Bickel & Brewer Satellite Office is a Pro Bono Powerhouse
At its satellite office in south Dallas, Bickel & Brewer has an unusual practice focus: pro bono work.
But it reflects Bill Brewer and John Bickel’s longtime commitment to representing low-income clients. They decided to one day open a separate division to represent low-income clients about three years after they established the litigation boutique in the mid-1980s, while sitting in a Dallas courtroom, recounts the Associated Press.
“We were watching a case be disposed of in front of us and it was clear, if you really listened, that the black plaintiff had a legitimate complaint … but he was represented by a lawyer from the community that was clearly outgunned from an advocacy, from a resource, from every other perspective,” Brewer, who is now 57, tells the news agency.
His firm applies the same resources it uses when representing corporate clients in complex commercial litigation to its community impact cases in south Dallas, and has one key objective in both: to win, Brewer says.
Although the satellite office cases are pro bono, that doesn’t necessarily mean that they involve no attorney fees: The firm is now seeking $480,000 for its work in a federal civil rights case that invalidated an ordinance in the city of Farmers Branch that sought to prevent landlords from renting to illegal immigrants. The money is earmarked for the firm’s Future Leaders Program, which takes students from economically depressed areas of the city to private schools for classes and mentoring sessions.
Earlier coverage:
Associated Press (2008): “Judge will Oversee Documents”
ABAJournal.com (2007): “Illegal Immigrant Rental Ban Blocked”
Bickel & Brewer (2006): “Community Service: Bickel & Brewer Named Overall National Winner”
Bickel & Brewer (2003): “The Pro Bono Institute Recognizes Bickel & Brewer Storefront”
