Main US office location: 300 E Randolph, Suite 5000 Chicago, IL 60601 www.bakermckenzie.com (312) 861-8000 THE STATS No. of Attorneys: 4,200 No. of Offices: 77 Global Chair: Paul Rawlinson 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. Angela Vigil Pro Bono Partner and Executive Director (305) 789-8904 angela.vigil@bakermckenzie.com Approximate percentage of his/her time spent on pro bono work/administering pro bono program: 100% Jaclyn Pampel Pro Bono Partner (650) 251-5951 jaclyn.pampel@bakermckenzie.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 pro bono leadership team is made up of a team of associates and partners who represent each office and regional practice group across Baker & McKenzie. 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? The pro bono practice leadership team assesses all proposed matters with consideration of the American Bar Association, the Pro Bono Institute, the Association of Pro Bono Counsel, and Firm Policies. We give preference to matters referred by public interest law organizations with which we partner. 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; Civil rights; Community economic development; Consumer law and small claims court; 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; Police misconduct; Prisoners rights; Social security law; Probate law; Public benefits; 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 21
List up to 10 of your firm s pro bono clients or partners since 2014, including legal service providers or clearinghouses. Public Interest Law and Policy Group (PILPG.org) UN High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR.org) National Immigrant Justice Center (immigrantjustice.org) Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLCenter.org) Juvenile Law Center, Philadelphia (JLC.org) Chicago Coalition for the Homeless (chicagohomeless.org) Youth Law Center (ylc.org) Women for Women (Women for Women.org) Appleseed Network (appleseednetwork.org) Tahirih Justice Center (tahirih.org) List up to three pro bono matters/representations that are highlights (e.g., a Supreme Court case). HOMELESS YOUTH HANDBOOK SERIES (www. homelessyouth.org). Through a collaborative engagement with public interest and corporate partners, our firm has led the charge in developing the Homeless Youth Handbook, a state-specific legal resource guide for homeless youth. Homeless youth face a myriad of legal challenges that obstruct their path to self-sufficiency and stability. These legal issues range from education to emancipation, from foster care to family law, and from delinquency to domestic violence. The solutions to these challenges are likewise elusive as resources and advocacy is limited and not readily accessible, especially in an era of shrinking budgets and the absence of reliable social services. Empowerment of our youth to effectively navigate the struggle against homelessness requires access to effective legal services to protect their basic rights and equip them with the tools to move beyond the limitations of their current realities. Such a complex challenge demands the best thinking, study, creativity and advocacy the community can provide. The Homeless Youth Handbook is offered as a way to contribute to that goal. Focusing on a solution to the gap in legal service to this population of homeless youth, committed organizations have come together to try to create a resource to address the legal needs of these youth which can be critical to serving their other needs and restore them to safety. The Handbook was designed to serve, not only the youth themselves, but those dedicated community members who serve them and try to help them every day by giving them the legal information and insight youth need to realize their rights and set a successful course to safety. To date, the firm has published three Homeless Youth Handbooks. In Washington, we partnered with Columbia Legal Services and Starbucks to launch the first handbook. Following that, we created the Illinois Homeless Youth Handbook with Chicago Coalition for the Homeless and United Airlines and the Minnesota Homeless Youth Handbook with Southern Minnesota Regional Legal Services and Ecolab. We are in the final phase of editing to publish three new Handbooks: California (with Bay Area Legal and Google), New York (The Door and Mondelez International), and Texas (with Texas Appleseed and Weatherford). GUIDED JUSTICE: BRINGING TERRORISTS TO JUSTICE. At the request of the United Nations Counter-Terrorism Executive Directorate, we teamed with Salesforce for a pro bono project to create a toolkit for judges. The Southeast Asia Judges Toolkit provided detailed guidance on adjudicating trials of terrorism suspects. The toolkit covers 24 areas of law, and is distributed throughout South Asia and used in upcoming United Nations programs. Our firm and Salesforce presented the Toolkit at an open briefing of the United Nations with the chief judges of eight South Asia nations, as well as a US Supreme Court Justice. This marked the first time a US Supreme Court Justice attended an open briefing of the United Nations. HELPING FLORIDA S AT-RISK CHILDREN ATTEND COLLEGE. Florida s Children First, a non-profit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to advancing the rights of at-risk children, especially those in foster care, retained the firm to assist two former foster children in obtaining university tuition and fee exemptions. Under Florida law, children who were in foster care or otherwise in the custody of Florida s department of child services when they turned 18 are entitled to tuition fee waiver and exemptions at any Florida university until they reach the age of 28. In contravention of this law, the Florida Board of Governors the entity authorized to oversee the application of that law passed a regulation with two limitations. First, the regulation limited the exemptions to students with less than 120 university credit hours. The regulation also limited the exemptions to undergraduate studies. One of the clients had obtained her undergraduate degree, but is currently pursuing a graduate degree. She was forced to take out a loan in order to cover her first semester of graduate school because of the regulation. The other client, while still pursuing her undergraduate degree, had exceeded the 120-hour limit. She also was forced to take out a loan to cover her tuition and fees while she is continuing her undergraduate studies. On behalf of the clients, the firm filed a petition with the Board of Governors seeking the vacatur of the regulation and seeking the retroactive application of the tuition and fee exemptions for our two student clients. Without requiring our clients to attend a hearing, the Board of Governors has decided to re-write its regulation to comport with the law, will advise the general counsel for each of the respective Florida universities of that fact within the next few weeks, and has instructed the universities our clients are attending to retroactively apply the exemptions to the students. SUPERVISION AND EVALUATIONS Is there partner supervision on all pro bono matters? 22 2016 Vault.com Inc.
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? No 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? N/A 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? Our pro bono practice is purposefully diverse in our partnerships with public interest organizations in order to ensure that we offer a variety of matters that allow our attorneys to expand and develop their skills. The pro bono work available at any given time includes opportunities to develop, for example, substantive legal expertise, project management experience and skill development training (such as working with experts, in-court experience, legal writing experience). Our pro bono practice works closely with our professional development team to understand the needs of our attorneys. Does the firm offer the use of support staff in handling pro bono matters? Please provide any additional information about pro bono opportunities available to summer associates. Summer associates are invited and encouraged to participate in most of our pro bono matters. In addition, our pro bono practice designs a summer project specifically for our summer associates to work together across offices supervised by our attorneys across North America. Does the firm have established programs, such as externships, that enable its associates to work in a public interest setting? 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. Our firm has a Global Corporate Social Responsibility ( CSR ) Program which manages our global community services initiatives. Our CSR Program leverages the firm s talent, passion, and unique global footprint when engaging in community service initiatives globally. The program is led by a Global CSR Board comprised of senior firm management. Our CSR Program focuses on investing in our communities. For example, through our CSR Program, we apply our legal knowledge and passion to advance fundamental rights and opportunities for persons in need throughout the world. We do this in collaboration with corporations and other organizations dedicated to promoting justice and compassion in our global community. 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. Each office supports efforts and projects which fall into other areas of service including civil leadership of nonprofits, charitable giving and employee volunteerism. Many of our community service efforts take place at a local office level to impact the local community in which the office sits. As a team of offices in North America, we engage in two central events each year: (1) an annual day in service where each office or practice group chooses a local project such as a build day with Habitat for Humanity or a day cleaning up a public park; (2) a Breast Cancer Awareness Campaign in October each year which includes fundraising, participation in a walk, and other teambuilding activities. Please list special recognition or awards your firm has won in the last three years for its pro bono work. AmLaw Global Citizenship Award for Global Pro Bono Project of the Year (Research) for pro bono work on behalf of street children and youth globally. (2016) ABA Section of Litigation John Minor Wisdom Award for outstanding contributions to quality of justice in the community and ensuring that the legal system is open and available to all. (2016) Tahirih Justice Center Firm of the Year. (2015) Visit www.vault.com 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. 23
Chicago Appleseed pro bono award for our work in the areas of stopping unconstitutional practices within our criminal justice system, working to persuade judges to stop imposing unnecessary court costs on litigants, and improving the adjudication of child support. (2015) Texas Appleseed pro bono award. (2015) Epstein Award for Outstanding Volunteer Attorney. (2014) Southern Poverty Law Center The American Lawyer for outstanding pro bono work on the Juvenile Justice Reform. Daily Business Review Most Effective Lawyer Award in the Pro Bono Category. Pro Bono Partnership Award by the National Pro Bono Resource Centre. Pro Bono Honor Roll for the Year by Legal Services NYC. 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. Baker & McKenzie s pro bono practice embraces a unique mission that fits the firm strategy and footprint. The pro bono practice aims to disrupt barriers to rule of law, human rights, and access to resources. Over the past year, this mission has been executed broadly, but strategically centered in four areas of impact: children s rights, justice crossing borders, rule of law, and strengthening non-profits. Over the last decade of our North American pro bono practice, we have delivered well over a quarter million hours of legal service to the disadvantaged and underserved in countless areas of law. Our pro bono docket ranges from the most dedicated and impressive local organizations in communities in which we are present to household name international NGOs who work toward such lofty goals as the ending of poverty, disease, technology gaps and inequities in basic necessities. We are extremely proud of the reputation we have built and the work that continues each day for individuals, organizations and in high impact areas of legal need. Our pro bono achievements have only been possible because of the firm s commitment to the appended core principles that have guided our pro bono practice over the last decade. We strive to assure that our lawyers only deliver high value and significant legal services of the highest quality with the same real world pragmatism we deliver all clients. We structure our pro bono practice using the same best practices as we do in any legal work. Baker & McKenzie takes a cross-disciplinary, cross-practice team approach to maximize impact and client results. We measure success by impact to the community and to the client. Our firm partners with organizations that are making important contributions to society and we are helping them achieve their goals. We partner with corporate clients to engage them to join us in our effort to provide impactful legal services for vulnerable populations on an even broader scale. Some examples of recent projects that embody our firm s mission and commitment include the following: Children s Rights Summit with Google. For a second year, the firm hosted a Children s Rights Summit with Google bringing together a broad range of children s rights advocates, in-house lawyers, former foster youth, and technology experts for a day of brainstorming and information-sharing at Google s Mountain View headquarters. Juvenile Life Without Parole Amicus Brief Support. A team of Baker lawyers wrote an amicus brief in the Supreme Court of Michigan presenting the unexpected views of families who had lost members to violent murders by children serving life without parole. The heartbreaking stories of individuals who mourned and lived through decades of loss after the murders of their daughters, sons, spouses and others presented a very moving perspective on the issues facing the victims. Despite the similar circumstances of crime victims, their views on the appropriate punishment for youth who commit even the ultimate crime are not monolithic. Not all victims believe the most severe penalty is the only penalty. Mothers, fathers, and siblings shared their darkest days with us so we could compile testimonials in a brief, send a message to one of many state supreme courts that examine the retroactivity of the US Supreme Court s holding in Miller v. Alabama. These victims argued that not all victims are alike and do not all support the most severe sentence no matter what. Advocacy for Unaccompanied Immigrant Children. In 2014, over 63,000 unaccompanied children clamored to the US border causing a crisis in legal services. Our firm s response has been multi-faceted and on-going: Baker s Miami office representing unaccompanied children seeking visas for their safety from persecution if they were forced to return to Central America. A team of Miami tax lawyers are taking on an appeal of a key issue for these children for an individual child which will effect hundreds of others waiting before courts in Florida. The San Francisco office hosted Legal Services for Children to present a training on representing unaccompanied immigrant children for us and our fellow lawyers around the Bay Area. Following the training, our office took on individual case representation of several youth seeking Special Immigrant Juvenile Status and permanent residence applications. A multi-office team filed an amicus brief on behalf of K.I.N.D., an organization dedicated to providing counsels with unaccompanied youth in immigration matters, also known as Kids In Need of Defense. This brief argued the asylum claim of three unaccompanied minors. The child abduction claims of a mother who wanted them returned to their persecution 24 2016 Vault.com Inc.
circumstances in Mexico to the mother s boyfriend, a drug cartel member who physically abuses them. Although the Court granted leave to file our amicus brief, they denied our Certification of our appeal arguing the government should not use immigration to split up families. This represented another great effort by a multi-office team to raise critical issues about how families should stay together despite immigration status. Fighting Discrimination with Court Costs/Fees. In partnership with Chicago Appleseed, a member of the national network of outstanding civil rights organizations, we helped craft a report on the impact and legality of court fines, fees and costs in the Illinois criminal justice system. Advocating for reform, the report details how the recent trend of shifting court costs to low-income and indigent defendants is creating a cycle of fines, fees and increased jail time that inevitably costs the court more in administration and enforcement than it collects. Visit www.vault.com 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. 25