pro bono Spotlight

Led by Jen Leonardi and Corey Auerbach of Barclay Damon LLP in Buffalo, New York, Barclay Damon has been named a 2021 Pro Bono Leader by the American Bar Association Standing Committee on Pro Bono and Public Service. The notification states that, because of the firm’s “sincere dedication to pro bono service through [its] participation in ABA Free Legal Answers,” Barclay Damon is acknowledged on the ABA website as a 2021 Pro Bono Leader. A letter from the chair of the committee notes, “Through Barclay Damon LLP’s exceptional pro bono service, you are helping to ensure that tens of thousands of low-income individuals across this country are receiving the legal help they deserve.” An ABA Free Legal Answers summary report highlights the impact volunteers have made since launching the portal and notes that in 2021 our attorneys answered 85 civil legal questions.

Barclay Damon LLP continued its commitment to all attorneys providing pro bono service throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. A team of attorneys from the firm’s Rochester, New York, office assisted JustCause, a Rochester-area pro bono partner of the firm, in continuing to deliver pro bono assistance throughout the COVID-19 pandemic by offering legal services via phone instead of in person. The team, coordinated by Barclay Damon’s Patrick Burke, still provides legal aid even now that the Help Center housed at the Hall of Justice has reopened to walk-in service. Through the team’s dedicated effort, Barclay Damon continues to ensure low-income residents of Monroe County, New York, have access to legal aid.

Hinckley Allen partners with the GK Fund

As a partner with the GK Fund, Hinckley Allen will provide pro bono legal services to GK Fund grantees, which are small businesses that cannot afford legal services and are owned by members of underserved communities. The GK Fund is a 501(c)(3) that makes small grants ($10,000) to growth-stage start-up and growing for-profit companies whose founders/owners identify as BIPOC, women or veterans and whose annual revenue is less than $100K. The goal is to help high-impact, high-potential entrepreneurs who are traditionally underserved by investors and face bigger challenges accessing capital. In addition to the grant, the GK Fund offers mentors, helps with marketing and creates networking opportunities.

Hanson Bridgett LLP (San Francisco, CA)

Hanson Bridgett’s Appellate Group and Litigators Obtain Published 9th Circuit Victory on Behalf of Gay Nigerian Client Seeking Asylum and Protection Under the Convention Against Torture

The petitioner, a gay man from Nigeria, was seeking asylum and protection under the Convention Against Torture in the United States after he was discovered being intimate with his boyfriend in a Nigerian hotel and was beaten and threatened with death as a result of that discovery. The Immigration Judge (IJ) found that the petitioner was not credible because he got the name of the hotel wrong, which led the IJ to find that the petitioner was not gay and did not face persecution in his home country. The IJ and Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) denied all relief. Following expert briefing by Hanson Bridgett attorneys David Casarrubias, Breana Burgos, and Alexandra Atencio, and Casarrubias’ compelling oral argument, the Ninth Circuit granted the petition for review, holding the BIA failed to give “reasoned consideration” to all of the evidence. Further, the Ninth Circuit ruled that the petitioner’s asylum application was not “frivolous” merely because he got the name of the hotel wrong. While potentially relevant to his asylum claim, the location of the hotel was not a central element of his asylum claim. Not only is this a victory for Hanson Bridgett’s client but one enshrined in a published Ninth Circuit precedent.

Hanson Bridgett attorneys participate in monthly Centro Legal’s Tenants “Know Your Rights” evening clinics to provide one-on-one consultations with tenants facing some issue with their tenancy or landlord. The firm also hosted a pro bono asylum clinic with Centro Legal in May.

Hanson Bridgett LLP presented at the California Attorney General’s legal convening on April 27, calling for law firms to step up to provide pro bono assistance to survivors of domestic violence.

Rebekah Jalilian-Nosraty volunteers at Expungement Clinic

Simmons Perrine Moyer Bergman PLC attorney Rebekah Jalilian-Nosrady volunteered her services at an expungement clinic on April 30 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Linn County, IowaWORKS, Iowa Legal Aid, and Advocates for Social Justice held the county’s fourth Expungement Clinic and Resource Fair, where attorneys assisted 58 Linn County residents with advice on expunging criminal cases from their records and filing expungement motions with the court to remove the charges from public view. Jalilian-Nosraty is a transactional attorney working with matters relating to estate planning, tax, creditors’ rights, small business organization and non-profit applications.