Pro Bono
For the past several years, over 5% of our total attorney billable time was contributed to pro bono.
Making the System Work
When it comes to access to the legal system, people and organizations with limited resources are often at a disadvantage. For the past three years, over five percent of our attorney billable time went to pro bono services. We worked to protect children and immigrants. We helped victims of disasters: floods in Southeastern Minnesota and the collapse of the 35W Bridge. We represented Native Americans in their quest for federal recognition.
Here are some examples of the work we do.
Legal and Human Rights
Interviewed Liberian refugees as part of the investigation of human rights abuses in that country from 1979-2003.
Representented Straights and Gays for Equality (SAGE), a student-run organization at Maple Grove High School that had been denied access to means of communication, such as posters and the PA system - enjoyed by most other student groups at the school. Our attorneys obtained a permanent injunction that requires the district to provide SAGE with equal access.
Represented an uninsured, mentally incompetent indigent, homeless paraplegic man who was found crawling in a street gutter in Skid Row. He had been the victim of patient dumping by a local hospital and its van service. The case was filed and prosecuted and, in addition to obtaining significant monetary compensation for the client, we were instrumental in convincing the hospital to adopt and implement a Patients' Bill of Rights for the discharge of uninsured, indigent and homeless patients and we were able to re-write the van service's Homeless Patient Pick-Up and Drop-Off Protocol to prevent any future patient dumping.
Represented a client with a degenerative bone condition that forced him to stop working. This meant he was unable to pay child support. Facing a civil contempt order, attorneys in the Boston office negotiated a settlement agreement with the Massachusetts Department of Revenue.
The Los Angeles office represented the Center for Biological Diversity (CBD) in an action to compel the Bush administration to comply with the Global Change Research Act of 1990. A federal judge in northern California granted a summary judgment motion and ordered the Bush administration to produce the required research and scientific assessment by May 2008. The updated National Assessment was released on May 29, 2008.
Attorneys in the Minneapolis office visit local police and fire stations through Wills for Heroes, a public service initiative of the Minnesota State Bar Association, to create a free basic will, estate plan, power of attorney, and healthcare directives for first responders and their spouses.
Protecting the Rights of Immigrants
Representing Children and Families
When children face dramatic changes or difficult choices, attorneys can make an important difference. We are committed to protecting children when they face the legal system. In many cases we work with Guardians ad Litem to protect children.
Through legal action and investigation, the parental rights of an incarcerated mother with an extensive history of parental failure and drug abuse were terminated and the baby was adopted by her foster parents.
Representing a Guardian ad Litem seeking to terminate the parental rights of a couple who allegedly abused a formerly conjoined twin after the twins were separated.
Terminated the parental rights of the parents of a young girl who was severely burned when she was left alone in a bathtub with running water. She is now living with her maternal grandmother. The case is currently on appeal in front of the Minnesota Court of Appeals.
Our Pro Bono Committee
Our firm’s Pro Bono Committee, headed by Robert J. Gilbertson, helps our attorneys find opportunities for pro bono work. The committee monitors the nature and extent of our pro bono services offered to the community, recognizes the many individuals who volunteer for pro bono work, and provides formal supervision and training for our firm lawyers.
Youth Law Initiative
Our firm-wide Youth Law Initiative is devoted to safeguarding the legal rights of children and teens, whether victims of abuse, homelessness, neglect or facing a system they do not understand. Each office has a focus that responds to the needs of the children in their communities. Here are some of our stories.
Atlanta
Through the One Child, One Lawyer Program, attorneys in the Atlanta office represented several youth in foster care, including an infant born with cocaine in her system who was under a protective order. After a year and a half, both parents completed drug programs, dismissing the case with the family intact.
Boston
Attorneys in the Boston office work with the Children's Law Center of Massachusetts, Senior Partners for Justice and the U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants. Working with these programs, our Boston attorneys represent children of all ages in special education and disciplinary matters, guardianship, divorce and custody matters, and in immigration proceedings.
For the past two years, attorneys in the Boston office have been working with the U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants to seek Special Immigrant Juvenile (SIJ) status for a boy from Guatemala who left home on his own to escape terrible poverty and a lack of food and medical care. The case has had multiple hearings at the Massachusetts Probate and Family Court as the firm works to get the boy a fair disposition of his case.
Los Angeles
Attorneys in the Los Angeles office continue to work with the Alliance for Children's Rights by providing legal services and education to young adults through the Alliance's NextSTEP program. This program is aimed at assisting and guiding young adults, ages 16 to 24, through the difficult transition from foster care to independence by addressing a number of legal issues relating to education, consumer and credit rights, and tenant's rights. In addition, attorneys participate in legal clinics to educate these young adults about their legal rights and responsibilities.
Minneapolis
The Minneapolis office works with the Minnesota Supreme Court's Guardian ad Litem (GAL) Program. In 2007, our attorneys represented a GAL whose role was to represent the best interests of two young boys. The GAL believed that the best interests of these children was in the termination of their mother's parental rights. Our attorneys represented the GAL in this pursuit. After a six day trial, the Court adopted the GAL's view that it was in the best interests of the boys to terminate the parental rights of the biological mother. The District Court's decision was affirmed by the Court of Appeals and the Minnesota Supreme Court declined review. The boys are currently in the process of being adopted by their maternal grandmother.
Click on this link to read our full Community Service Report.
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