Pro Bono

Ruling Freeing 17 Gitmo Detainees a Win for Bingham and Kramer

A ruling yesterday ordering the release of 17 Chinese Muslims at Guantanamo Bay is a victory for two law firms: Bingham McCutchen and Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel. The decision by U.S. District Judge Ricardo Urbina, appealed in an emergency filing, ordered release of the men, known as Uighurs, into…

Oct 8, 2008 2:28 PM CDT

Discovering Eldorado

In a massive clash between church and state, a band of Texas lawyers learns that individual stories still count

Oct 1, 2008 9:00 PM CDT

A Bitter Fruit

When the German government announced a reparations program last year for Holocaust survivors who worked in Nazi-controlled ghettos, the Los Angeles-based legal services agency Bet Tzedek acted quickly.

Oct 1, 2008 8:25 PM CDT

Pro Bono Lawyers to Monitor D.C. Polls

Pro bono lawyers will monitor the polls for irregularities in Washington, D.C., during the presidential election vote. D.C. Council member Mary Cheh announced that the lawyers are being enlisted after a “chaotic situation” during the primary when thousands of phantom voters were initially added to the tallies, the Washington Post…

Oct 1, 2008 6:33 PM CDT

Four Gibson Dunn Associates Represent McCain in Citizenship Suits

Four associates at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher in Washington, D.C., have racked up a string of victories as they fight for John McCain’s right to be president. The associates are volunteering their time to defend claims that McCain’s birth to a Navy officer in the Panama Canal Zone makes him…

Sep 19, 2008 11:36 AM CDT

One of World’s Biggest Law Firms Seeks Image Upgrade

Clifford Chance is one of the world’s biggest law firms, with more than 2,800 lawyers on its attorney roster and an average profit per equity partner of nearly $2 million last year. But to truly reach its top potential in the long run, the firm says in a recent report,…

Sep 5, 2008 9:37 PM CDT

Immigration Lawyers are Hard to Find

It’s not easy for an immigrant who needs a lawyer to find one. Although several programs seek to provide legal help, the best answer would be a public defender system equivalent to what is in place for criminal defendants, immigrant advocates say. But that doesn’t appear likely to happen in…

Sep 2, 2008 5:01 PM CDT

Prime Aid, Subprime Crisis

Pro bono efforts flourish despite conflict issues

Sep 1, 2008 1:00 PM CDT

Mich. Law School to Pay Students $5K for Public Interest Internships

The University of Michigan law school has announced it will pay $5,000 to second-year law students who intern with qualified government or public interest groups. Cindy Cohn, legal director of the Electronic Frontier Foundation and a 1989 Michigan law grad, applauded the program, the National Law Journal reports. “A public…

Aug 27, 2008 2:03 PM CDT

Lawyer Who Grew Up in Poverty Donates $1M to Food Bank

A Charleston, S.C., trial lawyer who grew up in poverty has donated $1 million to a food bank. Lawyer Paul Hulsey told the Charleston Post and Courier that he sometimes went hungry as a child. “It wasn’t unusual for us to go to school without any breakfast, and sometimes we…

Aug 25, 2008 5:09 PM CDT

Mired in the ‘Heart of Darkness’: Gitmo Lawyers Leave Firms, Tap Savings

The lawyer who left Covington & Burling after dropping his pants at a news conference isn’t the only attorney whose life became consumed by litigation for Guantanamo detainees. David Remes, who represents 16 detainees in federal habeas cases, stripped to his underwear to demonstrate the full body searches conducted by…

Aug 25, 2008 1:52 PM CDT

Bingham Creates Pro Bono Fellowship Program

Two associates at Bingham McCutchen will work solely on pro bono projects for a year under a new program at the law firm. Bingham has not yet chosen the two associates who will participate in the new Pro Bono Fellowship Program, the National Law Journal (sub. req.) reports. The associates…

Aug 13, 2008 4:51 PM CDT

Wells to Target Judicial Nominees, Pro Bono for Military Personnel, Voter Rights

H. Thomas Wells Jr., who officially begins his term as ABA president Monday, announced the launch of two new association initiatives during a morning news conference in New York City, the site of the 2008 ABA Annual Meeting. Both projects, Wells said, reflect his belief that “as lawyers, we can…

Aug 11, 2008 6:08 PM CDT

For Three Law Firms, Gitmo Cases Weren’t Strictly Pro Bono

Guantanamo legal challenges handled by three law firms have not been strictly pro bono efforts. The three firms received at least some fees from the International Counsel Bureau, which is partly funded by the Kuwaiti government, Washington Times reports. Shearman & Sterling received the most money—more than $1 million, the…

Jul 29, 2008 10:57 AM CDT

Expanded Visa Program Helps Iraqi Aides Facing Danger

Visa applications are now being processed under an expanded program to help Iraqis who are in danger because they were employed by the U.S. government. The program permitting 5,000 Iraqis a year to go the United States is under way now that guidelines have been finalized and staffing is in…

Jul 25, 2008 12:07 PM CDT