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Erin Stevenson
5 years ago
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Need of Defense to provide compassionate legal counsel to unaccompanied children in immigrant proceedings,

1 Pro Bono Matters Paul Hastings has a longstanding commitment to pro bono and community service. From helping Holocaust survivors obtain pension benefits from the German government to working with Kids In Need of Defense to provide compassionate legal counsel to unaccompanied children in immigrant proceedings, we work diligently to create positive change in our global communities. To learn more, please visit

2 515 S. Flower Street, 25th Floor Los Angeles, CA Phone: (213) locations Atlanta, GA Chicago, IL Houston, TX Los Angeles, CA New York, NY Orange County, CA Palo Alto, CA San Diego, CA San Francisco, CA Washington, DC THE STATS No. of Attorneys: 1,000 No. of Offices: 19 Chairman: Seth Zachary Hiring Partner(s): Leigh Ryan EMPLOYMENT CONTACT Cindy Hasson Director, Global Attorney Recruiting Phone: (212) MAJOR DEPARTMENTS & PRACTICES Antitrust Bankruptcy/Creditor s Rights Clean Technology/ Renewable Energy Corporate Energy Intellectual Property International Labor & Employment Litigation Real Estate Tax Technology Vault.com Inc.

3 Who s Who Does the firm have one or more pro bono coordinators and/or partners? If so, how many? 3 For each of your pro bono coordinators and/or partners, please specify how much of his/her time is spent on pro bono work and/ or administering the firm s pro bono program. Pro Bono Coordinator/Partner 1 More than half of his/her time Pro Bono Coordinator/Partner 2 All of his/her time Pro Bono Coordinator/Partner 3 Less than half of his/her time Please provide the primary pro bono contact(s) s information below. Jamie Broder Corporate Social Responsibility Partner Phone: (213) jamiebroder@paulhastings.com Tollie Besson Pro Bono Senior Counsel Phone: (213) wtoliverbesson@paulhastings.com Jeffrey Varga Vice Chair, Pro Bono & Community Committee Phone: (213) jeffreyvarga@paulhastings.com Does the firm have a pro bono committee? How often does the committee meet? The Pro Bono Committees of each of the offices of the Firm meet frequently. Please describe the composition of the committee. The firm Pro Bono and Community Involvement Committee is composed of attorney representatives from each of the offices of the firm. THE SCOOP Does your firm have a written pro bono policy? Can associates bring pro bono matters of interest to the firm? How does the firm decide whether to take on a pro bono matter? The decision as to whether or not to take a pro bono matter is made by the pro bono coordinators in each office. In addition, high profile cases and/or cases which are likely to require very extensive resources are typically discussed with the national pro bono partners/coordinators. Has the firm signed on to the Law Firm Pro Bono Challenge? What are some of the areas of law in which your firm has performed pro bono legal work since 2010? Arts and historic preservation, Asylum, Bankruptcy, Civil rights, Community economic development, Consumer law and small claims court, Death penalty defense research, Domestic violence, Education, Employment, Environment, Fair housing/tenants rights, Family law, First Amendment and constitutional issues, HIV/AIDS advocacy, Homeless advocacy, Immigration, Indigent criminal defense, International human rights, Juvenile justice reform/children s rights, Nonprofit corporate law, Nonprofit incorporation/tax exemptions, Nonprofit intellectual property, Police misconduct, Prisoners rights, Probate law, Public benefits, Real estate transactions, Veterans benefits/appeals, Voting rights Are there areas of law in which, as a matter of policy or practice, your firm does not perform pro bono work? The firm reviews each incoming matter on a case by case basis to determine eligibility. List up to 10 of your firm s pro bono clients or partners since 2010, including legal service providers or clearinghouses. ACLU of Southern California Acumen Fund Bet Tzedek Casa Cornelia Law Center Kids In Need Of Defense (KIND) Lawyers Serving Warriors Public Advocates Public Counsel Public Law Center Sanctuary For Families List up to three representative examples of your firm s pro bono matters since Please limit your answer to a short paragraph per matter. In conjunction with Bet Tzedek Legal Services and Holocaust Survivors Justice Network, Paul Hastings attorneys in Los Visit for company rankings, ratings and reviews to learn what it s really like to work in an industry or company and how to position yourself to land that job. 489

4 Angeles, Atlanta, New York and Frankfurt, Germany, have represented more than 100 Holocaust survivors and the widows and widowers of Holocaust survivors who performed work in Nazi-controlled ghettos before and during World War II. The attorneys have assisted these clients in obtaining pension payments from the German government. Although this project is ongoing and the German government is still reviewing most of the applications, 37 clients have received pension awards as a result of these efforts. These clients have received back payments as high as $56,112, and monthly pension payments of up to $884 for the rest of their lives. Paul Hastings has handled 24 cases for Kids In Needs of Defense (KIND), a non-profit, public interest organization founded by Microsoft and actress and UN Goodwill Ambassador Angelina Jolie. KIND is committed to providing competent and compassionate legal counsel to unaccompanied children in immigration proceedings, some of whom have been trafficked to the U.S., and others of whom have been abandoned by their families or are fleeing human rights abuses such as child marriages or recruitment as child soldiers. For example, two teams in Los Angeles represented teenage boys from Mexico and Honduras who came to the U.S. alone to escape abuse, abandonment and neglect. Both teams were successful in obtaining Special Immigrant Juvenile Status and legal permanent residency for their clients. A New York team assisted two girls from El Salvador in obtaining legal permanent residency and reuniting them with their mother after a five-year separation. Another team successfully assisted a young girl from Guatemala to become a legal permanent resident, and in another matter was able to persuade the government to exercise prosecutorial discretion and thus obtain administrative closure in a case for a young girl from Guatemala. The firm obtained a significant victory on behalf of the International Seafood Sustainability Foundation (ISSF) in an international arbitration that resolved a dispute involving the sustainability of the world s largest tuna stock located in the Western Pacific. ISSF is a non-profit coalition of leading scientists, industry leaders and environmental advocates including National Geographic and the World Wildlife Fund. ISSF objected to the Marine Stewardship Council s certification of the PNA Purse-Seine Fishery as sustainable. Although the PNA is run by the governments of eight Pacific Island nations, it had failed to implement a management strategy that would allow it to certify the health of the entire tuna stock. Following a two-day arbitration in London, the arbitrator issued a final decision granting ISSF s request for the imposition of strong conditions on PNA to protect the tuna stock. This decision will serve as precedent for conservation efforts around the globe. List up to three pro bono matters that are highlights (e.g., a Supreme Court case). Please limit your answer to a short paragraph per matter. A team of Paul Hastings lawyers handled an appeal in the U.S. Supreme Court on behalf of a legal permanent resident who was at risk of deportation to Honduras due to erroneous legal advice from his attorney. Kentucky had charged Jose Padilla, who has lived in the U.S. since childhood and who served in the U.S. military in Vietnam, with drug trafficking. On the advice of his lawyer, Padilla agreed to accept a plea bargain, not realizing that such a plea would result in his automatic deportation despite his legal status. Partner Steve Kinnaird argued the case in the U.S. Supreme Court, which ruled in favor of Padilla, holding that his lawyer s failure to advise that deportation would follow from the proposed plea bargain was objectively unreasonable and that, as a result, Padilla was deprived of effective assistance of counsel under the Sixth Amendment (130 S.Ct. 1473). Paul Hastings, the ACLU of Southern California, and the National Immigration Law Center filed a class action complaint against the Department of Homeland Security and ICE which asserted that the conditions at an immigration processing center known as B-18 were unsanitary, unsafe, and unconstitutional. After months of negotiations, the Government agreed to a settlement which required ICE to rectify the conditions at B-18 and allow on-site monitoring and review of government documents through 2010 to assure continued compliance with the settlement. The settlement directly affects approximately 30,000 detainees a year and was widely publicized in the local and national press. In June 2010, the ACLU presented Paul Hastings with its Humanitarian Award for the firm s contribution to the B-18 lawsuit. Paul Hastings advised the Intrepid Museum Foundation in its acquisition of Space Shuttle Enterprise from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. It was critical to learn NASA s procedures and language, as well as the regulatory restrictions applicable to the transaction, in order to represent Intrepid effectively. The transaction was unique in that NASA is not in the business of de-accessioning its property. In addition to the legal landscape, the firm s attorneys had to be sensitive to NASA s emotional ties to its shuttles and the shuttle program with which many people have been involved for much or all of their careers. The attorneys also traveled with Intrepid to Florida to represent senior management in direct discussions with NASA and the other three shuttle recipients. After the discussions were concluded, the shuttle was flown to JFK airport on the back of NASA s specially outfitted 747 aircraft, and then barged up the Hudson River to its new permanent home at the museum. BY THE NUMBERS What is the total number of hours that lawyers at your U.S. office(s) spent performing pro bono legal services, as defined by the Law Firm Pro Bono Challenge, in 2010 and 2011? Do not include summer associate or non-lawyer pro bono hours in your answers. Total number of pro bono hours in 2010: 100,502 Total number of pro bono hours in 2011: 102,555 What was the attorney headcount in your firm s U.S. offices? Number of attorneys as of December 31, 2010: 773 Number of attorneys as of December 31, 2011: Vault.com Inc.

5 Using the number of attorneys listed above, what is the average number of pro bono hours per attorney in your firm s U.S. office(s) during the following years? Average number of hours per attorney in 2010: 130 Average number of hours per attorney in 2011: 131 What percentage of attorneys employed during 2010 and 2011 in your firm s U.S. office(s) did at least 20 hours of pro bono during that calendar year? Percentage of attorneys who did pro bono work in 2010: % Percentage of attorneys who did pro bono work in 2011: % SUPERVISION AND EVALUATIONS Is there partner supervision on all pro bono matters? Do partner supervisors or, if applicable, senior associates provide written evaluations of associates work on pro bono matters? Are those evaluations taken into account in determining salary or bonuses?, they are taken into account when determining salary, they are taken into account when determining bonuses Are those evaluations taken into account in determining advancement within the firm? Is there a pro bono requirement at your firm? What is the requirement and to whom does it apply? The pro bono requirement is that each attorney in the U.S. offices of the firm is expected to devote at least 25 hours, and 75 hours or more if possible, to pro bono matters during the year. It is understood that exigencies may prevent some attorneys from reaching these goals. Does the firm give billable hour credit for pro bono work? Does the firm have a maximum number of pro bono hours that can be applied toward the billable hour target? No PRO BONO POINTS What training opportunities are open to associates working on pro bono matters? There are numerous training opportunities available to associates in connection with working on pro bono matters. Our pro bono partner organizations provide in-depth training to our attorneys for each major pro bono project. These training opportunities involve developing skills relating to litigation, corporate, real estate, employment and tax issues. In addition, pro bono training for associates often includes courses and/or CLE programs, programs focused on deposition and trial skills, and participation in small group and one-on-one mentoring. Does the firm offer the use of support staff in handling pro bono matters? Please indicate how many total hours and average hours per person your summer associates spent performing pro bono in 2010 and Total hours summer associates spent on pro bono work 2010: 3, : 3,601 Average hours per summer associate spent on pro bono work 2010: : 44 Percentage of summer associates in your firm s U.S. office(s) engaged in pro bono work 2010: 88% 2011: 87% Please provide any additional information about pro bono opportunities available to summer associates. Paul Hastings offered several unique pro bono opportunities for summer associates. For example, in conjunction with the National Immigration Law Center, Paul Hastings conducted a training for summer associates to prepare them to interview immigrant detainees at a local detention center regarding the detainees procedural due process rights. In addition, the firm pays for summer associates to attend a General Relief Advocacy Program Clinic which provides training on how to help the homeless apply for various public benefits. Summer associates also worked with Young Woman s Leadership Network to sponsor a mock trial program in which the summer associates served as coaches, judges and jurors for mock trials conducted by students from all-girl public schools in low income areas in New York. Does the firm consider pro bono hours when determining bonuses? Does the firm have established programs, such as externships, that enable its associates to work in a public interest setting? Visit for company rankings, ratings and reviews to learn what it s really like to work in an industry or company and how to position yourself to land that job. 491

6 Please describe the established program(s) and their duration, if applicable. Our established programs include secondment to various organizations, such as Public Counsel and Acumen, where typically the associate works for a non-profit organization for two to three months. What other law-related public interest and community service programs (that are not pro bono as defined by the Law Firm Pro Bono Challenge) do you offer and manage? For example, list any law school collaborations and public interest scholarships, auctions at law schools, monetary support, or fellowships. We are committed to making a difference in the communities in which we work and live, and as a firm, we are pleased to provide the resources and support necessary to enact positive change. For example, we endow scholarships and fellowships at colleges and law schools around the world, and support our summer associates who are interested in a split public interest program. What non-law related volunteer opportunities does your firm offer? For example, list any work with high school students and non-legal volunteerism for organizations like Habitat for Humanity. The firm supports a large number of nonprofit and community organizations through volunteer services. Each of our 20 offices worldwide has developed close ties with local charities that are of interest to the employees in that office, including, for example, Habitat for Humanity, The Red Cross, and United Way. In addition, education is strongly supported by our volunteer work. For example, in Washington, DC, Paul Hastings has adopted a public elementary school and has worked with the school s students and teachers to plant trees, raise money for a new computer lab, and serve as after-school tutors. In New York, the firm has worked with numerous high schools to enhance the experience of their students through the Pencil and imentor programs. In China, the firm founded the Paul Hastings Hope Elementary School to bring educational opportunities to the rural mountain region of Jiangxi, and continues to send volunteers to the school to assist with enrichment programs. The attorneys and staff of Paul Hastings in Los Angeles annually volunteer with organizations that work to end hunger, including the L.A. Regional Foodbank and Union Station Homeless Services. These are just a few examples of our volunteer efforts. For more information, please visit Please list any special recognition or awards your firm has won since 2010 for its pro bono work. Ranked #2 in The American Lawyer s top Law Firms for Pro Bono Recognized as Pro Bono law firm of the year by Public Counsel Pro Bono Service Award presented by the Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles Humanitarian Award presented by the ACLU of Southern California Law Firm Partnership of the Year Award presented by Lawyers Lend-a-Hand after nomination by the Christopher House, a Chicago-based non-profit organization Spirit of Hope Award presented by Being Alive: People with HIV/AIDS Action Coalition Allegiance Award Kids in Need of Defense (KIND) Pro Bono Firm of the Year Bet Tzedek Vault.com Inc.

The value of a man resides in what he gives and not in what he is capable of receiving.

The value of a man resides in what he gives and not in what he is capable of receiving. Albert Einstein At Sullivan & Cromwell, we have a long tradition of encouraging pro bono involvement by our lawyers