Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP

Size: px

Start display at page:

Download "Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP"

Julian Carroll
6 years ago
Views:

1 Main US office location: 333 S. Grand Avenue Los Angeles, CA (213) THE STATS No. of Attorneys: 453 No. of Offices: 18 Managing Partner: Kenneth M. Doran Who s Who How many pro bono coordinators and/or partners does the firm have? 2 Please provide the primary pro bono contact(s) s information below. Scott Edelman Pro Bono Chair (310) sedelman@gibsondunn.com Katie Marquart Director of Pro Bono (212) kmarquart@gibsondunn.com Approximate percentage of his/her time spent on pro bono work/administering pro bono program: 100% Does the firm have a pro bono committee? If so, how often does the committee meet? Quarterly Please describe the composition of the committee: The committee is composed of a partner(s) and generally an associate from nearly every office globally. THE SCOOP Does the 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? Pro bono matters are treated like billable matters in that the matter and the organization/client need to pass conflicts. Once that occurs, the interested attorney must obtain approval from the office pro bono partner(s). As long as a matter is within the capacity of the attorney or team of attorneys and passes all conflict checks, the firm will approve the matter. 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 2014? Asylum; Bankruptcy; Civil rights; Community economic development; Consumer law and small claims court; Death penalty defense; Disability benefits; Domestic violence; Education; Elder law; 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; Nonprofit corporate law; Nonprofit incorporation/tax exemptions; Nonprofit intellectual property; Parole hearings; Police misconduct; Prisoners rights; Social security law; Probate law; Public benefits; Real estate transactions; The arts and historic preservation; 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? If so, please indicate the specific areas below. If not, please select none. None 187

2 List up to 10 of your firm s pro bono clients or partners since 2014, including legal service providers or clearinghouses. Foley s Asylum/Immigration Pro Bono Group draws from Public Counsel Bet Tzedek Kids in Need of Defense (KIND) Lawyers Without Borders Catholic Charities Sanctuary for Families Children s Law Center Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Immigration Equality TrustLaw List up to three pro bono matters/representations that are highlights (e.g., a Supreme Court case). Gibson Dunn Triumphs in Death Row Appeal Almost a full decade after Gibson Dunn filed the original petition for post-conviction relief for a man who was sentenced to death row in Alabama, the firm secured a new trial and took the client home after serving 15 years in prison. On the night of October 8, 1995, the body of a black woman, Hammoleketh Martin, was found in her still burning car on a back road outside of Mobile, AL. Her husband, Alabama State Trooper George Martin, soon became the primary suspect of an investigation that would take almost five years before the Alabama Attorney General s office sought and secured an indictment and ultimately a conviction from a Mobile jury in May In June of that year, Mobile Circuit Judge Ferrill McCrae overturned the jury s recommendation of life in prison and sentenced Mr. Martin to death. Mr. Martin would spend the next fifteen years of his life in near solitary confinement on death row in Alabama s Holman Prison. In 2005, after Mr. Martin s direct appeals were exhausted, lawyers from Gibson Dunn s Los Angeles Office were introduced to his case by Bryan Stevenson of the Equal Justice Initiative, a private nonprofit organization based in Montgomery, AL, that provides legal representation to indigent defendants and prisoners who have been denied fair and just treatment by the legal system. The Gibson team reviewed Mr. Martin s case file, conducted investigation and analyzed the merits for a post-conviction appeal. In 2006, Gibson Dunn filed Mr. Martin s first petition under Rule 32 of the Alabama Rules of Criminal Procedure seeking a new trial based on claims that the State violated its duty to disclose exculpatory evidence under Brady v. Maryland, that trial and appellate counsel were constitutionally ineffective, and that both judge and jury had violated Mr. Martin s right to a fair trial. The Gibson team litigated against the State of Alabama, both in the Circuit Court and up and down the Alabama courts of appeal, for six more years before ultimately presenting Mr. Martin s case in court. Over a period of two and a half weeks in April and July of 2012, Gibson Dunn attorneys conducted an evidentiary hearing that involved over twenty-five witnesses and over a hundred evidentiary exhibits. The evidentiary hearing was followed by hundreds of pages of detailed briefing and proposed orders. Finally, on August 30, 2013, Mobile Circuit Judge Robert Smith ruled that the State of Alabama violated Brady on numerous occasions in connection with Mr. Martin s original trial, and granted Mr. Martin a new trial. Gibson Dunn litigated the State s appeal of that ruling up to the Alabama Supreme Court, which affirmed Judge Smith s new trial order in May Upon the affirmation of the new trial order and before a new trial date could be set, the Gibson team moved for Mr. Martin s release on bond. Despite the pending capital indictment, Judge Smith found that Gibson Dunn had successfully rebutted the presumption of guilt that attaches on a bail hearing. On May 7, 2015, Gibson Dunn took Mr. Martin home to his family for the first time in almost fifteen years. While preparing for trial, the Gibson team decided to move to dismiss the indictment against Mr. Martin with prejudice on the basis of the State s judicially established Brady violations. From July 2015 through February 2016, the Gibson team submitted hundreds of pages of briefing and proposed orders, and conducted multiple days of evidentiary hearing and argument in support of dismissal. Finally, on March 11, 2016, almost a full decade after Gibson Dunn filed the original petition for post-conviction relief, Mobile Circuit Judge Robert Smith dismissed the indictment against Mr. Martin with prejudice, finding that the State had intentionally deprived him of his constitutional right to a fair trial, and that, due in part to the passage of so much time, it would be impossible for the State to provide him with a fair trial today. The State has taken the dismissal order up on appeal, and a briefing schedule is pending. Boys and Girls Clubs Gibson Dunn is advising Boys and Girls Clubs of America on a series of potential consolidations of local club organizations, as well as other corporate transactional and governance matters. Boys and Girls Clubs of America is a non-profit corporation whose members consist of over 1,000 separate and independent Boys and Girls clubs non-profit corporations throughout the United States and on military bases worldwide. In addition to advising the national organization on a variety of governance issues and strategies, the team has advised a group of Los Angeles philanthropists on the formation, governance and operation of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Los Angeles, a newly formed nonprofit corporation dedicated to promoting the health, social, educational, vocational and character development of youth throughout the greater Los Angeles area by establishing new Boys & Girls Clubs and rejuvenating existing Boys & Girls Clubs that serve many of the neediest Los Angeles communities. The Gibson Dunn team is providing transactional legal advice to the Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Los Angeles on a Vault.com Inc.

3 series of proposed consolidations with the goal of creating a flagship Boys & Girls Club organization consisting of unsurpassed fundraising capacity and preeminent community service. Lawyers Without Borders Gibson Dunn is involved in an interesting pro bono project involving an increasingly worldwide problem wildlife poaching and illegal trade. In August 2015, a team of Gibson Dunn attorneys traveled to Kenya to assist Lawyers Without Borders in training 120 Kenyan lawyers and magistrates on trial advocacy, with a focus on prosecuting wildlife crimes. The focus was on how to try a case under Kenya s enhanced 2013 wildlife protection laws, conducted as a mock trial using a case file developed by the firm. We also worked with them on Kenya s new bar code project (using animal DNA to help prove crimes against endangered species), which is new to Kenya. Additionally, we hosted a brainstorming session with the Kenyan lawyers about how they can use alternative laws to protect wildlife (such as anti-firearm, anti-terrorism, trespass and anti-conspiracy laws, among others). BY THE NUMBERS What is the total number of hours that lawyers at your US office(s) spent performing pro bono legal services, as defined by the law firm pro bono challenge, in 2014 and 2015? Do not include summer associate or non-lawyer pro bono hours in your answers. 2014: 126, : 132,250 What was the attorney headcount in your firm s US office(s)? As of December 31, 2014: 1,016 As of December 31, 2015: 1,042 Using the number of attorneys listed above, what is the average number of pro bono hours per attorney in your firm s US office(s) during the following years? 2014: : 127 What percentage of attorneys employed in 2014 and 2015 in your firm s US office(s) did at least 20 hours of pro bono work during that calendar year? 2014: 73% 2015: 76% 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? If so, are those evaluations taken into account in determining salary or bonuses?, they are taken into account in determining salary and bonuses Are those evaluations taken into account in determining advancement within the firm? Is there a pro bono requirement at your firm? If so, what is the requirement and to whom does it apply? As a signatory to the Pro Bono Institute s Pro Bono Challenge, all attorneys at the firm are encouraged to do at least 60 hours of pro bono work per year. 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 Does the firm consider pro bono hours when determining bonuses? PRO BONO POINTS What training opportunities are open to associates working on pro bono matters? Associates at the firm are encouraged to take on pro bono matters that will provide them with the opportunity to grow their skill set and help them advance their career at the firm. Through the direct supervision of partners and more senior associates, associates are given the opportunity to take on the primary responsibility for pro bono matters that will afford them such growth opportunities. In addition, many of our pro bono legal aid partners provide our associates with training and direct supervision on matters that require expertise, allowing associates to become involved in a variety of interesting and important matters and to grow their skill set. Does the firm offer the use of support staff in handling pro bono matters? 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. 189

4 Please indicate how many total hours and average hours per person your summer associates spent performing pro bono work in 2014 and Please round to the nearest hour and include numbers only: do not use commas, decimal points or labels. Total hours summer associates spent on pro bono work 2014: 3, : 3,852 Average hours per summer associate spent on pro bono work 2014: : 43 Percentage of summer associates in your firm s U.S. office(s) engaged in pro bono work 2014: 60% 2015: 72% Please provide any additional information about pro bono opportunities available to summer associates. During the summer program, summer associates are often asked to take on substantive assignments on specific pro bono matters to help the attorneys who are working on the particular matter, often with a legal research project. In addition, pro bono legal clinics take place throughout the summer in most our offices that allow summer associates to meet directly with individuals seeking pro bono legal help, generally under the supervision of an associate. Does the firm have established programs, such as externships, that enable its associates to work in a public interest setting? If so, please describe the established program(s) and their duration, if applicable. No 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 applicable. We have supported an Equal Justice Works fellow who focused on anti-trafficking efforts. 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. We support and are actively involved in community service projects across the globe. Several of our offices engage in programs where attorneys and staff volunteer to read with students in schools. We also have hosted Days of Service in several of our offices, where attorneys have volunteered at soup kitchens and painted community centers. Please list special recognition or awards your firm has won in the last three years for its pro bono work. In 2014, Gibson Dunn s Los Angeles office was recognized by the Alliance for Children s Rights Children s Justice Counsel Award In 2014, Gibson Dunn was awarded the Safe Haven Award by Immigration Equality for our firm s work on behalf of LGBT asylum seekers In 2014, Gibson Dunn s Dubai office was recognized as the Pro Bono Firm of the Year at the ILFR Middle East Awards In 2015, CAIR Coalition awarded Gibson Dunn it s Law Firm of the Year Award In 2015, Gibson Dunn s Orange County office was awarded the State Bar of California President s Pro Bono Service Award In 2014, 2015 and 2016, Gibson Dunn s New York office was honored with the Legal Aid 2014 Pro Bono Publico Award In 2014, 2015 and, most recently in 2016, Law360 named Gibson Dunn to its list of top 20 Pro Bono Firm In 2016, Kids in Need of Defense honored Gibson Dunn with the 2016 Allegiance Award, recognizing the firm s impressive commitment to pro bono work In 2016, Asian Legal Business recognized Gibson Dunn for its commitment to Corporate Social Responsibility Please add any additional information about your firm s pro bono program. You might want to touch on some of the following issues: firm s pro bono philosophy; procedures for undertaking pro bono; assignments; staffing of pro bono cases; general volunteering opportunities (outside of legal services); salary structure as it relates to pro bono work and billable hours or bonuses; international pro bono; opportunities; pro bono hours by office or region, including overseas. The firm is proud to have a strong and sustained commitment to pro bono work as one of its core values. Our history is rich with examples of our attorneys serving our communities through diverse pro bono activities. The firm strongly encourages all attorneys (partners, of counsel and associates) to continue this tradition and work on pro bono matters throughout their careers with the firm. We are fully committed to delivering the same high quality of legal services to our pro bono clients as other clients of the firm. In terms of evaluating associates productivity, the firm gives full credit to associates for time charged to firm-approved pro bono matters. Bonuses will be determined based on an assessment of the overall quality of the associate s performance and contribution to the vitality and well-being of the firm on both chargeable and non-chargeable activities, including approved pro bono matters Vault.com Inc.

5 Gibson Dunn s pro bono hours remain high. This is due in large part to the strength of the firm-wide committee, under the leadership of Century City partner Scott Edelman. The committee has continued with an internal public relations campaign, which includes pro bono fairs and awards at the office-wide level, as well as the annual Frank Wheat Mermorial Award that is awarded to the lawyer and group of lawyers who have: Demonstrated leadership and initiative in their pro bono work; Obtained significant results for their pro bono clients; and/or Through their pro bono work at the firm, served as a source of inspiration to others. The recipients of the Frank Wheat Award share a cash prize that will be donated to a pro bono organization or organizations designated by the recipients. In terms of non-legal community work, the firm supports an active community affairs and board development program. Many offices have local Community Affairs Committees to help attorneys identify community organizations in which to become involved. Some offices have a separate fund (in addition to the money the firm has already allocated to community organizations), specifically to support and encourage associates to become actively involved with organizations that may have a donation requirement for board involvement. The so-called Associates Fund is made up of donations from individual partners and those donations are matched by the firm. 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. 191

We encourage and value pro bono work, supporting the desire and responsibility of our lawyers to give back to the community.

We encourage and value pro bono work, supporting the desire and responsibility of our lawyers to give back to the community. We are proud of our award-winning pro bono practice, and as a charter member of the Law Firm Pro Bono Challenge, our firm provides 3 percent or more of our billable hours to a diverse range of pro bono