significant victory for our client, For the third year in a row, The American Lawyer magazine named Jenner & Block the number an Egyptian Coptic Christian who sought asylum in the one law firm in the country for pro bono service in its annual pro bono rankings. More than United States after being persecuted by extremists for 69,000 hours of pro bono service were provided by Firm attorneys in 2009 in a wide range of his opposition to the Egyptian government and certain matters, from helping fledgling non-profits to representing the needy in courts across the fundamentalist Muslim groups in Egypt, when the Ninth country, including the U.S. Supreme Court. Circuit Court of Appeals granted his petition to review a The Firm obtained the number one rank through a combination of having 161.1 average pro bono hours per denial by the BIA to reopen his case. Associate Damon A. attorney, and having 83.5% of its attorneys, representing 100% of associates and nearly two-thirds of partners, Thayer was amicus curiae counsel and presented oral contribute more than 20 hours to pro bono matters.