Pro Bono

Plaintiffs Firms Form Alliance Offering Free Help to BP Compensation Fund Claimants

A group of plaintiffs law firms in the southeast have formed an Oil Spill Legal Alliance that is offering to help victims of the BP spill file claims without charge. Alliance members will be available, however, to represent oil spill victims who opt to litigate on a contingency basis or…

Aug 2, 2010 11:00 AM CDT

Legal Aid Groups Sue Prison Officials Over Ban on ‘Jailhouse Lawyer’s Handbook’

A free handbook prepared by legal aid groups explaining to inmates how they can assert their constitutional rights in federal court is a threat to prison security, officials in Virginia decided. So they banned it. Now the publishers of the Jailhouse Lawyer’s Handbook (PDF) are fighting back. They have filed…

Jul 22, 2010 9:15 PM CDT

Judge Hits Debevoise Pro Bono Clients for ‘Unwarranted Persistence’

A federal judge in Manhattan has ordered Debevoise & Plimpton’s bicycle-riding pro bono clients to pay $16,000 for pursuing litigation when there was “no real hope of success.” U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan ruled in a civil-rights suit challenging New York parade regulations requiring permits for groups of 50 or…

Jul 16, 2010 1:16 PM CDT

‘Dream Team’ Lawyer Robert Shapiro Takes Lindsay Lohan’s Case

Updated: Lindsay Lohan has found another lawyer in the nick of time—she’s scheduled to turn herself in Tuesday—to appeal her 90-day sentence for probation violation. TMZ reports that Lohan has hired Robert Shapiro, best known for being a part of O.J. Simpson’s criminal defense “dream team.” TMZ notes that Shapiro’s…

Jul 15, 2010 3:37 PM CDT

Economic Downturn Didn’t Lead to Pro Bono ‘Nosedive’ After All

Pro bono continues to thrive at the nation’s top law firms, despite the economic downturn. Some had feared a “nosedive” in pro bono hours in 2009, but it didn’t happen, the American Lawyer reports. Instead, the top 200 law firms collectively devoted 5.7 million hours to pro bono work last…

Jul 8, 2010 10:30 AM CDT

29 Is Not Enough

Couple’s concern for foster kids is more than a family affair

Jul 1, 2010 10:39 AM CDT

Jury Acquits Man of Murder in Case of Cop Who Died 41 Years After Shooting

William Barnes has already served 16 years in prison for shooting and paralyzing a police officer in 1966. Now, as a result of a jury verdict on Monday, the 74-year-old defendant won’t have to serve any more time for the policeman’s death 41 years later. The jury deliberated only six…

May 27, 2010 11:54 AM CDT

Hospital Treats Patients By Pointing Them to Legal Help

The rats kept scurrying through Idrissa Munu’s home in Washington, D.C., for several years, even after he killed three with a baseball bat and took them in a plastic bag to the property manager’s office to complain. But after a doctor at the Children’s National Medical Center connected the rodents—and…

May 27, 2010 10:59 AM CDT

Billionaire Harvard Alum’s Big Bucks to Help 10 Law Grads Get Public-Interest Jobs

A well-known graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Law School is donating $1 million to the two schools, part of which will fund public-interest jobs for 10 law school alumni. Sumner Redstone, the executive chairman of Viacom Inc., announced the donation and the funding of the 10 Redstone Fellowships for…

Apr 27, 2010 7:26 PM CDT

8 Reasons to Do Pro Bono, Besides Home-Baked Cookies

Marietta, Ga., lawyer Dawn Levine actively seeks out pro bono work and thinks others ought to do the same. Writing in the Fulton County Daily Report, Levine says that while she knows she’s appreciated by her regular paying clients, “the appreciation is different when you’ve helped someone who had nowhere…

Apr 23, 2010 12:53 PM CDT

Sidley Austin Represents Plaintiffs in Another School Funding Challenge

Lawyers for plaintiffs challenging the local funding system for Illinois schools say a 1996 state supreme court ruling doesn’t bar their suit because of new mandates for education. The 1996 Illinois Supreme Court decision said school funding disparities were related to the legitimate state goal of promoting local control of…

Mar 24, 2010 5:32 PM CDT

‘Al Qaeda Seven’ or ‘Patriots’? AG Defends Lawyers in Apparent Rebuttal

Attorney General Eric Holder is defending lawyers who represent unpopular clients in a speech delivered just two weeks after a conservative group criticized Justice Department lawyers who previously defended Guantanamo detainees. The group known as Keep America Safe had dubbed the lawyers “the Al Qaeda Seven.” Speaking Friday as he…

Mar 22, 2010 10:30 AM CDT

Report of a Deferred Associate Culture Gap Was a Mistake, Bar Says

Never mind. A poll released earlier this month had suggested a culture gap between deferred associates and their colleagues at public interest jobs. According to a report released at that time, associates had indicated they were dissatisfied with their integration into the workplace and with their colleagues there. Now the…

Mar 18, 2010 6:13 PM CDT

Poll Suggests Culture Gap Between Deferred Associates, Public Interest Lawyers

Updated: Deferred associates polled by the New York City Bar were generally satisfied with their training with public interest groups, but they weren’t as enthusiastic about their relationship with fellow lawyers employed by the groups. The lawyers gave low satisfaction ratings to their public interest colleagues and to their integration…

Mar 9, 2010 1:40 PM CST

ABA Prez Defends Lawyers Dubbed ‘Al Qaeda Seven’

Updated: ABA President Carolyn Lamm on Thursday criticized efforts to smear the reputation of Justice Department lawyers who at one point represented detainees at Guantanamo Bay. “Impugning the character of lawyers who have sought to protect the fundamental rights of unpopular clients is a divisive and diversionary tactic,” Lamm said…

Mar 4, 2010 10:10 PM CST