Hector Gonzalez Appointed Chairman of

New York’s Police Review Board

Pro Bono UpdateJune 2002

Hector Gonzalez AppointedChairman of New York's Police Review Board . . . . . .1

Save the Date: June 18Annual Pro Bono Luncheon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2

Court Asked to Rehear Case of Slain American Church Women . . . . . . . . . .2

Letter from Kadish . . . . . . .3

Assisting Immigrant Victims of Domestic Violence . . . . .4

Building an Effective Pro Bono Program . . . . . . . . . . .5

Court Curriculum . . . . . . . .7

Seventh Circuit ProjectHighlighted . . . . . . . . . . . .11

Saving Soles as a PILI Fellow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12

PILI Honorees . . . . . . . . . .13

Pro Bono Auf Deutsch . . . .14

“Giving Them Vision” . . . .14

Cristo Rey Project . . . . . . .15

Midwest Center on Lawand the Deaf . . . . . . . . . . .16

London Pro Bono Practice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19

Contents

New York Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg in April appointed Mayer,Brown, Rowe & Maw partner Hector Gonzalez as chairman of thecity's Civilian Complaint Review Board (CCRB). "It is important

to both the public and the Police Department that the CCRB handle citi-zens' complaints fairly and in a timely manner," Mayor Bloomberg said."Hector Gonzalez, a distinguished lawyer and former prosecutor, has per-formed superbly as a member of the CCRB, and his combination of expe-rience and judgment will ensure that the CCRB investigates every com-plaint thoroughly."

The CCRB is an independent agency with power to receive, investigate,hear, make findings, and recommend action upon complaints by membersof the public against the Police Department that allege misconduct involv-ing the use of excessive or unnecessary force, abuse of authority, discour-tesy, or use of offensive language.

With Hector Gonzalez at his side, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg announces Hector’s appoint-ment as chairman of New York’s Civilian Complaint Review Board (CCRB).

continued on next page

"Hector is an extraordinary lawyer and a valued part-ner," said Ty Fahner, chairman of Mayer, Brown, Rowe& Maw. "Mayor Bloomberg's appointment of Hector asChairman of the CCRB is recognition of his distin-guished prior public service, as well as his thoughtful-ness and sensitivity to the needs of the citizens of NewYork."

Hector has served as a member of CCRB since June2000. He also was a federal prosecutor at the United

States Attorney's Office for the Southern District ofNew York where he was chief of the narcotics unit, anda state prosecutor at the Manhattan District Attorney'sOffice.

Hector has handled a number of pro bono matters at thefirm. Most recently in the December 2001 Pro BonoUpdate, we reported Hector's trip to El Salvador as partof a groundbreaking effort to launch a pro bono pro-gram with 10 Salvadorian law firms. !

2Pro Bono Update

Save the Date: June 18, Annual Pro Bono LuncheonThe firm's Annual Pro Bono luncheon will be held in the Chicago office June 18. This year's luncheon willhonor Tom Jersild for his work as a volunteer with the American Bar Association's Central and EastEuropean Law Initiative in Macedonia. For more than a year, Tom oversaw a CEELI office of nine peoplein Skopje that provided technical legal assistance to governments and business leaders in the region. CEELI'sExecutive Director David Tolbert will be the featured speaker at this year's luncheon. !

Tom Jersild’s CEELI work in Macedonia got an assist fromDavid Curry in April when David traveled there to conductbankruptcy training workshops. Pictured here are (L to R)Samir Latif, Elisabeta Georgieva (both ABA/CEELIMacedonian professionals), David Curry, Ljubica Ruben(Chairperson of the Macedonian Bar Association’sEducation Committee), and Tom Jersild.

The families of four American church womenslain in El Salvador in 1980 have lost in their lat-est appeal to hold accountable two former com-

manding generals of the convicted killers. In an April30 decision, the 11th Circuit affirmed the lower courtdecision, which, we argued on behalf of the families,was tainted by erroneous jury instructions. The familieshave since filed a petition for rehearing, citing issues ofproximate cause and command control responsibility.

Plain Error Not ShownThe largest hurdle the families of the church womenhad faced in getting the verdict overturned was the stan-dard of review on appeal. The appeal had to show plain

error in the trial judge's jury instructions and abuse ofdiscretion in allowing the expert testimony. In affirmingfor the lower court, however, the 11th Circuit stated thatplaintiffs' trial counsel had "invited" one of the errors inthe jury instructions by proposing the erroneousinstruction; accordingly, the 11th Circuit declined evento consider whether that error qualified as plain.

As to the second error in the jury instructions, the 11thCircuit concluded it was not plain. Judge Barkett's con-curring opinion, addressing the invited error analysis,suggested that the 11th Circuit rehear the case en bancin order to adopt an exception to the invited-error rule

see “Slain” on page 17

Court Asked to Rehear Case of Slain American Church Women

3 Pro Bono Update

Growing Pro BonoThe first issue of the Pro Bono Update, in December1999, was 12 pages long with an equal number of sto-ries. The majority of them dealt with criminal cases thatI had brought with me to establish our new pro bonoprogram. Only two of the stories were about pro bonoactivities outside the Chicago office.

Measuring Pro Bono's GrowthOver time, I like to think, the Update has expandedalong with the practice's scope and ambitiousness. Thisissue—our seventh—is 20 pages long and discussescases and projects not only in other U.S. offices but inLondon and Frankfurt as well. It reflects the broaderspectrum of work we now do: appellate litigation, non-litigation projects, International Human Rights work,work with public interest legal groups, our unique part-nership with the Northside College Preparatory HighSchool, signature projects, and our sponsorship of legalFellowships through Equal Justice Works (formerlyNational Association of Public Interest Law "NAPIL").

Attorney time devoted to pro bono work within the firmincreased by more than 5,000 hours in 2001 to over41,000 hours. Several projects have been establishedfor paralegal involvement in the program. MickeyRaup now joins Tom Durkin as co-chair of the re-invig-orated Pro Bono Committee. Five new members havejoined the Committee.

Local Level WorkThe New York office, under the leadership of commit-tee members Philip Lacovara and Andrew Schapiro andwith the encouragement of Bob Ward, head of litigationin that office, has increased its hours dramatically. TheWashington office, under the leadership of co-chairMickey Raup and committee member Adrian Steel and

in partnership with Evan Tager and Mark Ryan, isdeveloping an interesting "budget of hours" approachtowards pro bono work. The Charlotte office and indi-vidual lawyers from several offices in the firm havedonated more than $150,000 to the United Way cam-paign in Charlotte. Part of it is being used to establish atax clinic in which Charlotte associate Amy Murphywill serve on the Board of Directors. The Houstonoffice has devoted many hours to an appointed federalhabeas corpus case in a death penalty case. The LosAngeles office, under the leadership of Todd Stark, con-tinues work on its signature adoption project.

New IP ProjectWe are just starting an exciting new project with theIntellectual Property practice that demonstrates how probono and training work together at our firm. MikeWarnecke, head of IP, asked me to find worthwhile probono IP projects for the junior associates in the group. Icontacted Lawyers for the Creative Arts and theCommunity Economic Development Project to estab-lish a steady source of cases. The program is now estab-lished and cases have been coming in. Deborah SchaveyRuff and Debra Bernard are supervising the associatesand helping with the case selection. Debra Bernard isalso one of the new members of the Pro BonoCommittee.

A Fresh ElementOur next issue will introduce a fresh element to theUpdate: opinion-commentary by experts on some of theover-arching issues in pro bono work. Esther Lardenthas agreed to address the argument, recently raised in aFederalist Society report, that pro bono work tends tofavor liberal causes. Esther is the President of the ProBono Institute at Georgetown University Law Center.The Institute is noted for its projects in support ofenhanced pro bono services at major law firms and legaldepartments. The Institute's annual conference inWashington is the main forum to hear about and discussdevelopments in the pro bono area. Given our political-ly heterogeneous readership, we expect Esther'sremarks to excite some debate.

- Marc Kadish

4Pro Bono Update

Assisting Immigrant Victims of Domestic Violence

Immigrant victims of domestic vio-lence often face increased obsta-cles, says Camille Carey, who repre-

sents abused immigrant women as anEqual Justice Works (EJW - formerly,National Association of Public InterestLaw or NAPIL) Fellow at the Legal AidSociety in Brooklyn.

"Oftentimes, an immigrant victim's bat-terer will use the victim's immigrationstatus as a situs for further control andabuse," said Camille. "If the woman isundocumented, the batterer will threat-en to report her to the INS for possibledeportation if she attempts to leave himor seek help."

A batterer who is married to his victimmight file paperwork with the INS toacquire a green card for his wife butdiscontinue the process midway, againleaving the woman vulnerable due toher immigration status and the batter-er's control over it.

"I assist women with Violence AgainstWomen Act self-petitions and batteredspouse waivers, which allow certainbattered immigrant women who aremarried to green card holders or citi-zens to seek green cards without theirhusband's sponsorship," said Camille."Approximately one-half of my clientsare in need of immigration assistance."

In a two-year project, which began lastSeptember and is sponsored by Mayer,Brown, Rowe and Maw, Camille pro-vides legal services to immigrant vic-tims of domestic violence who live inBrooklyn, and she also provides com-munity outreach and education.

Legal RepresentationCamille provides direct representationin the areas of family law, public bene-fits, immigration law, and housing law.This might involve representing awoman in multiple cases if necessary."One client might have a divorce casein the Supreme Court, a child supportcase in Family Court, and an immigra-tion case through the Immigration andNaturalization Service," said Camille.

Outreach and EducationTo reach clients, Camille conducts out-reach to domestic violence shelters andagencies as well as community-basedorganizations that serve immigrantcommunities in Brooklyn. At thesesites, she conducts training sessionsand presentations for domestic vio-lence support group participants, staffmembers, and the larger community.

The work includes conducting regularlegal clinics at the Arab-AmericanFamily Support Center and the NewYork Asian Women's Center. She hasalso conducted outreach to the Haitian-

American and Chinese-American com-munities in Brooklyn.

Camille has developed relationshipswith domestic violence agencies in NewYork City that refer clients. Theseagencies include the Park Slope SafeHomes Project, the New York AsianWomen's Center, and the Jewish Boardof Family and Children's Services.

"I really enjoy my job," said Camille. "Iam working with some amazinglystrong people." !

At a firm luncheon, Camille Carey discussesher legal work with immigrant women whoare victims of domestic violence. Camille is aNAPIL (Equal Justice Works) fellow, spon-sored by Mayer, Brown, Rowe & Maw, work-ing at the Legal Aid Society in Brooklyn.

Building an Effective Pro Bono Program

Virtually every survey on the legal needs of thepoor has concluded that their legal needs arenot being met. Private lawyers acting on a pro

bono basis try unsuccessfully to fill the gap. But toestablish an effective pro bono program we can't takeon every case that comes our way. One of our goals isto limit projects to those coming from organizationswith which we have a relationship. We try to providethese organizations with assistance by serving on theirboards, and providing case and leadership assistanceand financial aid. In return the organization prescreenscases for indigency and worthwhileness. Our on-goingwork with the Midwest Immigrant and Human Rights

Center (MIHRC) and Chicago Legal Clinic (CLC) aremodels for the kind of relationship we want to encour-age.

MIHRCMIHRC describes itself as an "anti-poverty, humanrights organization that advances the human rights andresponds to the human needs of endangered popula-tions." Much of its work involves representing foreign-ers seeking political asylum in the United States.

The firm's involvement with MIHRC began severalyears ago when Gary Feinerman responded to aMIHRC solicitation to represent a person in a deporta-tion proceeding before the INS immigration court.(Gary won his client asylum and the man now holds agreen card and has been able to bring his family over tothe United States.)

Today, we not only handle cases for the organization,but promote involvement through conferences, spon-sorship of a fellowship and involvement in the dailyactivities of the organization. On behalf of MIHRC,

Marc Kadish spoke at a conference at DePaul LawSchool on "Immigration Consequences of CriminalConvictions for Non-Citizens." We have hosted recruit-ing luncheons at our Chicago offices. Kate Clark ofMayer, Brown, Rowe & Maw won the 2000 ABA ProBono Leadership Award for her work on behalf ofMartha Garzon Perez, a political asylum seeker fromColombia sponsored by MIHRC.

We have a number of cases underway with MIHRC.Associates Mariam Farah and Tom Stiebel recentlyworked with Marc Kadish on a habeas case involving ayoung Chinese woman. Although we took on the case,we were not able to prevent her deportation back toChina. Marc is working with Christine Rebman andTom Stiebel on a new case involving a Pakistani mandriven out of his country by its anti-gay laws and cus-toms. Both he and his family faced severe punishmentand ostracism because of his orientation. Although U.S.immigration law recognizes sexual orientation as avalid basis for political asylum, the man's case presentssecondary complications due to several years' residen-cy in France prior to coming here. Kate Clark, MariamFarah and Tom Stiebel are just beginning new cases.

We sponsor an Equal Justice Works (EJW - formerly,National Association of Public Interest Law or NAPIL)Fellowship position at MIHRC. EJW is an organizationof law students devoted to training and supporting thenext generation of public interest lawyers. An EJW

Fellowship is used to hire new lawyers to work in low-income and other under-served communities, whileencouraging careers in public service. (Our New Yorkoffice EJW Fellow is discussed on the facing page.)

5 Pro Bono Update

Continued on the next page

Kate Clark won the 2000ABA Pro Bono Leadership

Award for her work onbehalf of

Martha Garzon Perez

The firm's involvementwith MIHRC began severalyears ago when GaryFeinerman responded to aMIHRC solicitation

6 Pro Bono Update

The current MIHRC fellow is Adriana Ysern, who ishelping develop MIHRC's Immigrant Children's WatchProject, where she works with "unaccompanied" immi-grant children and non-citizen youths with guardians inthe Chicago area. There are some 60 such children inlocal INS custody in any given year—5,000 nationally."Sometimes they enter the country seeking protectionfrom abuse or persecution," explained Mary MegMcCarthy, Director of MIHRC. "Often they are victimsof trafficking."

Adriana was born in Venezuela but moved to the UnitedStates with her family as a child. She earned her J.D. atNortheastern University and received the fellowshipupon graduation. At anygiven time, she might carryas many as 35 cases in var-ious stages of progress, sheexplains, "but the turnoverrate is quite rapid. I took onfour more cases just today,for example, but alsoresolved a similar number."

Much of her day-to-daywork involves locatingfamilies of clients andcounseling new arrivals atthe local shelter aboutknowing their rights. Domestic violence cases are alsonumerous. Adriana creates guidelines for other chil-dren's advocates to be used on adjudication of asylumclaims throughout the country. She presses for reformin such immigrant children's issues as the slave trafficamong immigrant children here in the United States.

What's the profile of a typical client? "A majority arefrom Central America, but the next largest groups arefrom China and India. The typical age group is 14 to 17year-olds, but it's not unusual to deal with 4 and 5 year-olds," She explains. "My youngest 'client' was just 18months old."

CLCOur involvement with the Chicago Legal Clinic goesback even further. Partner Carrie Huff has been anactive member of CLC's Board since 1994; she servedon its Executive Committee from 1995 to 2000.

The CLC was created in 1981 by Father ThomasPaprocki and Edward Grossman, who began their part-

nership while law students at DePaul University. Itbegan as the South Chicago Legal Clinic, a storefrontoperation aimed at providing "accessible and affordablebilingual legal services in areas of the law essential toindividual well-being"—i.e., housing, consumer andfamily law and entitlements, centered particularlyaround the needs of former steel workers in SouthChicago who had been displaced by recent mill closings.

Today the CLC has three neighborhood offices—inPilsen, Austin, and South Chicago—as well as a down-town office around the corner from Mayer, Brown,Rowe & Maw's offices. The Clinic reports that it hasserved more than 80,000 clients in its 20 years of exis-

tence—9,234 in 2001alone. Staff size stands at29 people, which doesn'tinclude interns, volunteers,and its pro bono panel ofmore than 200 lawyers.

Mayer, Brown, Rowe &Maw's original project forCLC, in 1994, was to helpcreate an endowment fundfor the Clinic. Since then,several of our lawyers haverepresented clients inemployment cases; a music

studio before the Illinois Department of Revenue; andthe so-called "Children's SSI Project," which hasinvolved representing disabled children whose rights toreceive social security benefits were terminated due toa change in the law. This representation entailed repre-sentation at hearings before an administrative lawjudge. Through our involvement, the families of dozensof disabled children were able to receive much neededfinancial and medical benefits.

Ed Grossman and Marc Kadish have collaborated onseveral of the cases. "Working with Marc to help clientshas been a pleasure," Ed observed. "He is a very 'can-do, follow-through' person, and together we haveachieved a very good result for the clients."

The firm has also participated in mock trial training forCLC staff lawyers. Mayer, Brown, Rowe & Mawdonates more than $15,000 annually through our probono contribution budget and from contributions fromlawyers in the firm which are then matched by the firm. !

MIHRC Director Mary Meg McCarthy (R) reviews plans with EJW FellowAdriana Ysern.

7 Pro Bono Update

The philosophy at Northside College Preparatory High School, withwhich MBR&M has partnered since the Spring of 2001, is "toexpand students' vision well beyond the theoretical realm of text-

books and into experiences where students find application, meaning andunderstanding for their work." Shortly after September 11, for example,the Global Issues class decided to examine strategies a government mightconsider in combating terrorism. Teams within the class took on the roleof State Department specialists on subjects such as the Mideast, terror-ism, and internal security, and researched strategies and developed rec-ommendations to be presented to the National Security Council and, ulti-mately, the President. A culminating briefing was held in November atwhich our lawyers served as the NSC members, evaluating the StateDepartment advice and closely questioning the students' conclusions.

American Constitutional LawFor more than a year, Tim Devine, who teaches the Advanced PlacementU.S. Government and Politics course at Northside Prep, had been devel-oping a project that would immerse his students in American constitu-tional law (Tim's father is Cook County State's Attorney Dick Devine).He proposed the idea in the Spring of 2001, and Pat Sharkey, whosedaughter attends Northside Prep, quickly reserved a spot for Mayer,Brown, Rowe & Maw in the project.

Court CurriculumCourt Curriculum

Tahreem Basheeruddin, accompanied by ArthurIzak-Damiecki (L), delivers the opening statementon behalf of the Petitioner in Thomas v. ChicagoPark District.

8Pro Bono Update

Over the summer, they developed specifics of a curriculum. The goal ofthe project was to give the students a first hand experience of the role of

lawyers and the courts in the evolution of constitutionalprinciples. To do this, Tim Devine and the Mayer,Brown, Rowe & Maw lawyers tried to recreate as close-ly as reasonable the experience of pleading a case beforethe U.S. Supreme Court. It was decided that teams ofeight students (four for the Petitioner and four for theRespondent) would each argue a case that was currentlypending before the Court. The class would handle fivecases altogether. "Choosing current cases makes theproject more than a moot exercise," Tim Devineexplained. "It forces the students to develop their own

ideas and arguments, since there isn't an established template for thecase."

Enthusiastic ResponseIn early November, Pat Sharkey recruited the lawyers—perhaps the easi-est part of the project. "I assumed I'd have difficulty getting people to findthe time, but the idea of the project stirred a lot of enthusiasm among ourlawyers," Pat recalls. "With a single e-mail to our lawyers, I got moreresponses than I could accommodate. I had to turn people away."Lawyers Wayne Tang and Josh Yount kicked off the project as guest lec-turers at Northside, providing an overview of the constitutional issuesinvolved in the Supreme Court cases the students would be assigned.Wayne and Josh, along with eight other Mayer, Brown, Rowe & Mawlawyers, also served as coaches for each team.

The blessings of e-mail would prove themselves time and again, as muchof the lawyers' coaching would take place through electronic writing. Thestudents were responsible for the research and brief-writing, all of whichthe attorneys would review and comment on. E-mail allowed attorneys toturn around the students' work as their own schedules permitted. Mayer,

Brown, Rowe & Maw lawyers identified over 100 rele-vant cases which Tim Devine posted on a special websitefor the students to study. While MBR&M librarian BobbyTowns introduced students to the "real" law library locat-ed on the Firm's 40th floor, Mark Levin, MBR&M'sWestLaw representative, trained the students in on-linelegal research and arranged for students to receive specialaccess numbers to do their own legal research. Thelawyers developed a "Legal Eagle Scavenger Hunt," chal-lenging the students to use citator systems, key words andother tools to locate case law and secondary sources sup-porting their arguments.

BriefsAfter the holidays, the students began the second stage ofthe project—legal analysis and writing. Beginning by out-lining key case law opinions, the students ultimately draft-ed their own Supreme Court briefs. Some Mayer, Brown,

(L or R) Mayer, Brown, Rowe & Maw lawyers Dan Hildebrand, PatSharkey, and Sue Cowell serve as judges in Thomas v. Chicago ParkDistrict, a case involving 1st Amendment, prior restraint, and permit pro-cedures.

In early November, PatSharkey recruited thelawyers—perhaps the

easiest part of the project

9 Pro Bono Update

Rowe & Maw lawyers visited Northside Prep for face-to-face discussionswith their teams and closer analysis of the cases and arguments. But moreoften the students came downtown to the Firm in small groups to meetwith their lawyer-mentors, ask questions and map out their arguments.Wayne Tang—who participated in the earlier anti-terrorism program andalso guest-lectured in other classes at Northside Prep—has earned a spe-cial place in the minds of the students exposed to his Socratic grillings: tobe caught in a logical lapse has come to be knownat Northside as being "tanged."

A unique bonus of the program was an afternoonat the Firm offices for a program called "Inside theSupreme Court." It featured a panel of our lawyerswho had served as clerks to Supreme CourtJustices, who described their experiences and theeveryday workings of the Court. It also permittedsome interesting reminiscences about the person-alities of the Justices themselves.

The Oral ArgumentThe oral argument phase of the project consisted ofmuch preliminary non-oral work: drafting openingstatements and anticipating adversarial challenges.During this phase, students worked closely withtheir lawyer-coaches. A key function of the

Wayne Tang (R) goes over last-minute strategy with his "cohort" (L to R) Sean Conejos, Bo An, and Karen Komaravalli,attorneys for the Petitioner in Zelman v. Simmons-Harris, which dealt with school vouchers and their possible threat to the1st Amendment and the Establishment Clause.

Attorneys for the Respondents in Atkins v. Virginia (L to R) FranklinEttinger, Anton Durbak, Lindsay Realmuto and Don Garcia prepare todefend the Commonwealth of Virginia’s position on the subject of capitalpunishment of the mentally handicapped.

10Pro Bono Update

lawyers, according to Tim Devine, was to "provide more questions thananswers"—i.e., to help the students construct meaning and understandingfor themselves. In the weeks leading up to the oral arguments, small groupsof students and their lawyer-mentors could be found munching browniesand arguing points of law in conference rooms all over the firm.

Roles had been assigned to each team member—one would give theopening statement, and each of the others would become the team"expert" on a point of law or issue expected to be raised in hearing. Stage-

management points were considered. Shouldthey stand at the bar as a group or only astheir topics were raised? (Most did it as agroup.) The reality of thinking on their feetbecame apparent.

ShowtimeOn Saturday, March 23, all of their preparationwas on display. Formal oral arguments wereheld in the Illinois Appellate Court chambersat 160 North LaSalle Street. Beginningpromptly at 9 a.m., Safiya Shariff, speaking forthe Petitioners in the case of Atkins v.Virginia—a case for which our own appellatelawyers submitted an amicus brief to the U.S.Supreme Court last fall—presented her open-

ing argument. Presiding justices were Jim Gladden, Pat Sharkey, and WayneTang. The case focused on the question: Does the execution of mentallyretarded individuals convicted of capital crimes violate the Constitution's 8thAmendment prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment? The justicesinterrupted with a question and Safiya’s teammate Megan Monaghanstepped up to the bar. Before long, the other team members, JeremyStrohmayer and David Peterson, responded to questions from the justices,and their self-confidence grew. What might have seemed an agonizinglylong time lasted only an hour and ten minutes—a strictly enforced time limit.

VerdictsFour more cases were heard that day. They considered questions of priorrestraint on free speech, Establishment Clause limits on school voucherprograms, and the scope of permissible search and seizure under the 4thAmendment. Throughout the day, the fourteenth floor of the Old State ofIllinois Building was crowded with teams of students huddling withcoaches and adjusting strategy based on what they were seeing in thecourtroom itself. Outside chambers, veteran court watchers such as theCourt's real-life Bailiff opined on performances: "I saw you this morn-ing," she called out to one student who had impressed her with her poise,"You're ready, girl. Take the bar!"

The lawyer-coaches were impressed with the results. "They were evenbetter prepared than I'd expected," said Kim Roosevelt, who had coachedthe winning Respondents in Zelman v. Simmons-Harris concerningschool vouchers. "They really knew their case law."

A lighter moment for Atkins Petitioners (L to R) Jeremy Strohmayer, Satiya Shariff, DavidPeterson and Megan Monaghan.

11 Pro Bono Update

Wayne Tang remarked on the experience of dealing with "smart peoplewho haven't yet been indoctrinated as lawyers. We all think like lawyershere, so it's stimulating to bump up against the students' smart but freshoutlooks."

Parents milled about after their children's trials, beaming as if their heirs hadspoken before the real Supreme Court. "This entire program is extraordi-nary," said Judy Mendels-Peterson, mother of David Peterson, a Petitionerin the Atkins case. "I think Mayer, Brown [Rowe & Maw] has done a won-derful service in helping in this program. Where else are kids going to havean experience like this?" Pat Sharkey and Tim Devine were repeatedly rec-ognized as the prime movers of the project and are to be congratulated.

Tim Devine reports that student post-mortems were also encouraging.Sean Conejos, who helped argue the school vouchers case, admitted theprogram "forced me to think about both sides of a complex issue, and mywriting skills and analytical skills developed quite a bit." Sean's co-coun-sel, Bo An agreed: "[The program] helped my overall academic ability—reading, writing, thinking, and verbal presentation."

Many thanks are also due to: Team Mentors Sheila Finnegan, DanHildebrand, Dan Parish, Kim Roosevelt, Matt Shabatt, Wayne Tang, SueWalton, Drew Worseck, and Josh Yount; our Supreme Court Clerks PanelParticipants Linda Coberly, Gary Feinerman, Kim Roosevelt, and MikeScodro; Justices-for-a-Day Sue Cowell, Jim Gladden, Jim Metropoulos,and Joe Seliga; and MBR&M Librarian Bobby Towns and WestLaw'sMark Levin and his staff. Kudos to all!

The Justices issued their opinions on the first Monday in April. !

Mayer, Brown, Rowe & Maw's 7thCircuit Project was among thework highlighted in a February 28

Chicago Daily Law Bulletin article focusingon pro bono work before the U.S. Court ofAppeals.

The Law Bulletin noted that opportunity foryoung attorneys to argue cases before the7th U.S. Court of Appeals is being viewedas a source of valuable experience. In con-trast, the Law Bulletin stated, "Only a fewyears ago, some court-appointed lawyersviewed such federal appeals cases as ahassle. The lack of zeal and poor quality ofrepresentation in certain cases sparkedcomplaints from the outspoken chief judgeat the time, Richard A. Posner, accordingto several attorneys.

"Now, just a handful of years after key 7thCircuit rules were changed and a recruit-ment and training program was launched,court appointments to handle federalappeals in civil rights claims or on behalf ofcriminal defendants have become plums,and big law firms seek them out."

The Law Bulletin singled out the firm's 7thCircuit Project and quoted Pro BonoDirector Marc Kadish: "'Here you mayappear before the 7th Circuit in your firstyear of practice. Recently, Mayer, Brownhas turned its "7th Circuit Project" . . . intowhat we call our signature project, the probono project we are proudest of in theChicago office of our firm.'

"Since April 1999, Mayer, Brown hasaccepted 38 appointments to handle

appeals from the 7th Circuit, more thanany other law firm, according to the cir-cuit's own statistics. Kadish said Mayer,Brown is known for its 'written advocacy.People who are attracted to our firm comehere because they want to do appellatework.'" !

Seventh Circuit Project Highlighted

12Pro Bono Update

Andrew Gruber is on a mission to save soles.

It started in 1999 when Andrew was a Public Interest Law Initiative (PILI) Fellow at the Community EconomicDevelopment Law Project, providing pro bono legal assistance to start-up not-for-profit organizations. The PILIfellowship program allows recent law school graduates to do pro bono work while studying for the bar exam.

During that summer, the Saving Soles Foundation (SSF) was born. SSF collects gently-used shoes from individ-uals, retail stores and shoe manufacturers and distributes them to thousands of needy individuals and to organiza-tions that serve those individuals. For example, SSF gives winter boots to children in Chicago, dress shoes to wel-fare recipients making the transition from welfare to work, and has even sent shoes to an orphanage in Romaniaand to churches in South Africa.

As a PILI Fellow, Andrew prepared corporate organizational documents for SSF and applied to the IRS andobtained 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status for the organization. "Saving Soles started with a simple idea, but the imple-mentation has been more complicated than we expected," said Andrew.

Saving Soles as a PILI FellowAt an April luncheon in our Chicago

office honoring PILI volunteers,Marc Kadish announced that the

firm would hold its Shoe Drive forAfghanistan, in cooperation with

the Saving Soles Foundation(SSF). Seen at this luncheon (L to

R) are Johanns Williams (SSF),Jason Schmitz, Andrew Gruber,

Debbie Ruff, Dwain Johnson(SSF), David Narefsky, William

Harness (SSF) and Melissa Beste(Marshall Field's).

Marc Kadish, Andrew Gruber andWilliam Harness (SSF) displaysome of the many donations col-lected in the lobby of 190 S.LaSalle Street.

13 Pro Bono Update

At an April firm luncheon honoring PILI volunteers, Andrew and Pro Bono Director Marc Kadish announced thefirm's participation in SSF's current campaign to supply shoes to needy individuals in Afghanistan. Our Shoe Drivefor Afghanistan was planned to run from May 1 through May 7, with a collection center set up in the lobby of theChicago office. So enthusiastic was the response, however, that the drive was extended through May 9. In all,some 75 boxes containing approximately 2,000 pairs of shoes were collected and sent to SSF for shipping to

Afghanistan. The drive was covered in theChicago Daily Law Bulletin on May 6.

The firm continues to do legal work for SSF.

"When I came to Mayer Brown, I brought SSFwith me as a pro bono client," said Andrew. "Weeffectively serve as general counsel for SSF, pro-viding general corporate and more specializedadvice."

In the past three years, the firm has assisted SSFin applying for trademark and copyright protec-tion, in negotiating a lease for warehouse andoffice space, applying for a grant from the Stateof Illinois, and providing ongoing corporate andtax advice. Attorneys David Narefsky, DeborahSchavey Ruff, Katie Aune and Jason Schmitzalso did pro bono work for SSF. !Less than a third of the total contribution yielded by our Shoe Drive for Afghanistan

awaits shipment on our loading dock at 190 S. LaSalle Street.

PILI HonoreesOur April luncheon also honored PILI leader Rosyln Lieb, retired firm partners John Clay and Tom Nicholson, Michael Feagley, andsenior counsel Pat O'Brien for their work with PILI. John served as PILI's executive director after retiring from the firm. Tom servedboth as PILI's president and vice president as well as being a board member for a number of years. Tom also brought the concept ofthe PILI fellowships to the board's attention many years ago at the suggestion of Michael Feagley. Mayer, Brown, Rowe & Maw issponsoring nine PILI Fellows who will be joining the firm this year (see below).

Mayer, Brown, Rowe & Maw2002 PILI FellowsErik S. HarrisHarvard Law SchoolChicago Appleseed Fund for

JusticeNeill JakobeUniversity of Michigan Law

SchoolChicago Volunteer Legal

Services FoundationJulie Johnston-AhlenUniversity of Minnesota Law

SchoolPro Bono Advocates

Jon M. JuengerUniversity of Minnesota Law

SchoolEnvironmental Law & Policy

Center of the MidwestMohit KalraHarvard Law SchoolNorthwestern University Legal

ClinicMichelle A. LitaveczJohn Marshall Law SchoolLegal Assistance Foundation

of Metropolitan Chicago

Brian H. NolenJohn Marshall Law SchoolJohn Marshall Law School

Fair Housing ClinicJohn A. SloatUniversity of Michigan Law

SchoolFirst Defense Legal AidJonathan WagnerUniversity of Minnesota Law

SchoolCabrini Green Legal Aid Clinic

J. David WintersNorthwestern University Law

SchoolNorthwestern University Legal

ClinicChae Uk YiLoyola University Chicago

School of LawCommunity Economic

Development Law Project

14Pro Bono Update

Pro Bono Auf Deutsch

The American Secondary Schools forInternational Students and Teachers (ASSIST) isa non-profit organization begun in the 1960s by

an American teacher hoping to provide future worldleaders—at that time, leading American and Germanstudents, but now including students from throughoutEurope and Asia—with a high school exchange pro-gram sponsored by selected private and public schoolsin the United States.

Last August, in the program's thirty-fifth year, a total of143 top-ranked students from 14 countries began theschool year at 75 public and private schools here in the U.S.

A Leveling LawsuitThe entire program was recently threatened when aGerman family, whose daughter had participated in ayear's study at a New Hampshire private school, suedthe program for exposing her to what they considered(wrongly, in the eyes of ASSIST) to be the worst ofAmerican culture—sex, drugs, and the like. The cost ofdefending the suit was likely to bankrupt the organiza-tion, whose money goes almost entirely to paying

tuitions. The future image of ASSIST depended, how-ever, upon winning the suit and refuting the family'sslanderous claims against the program and the school.

John Faylor of our Frankfurt office has been involvedin ASSIST since 1989. John serves as a member of theASSIST Support Foundation Advisory Board, the

German pendant of the organization that providesfinancial assistance to needy German students wishingto participate in the program. John hoped to help theorganization but knew that his standard fees alonecould cripple them.

"Winning this case was alife and death matter

for ASSIST.”—John Faylor

Partner John Vishneski and FederalJudge Ann Williams arranged a visitby Faye Newson and members of

her church to the 7th Circuit courtroomsfollowing a pro bono-sponsored luncheonat our offices in Chicago. John had found alost bracelet at last March's Barrister's Ball,where the Barrister's Big Band—a 30piece swing orchestra made up entirely ofjudges and lawyers and led by John onclarinet—were providing the entertain-ment. When a woman (Mrs. Newson) latercalled John to claim the bracelet, sheturned out to be a friend of Federal JudgeAnn Williams, better known to some,

apparently, as the leadsinger of the Barrister's

Big Band. WhenJudge Williams invit-ed Ms. Newson anda youth group from

her church to visit hercourtroom, they decided

to include the judge's bandmate at Mayer,Brown, Rowe & Maw, who invited every-one here for lunch.

"Dear John [Vishneski]:

Thank you so much for taking time out ofyour busy schedule to meet with the kids.They enjoyed it; as it was educational,informative, interesting, and filling. Ouryoung people of today need to have moretrips as such, giving them vision to do the

right thing. They see so much negativity inthe world, but it is a great thing what you aredoing-showing them a more excellent way.

Keep up the good work as you continue toMAKE A DIFFERENCE. I will be contact-ing Marc for a summer visit with a differentgroup of young people. I do look forward toseeing you again. Thanks for your kind-ness and generosity.

- Faye Consuela Newson

"Giving Them Vision"

John Vishneski

Cristo Rey Project

15 Pro Bono Update

The following write-up on the firm's CristoRey Project appeared in the high school'sSpring edition of its alumni newsletter,¡VIVA!.

MAYER, BROWN, ROWE & MAW

New Name . . . Same Commitment to Cristo Rey Student Workers!"Many of the students have never beforeentered such a fast-paced stressful workenvironment, but these young peoplecome in and succeed," commentedVanessa Garcia, Human ResourcesSupervisor at Corporate Internship Spon-sor Mayer, Brown, Rowe & Maw. Ms. Gar-cia and the firm have been involved withthis innovative work-study program since1998. Only recently completing a merger oftwo premier law firms, Mayer, Brown,Rowe & Maw is now the tenth largest lawfirm in the world. It has 1,300 attorneys,nearly $700 million in annual revenues,and 13 offices worldwide. Currently, 12 stu-dents work at the Chicago office of Mayer,Brown, Rowe & Maw filling three, full-timeclerical positions in different departmentsof the firm. Their duties range from filing,answering phones, handling and deliveringcase files to photocopying and data entry.

Andrea Guzman, a Cristo Rey senior, hasspent all four years working at Mayer,Brown, Rowe & Maw and loves being therebecause of the people that she has had theopportunity to meet. Andrea currently

works in the supply department answeringphones, taking supply orders and interact-ing with employees across the firm. Andreasays the work at the firm has helped pre-pare her for her future goal of studying psy-chology at DePaul University. "I have towork and communicate with people withmany different personalities to help makeour entire office work together." Ms. Garciaproudly beams at watching the growth and

accomplishments of Andrea, who enteredthe office and "hit the ground running." Ms.Garcia gives credit, in large part, to theuniqueness of the Cristo Rey work-studyprogram that makes it easy for any compa-ny to get involved as a Corporate Sponsor.

The Corporate Internship Program (CIP)suits Mayer, Brown, Rowe & Maw, becauseit not only allows the firm to support the

educational opportunities for these youngmen and women, but it also accomplishesreal work for the firm. Ms. Garcia candidlynotes, "If the students were not addingvalue to the firm, it would be difficult to con-tinue to support the program." With trainingand support programs throughout the year,the CIP provides students with the confi-dence to enter the once foreign corporateenvironment ready to work diligently andmake a positive impact.

For the firm, its commitment to Cristo Reygoes far beyond being a job sponsor.Members of the firm provide a real supportsystem for students and are dedicated toaiding in the success of young people fromthe Pilsen/Little Village neighborhood. Forexample, Michael Forde, a lawyer with thefirm, has dedicated time and energy towardongoing programs as well as the develop-ment of new initiatives. Most significantlyMr. Forde has been an active participant onthe ¡VIVA! Scholarship Fundraiser EventCommittee. He and the firm have support-ed this event, which provides students withlimited financial means the opportunity toattend Cristo Rey.

As Ms. Garcia recalls her own youth grow-ing up in Pilsen, she eagerly anticipatesattending the graduation ceremonies forAndrea and all of the students that are work-ing at Mayer, Brown, Rowe & Maw. Thisprestigious firm is affecting systemic changeright here in Chicago by providing workexperience and educational opportunity forthe young people of Pilsen/Little Village. !

Vanessa Garcia

No German Pro BonoPro bono law as practiced in the United States isunknown—and usually unnecessary—in Germany, wherethe government provides free legal assistance to the indi-gent. ASSIST does not qualify as indigent because it is anorganization. John has always worked on a reduced-feebasis for ASSIST and has always contributed a portion ofthe fees back to the organization as a tax-free contribution.Even on those terms, ASSIST cannot afford our help.

Thus was born Mayer, Brown, Rowe & Maw's firstGerman pro bono case. John approached Marc Kadishabout having the firm absorb his work pro bono, and after

a careful examination of ASSIST's financial statementsfor the past three years by our own lawyers and anaccounting firm, Marc sought and received projectapproval from the Pro Bono Committee. "I was soimpressed with the organization, its goals and history, thatI have agreed to help ASSIST try to establish a placementat my daughters' school here in Chicago," Marc said.

John Faylor is convinced we're on the side of the angels:"Winning this case was a life and death matter forASSIST. The program will continue to send top-rankGerman high school students, many of them from formercommunist East Germany, for a year of study in the U.S." !

16Pro Bono Update

Two facts speak volumes: TheMidwest Center on Law and theDeaf is the only such organization

in the United States (possibly theWorld), and its founder, HowardRosenblum, is the only profoundly deaflawyer practicing in the State of Illinois.Despite the many apparent gains andentitlements for the disabled, the deafpopulation is surprisingly under-servedby the legal community.

The pent-up need for help was obvious toHoward Rosenblum from the start of hiscareer in 1991. He did not go into the lawto be a "deaf lawyer" ("In fact, I wantedto be a patent attorney," he has said), butthe role was soon thrust upon him. Hewas swamped with inquiries from thedeaf and hard-of-hearing throughout theUnited States—those looking for alawyer who understood the needs of thedeaf. More often than not, the client'srequirements didn't match his expertise,and he would refer them to other lawyers,gradually building up a network.

He did this for most of the 1990s, untilhe realized that a more formal networkneeded to be established. It was in 1997that he incorporated MCLD and stillanother two years before he was able tohire somebody else to run it.

Core MissionA preponderance of MCLD's time isspent helping deaf and hard-of-hearingpeople find attorneys willing to provideaccessible legal services, including help-ing the lawyers communicate with suchclients through sign language inter-preters and similar types of assistance.MCLD screens the potential clients fortheir legal needs before matching themup with the right lawyers. MCLD has anever-growing database derived fromsuch referral work.

MCLD also stresses the need to trainthose willing to help. It provides work-shops not only to deaf and hard-of-hear-ing individuals on their legal rights, butattorneys hoping to serve deaf and hard-of-hearing clients. It also trains courtpersonnel, government entities, andother agencies on the legal rights andcommunication needs of the deaf andhard-of-hearing consumers.

MCLD also acts as a nexus on deafness-related issues and legal issues affectingdeaf and hard-of-hearing people. MCLDwill advocate for the civil and constitu-tional rights of the deaf and hard-of-hearing. MCLD directs advocacyefforts to ensure that communicationaccess is achieved in public settings.

But MCLD's work is primarily garden-variety family law, housing, immigra-tion, and discrimination law. "We don'treally aim for deaf-oriented cases," saysKaren Aguilar, Program Manager. "Weaim for ordinary cases that deaf peoplehave to deal with too."

The Extent of the ProblemBut the discrimination that the deaf facein "ordinary cases" is surprising in itsprevalence and, often, cruelty. Themother of a deaf inmate at a county jailin Wisconsin recently reported theabuse and neglect her son must enduredue to a system that doesn't understandthe needs of his problem.

He was denied the use of a "TTY" (tele-typewriter—a phone that allows the userto type messages that are than sent overthe phone line), which was on the prem-ises but locked up, for months at a time,preventing him from contacting legalservices or deaf services. Guards wouldneglect to wake him for meals or linenchanges. If he complained or asserted his

Midwest Center on Law and the Deaf

rights, he would receive inferior treatment. He was deniedwork-release opportunities and even kept in the medicalward not because he was ill but because of his deafness.Some of this was petty tyranny, but most of it was igno-rance and indifference. MCLD was able to help butknows it's barely keeping up with such abuses.

An advocacy group in Iceland recently contactedMCLD on the very same issue in its country. MCLD'sreputation has brought it calls from still other countrieswhere such organizations do not yet exist. A group inAlaska is in the process of setting up a similar service,and MCLD is studying the possibility of going nation-al itself.

Making It Work"A big trick to succeeding in something like this is notover-extending yourself," Karen Aguilar explains."Right now we work out of a single office in Chicagoand coordinate referrals in eight states. There are manyother things an organization like ours might be expect-ed to do, but we focus on the everyday practical stufffor now and leave the bigger issues to other groups.There's a need for what we already do, and we have tokeep doing it."

Since she became Program Manager in 1999, MCLDhas expanded its list of attorney referrals to more than60 in Illinois alone—and their number of cases to near-

ly 2,700 in the region. It has increased funding as well,numbering the bar associations of Illinois, Minnesota,Ohio, Indiana, and Chicago among its chief sponsors.

Never EnoughEncouraging lawyers to participate occupies the largestshare of the Center's educational effort. "There's a lot ofmisunderstanding about what's involved in representingthe deaf," Karen explains. "You don't have to know signlanguage to do it. On the other hand, you do need toprovide an interpreter if requested—the ADA requiresit—but the expense is less than most imagine. Mostnewcomers simply aren't sure what's needed of them orwhether they're 'qualified,' and we want to get out themessage that, if they're willing to do it, then they'reprobably qualified to do it."

The message reached Marc Kadish (who taughtHoward Rosenblum in law school), and Mayer, Brown,Rowe & Maw is now the first law firm to contribute tothe cause—both money and time. "Marc is one of ourreferrals for criminal cases," Karen explains. "He alsomakes a great recruiter for our cause."

All Mayer, Brown, Rowe & Maw lawyers are encour-aged to get involved. "It not only forces you to rethinksome of your approaches to client services," HowardRosenblum explains, "but it reminds you of the value ofwhat it is you're doing in the first place." !

17 Pro Bono Update

in exceptional cases. Judge Barkett explained that the"requirements of justice would be served in this case bya rule that would permit us to review an 'invited' buterroneous jury instruction where … it is clear that thejury misperceived the law and based its determinationon this misperception."

The appellate court did not address many of the sub-stantive law issues raised in the appeal. Relying onJudge Barkett's concurring opinion, in early May thefamilies filed a petition for rehearing—addressingissues of proximate cause and whether the generals hadeffective control over their troops, said Mayer, Brown,Rowe & Maw lawyer Sandy Weisburst.

Tainted VerdictFive Salvadorian National Guard members abducted,tortured, raped and murdered four American churchwomen in El Salvador on December 2, 1980. Twenty-one years later, relatives of Maryknoll Sisters Ita Fordand Maura Clarke, Ursuline Sister Dorothy Kazel, andlay missionary Jean Donovan, are seeking to hold twoformer commanding generals of the killers accountable.

In December 2001, Mayer, Brown, Rowe & Mawlawyer Peter Choharis argued before the U.S. Court ofAppeals in Miami that a trial judge's jury instructionstainted the civil trial verdict finding General CarlosEugenio Vides Casanova and General Jose GuillermoGarcia not liable for the rape and murder of the churchwomen. The generals, who now live in Florida, werecommanders of the five Salvadorian guardsmen whowere convicted of the murders in 1983.

“Slain”continued from page two

continued on next page

A West Palm Beach jury returned a verdict in favor ofthe generals at the conclusion of an October 2000 civiltrial. The jury foreman later publicly expressedanguish at being confused by the jury instructions evenafter repeated requests for clarification.

The church women's case is considered one of the mostimportant human rights cases in the past 10 years. Thesuit invokes the Torture Victims Protection Act of 1991and international human rights laws that hold militarycommanders responsible for the actions of their troopsunder the doctrine of command responsibility.

At December's oral argument, relatives of the churchwomen were joined by leaders of their religious ordersas well as human rights lawyers and national media.

"The families have been seeking justice for these hor-rific events, and they don’t want them to be forgotten,"said Peter.

Judge's Critical MistakesMayer, Brown, Rowe & Maw partner Phillip AllenLacovara has supervised the appeal, and JulieMcConnell also has worked on the appeal which arguesthe trial judge made several critical mistakes in instruct-ing the jury.

One of the judge's mistakes was to require the familiesto prove that the generals had control over their troops.Well-established law places the burden on militarycommanders to prove, as part of an affirmative defense,that they took all necessary measures to control theirsubordinates, said Peter.

The appeal argues the judge also improperly requiredthe families to show that the generals failure to fulfilltheir "obligations" was the proximate cause of thechurch women’s rape and murder. Command responsi-bility doctrine places accountability for the actions oftroops squarely on the shoulders of their commanders.It imputes responsibility to the generals, and the victimsshould not have been required to show that the gener-als' inactions caused their deaths.

"We looked at every relevant case during the last halfcentury and each of them establishes that the instruc-tions were wrong," said Peter.

Command ResponsibilityDuring the 1980s, the Salvadorian military deathsquads were notorious for their killings of thousands ofteachers, students, labor unionists, and religious lead-ers. Catholic Archbishop Romero was killed in March1980, eight months prior to the church women’s mur-ders, by a sniper in his church, a day after appealing inhis homily for the armed forces to "stop the repression."

Several retired U.S. generals have provided valuableassistance during the appeal. The Department of theArmy Field Manual endorses the doctrine that com-manders are responsible for their subordinates.

"Command responsibility is central to the role of a pro-fessional army. It is something the U.S. army recog-nizes as essential," said Peter. !

18Pro Bono Update

PBS broadcasts "Justice & the Generals"Public television stations last February broadcast "Justiceand the Generals" which tells the story of Maryknoll sistersIta Ford and Maura Clarke, Ursuline Sister Dorothy Kazeland lay missionary Jean Donovan who were abducted,raped and murdered by five National Guardsmen in ElSalvador.

At a prescreening of the public television documentary,Mayer, Brown, Rowe & Maw partner Phillip Allen Lacovarawas a speaker along with U.S. Senator Russell Feingoldand Mike Posner and Ken Hurwitz of the LawyersCommittee for Human Rights. Peter Choharis wrote a sum-mary of the case for the prescreening audience. For morethan 20 years, the Lawyers Committee for Human Rightshas supported the families of the churchwomen in their pur-suit of justice.

General Carlos Eugenio VidesCasanova

AP/W

ide

Wor

ld

General Jose Guillermo Garcia

AP/W

ide

Wor

ld

Pro Bono Update19

LondonTowards the end of last year, I was delighted to receivea letter from Marc Kadish with details of Mayer, Brown& Platt's pro bono work. Marc enclosed some issues ofthe Pro Bono Update, and I was very impressed by theextent and variety of the pro bono work being carriedon.

Here in England, pro bono work has, historically, beenon a smaller scale than in the United States, possiblybecause of state funding ('legal aid') for people unableto afford legal advice. However, with recent cutbacks inlegal aid funding, the last few years have seen a markedincrease in pro bono work.

Establishing a Pro Bono Practice Until 1998, Rowe & Maw had carried out pro bonowork on an informal basis, with no real record beingkept of what cases were taken on and what time wasbeing spent on them. In November that year, I wasasked by our managing partner, Andrew Carruthers, totake on responsibility for co-ordinating the firm's probono work. (Andrew has always had a keen interest inpro bono work, and I continue to seek his opinion onimportant decisions.)

At the time, I was a partner in the property litigationteam, and was already actively involved with pro bonowork as (with Andrew's encouragement) I had set upand was co-ordinating the rota of R&M solicitors giv-ing advice at the Citizens' Advice Bureau at the HighCourt. My visits to the CAB (where members of thepublic drop in for advice on all sorts of matters) mademe aware of the need for pro bono work, and I wasmore than happy to take on the role of firm co-ordina-tor.

I carried out a survey of the firm to see what pro bonowork was already being done, and what sort of workwas of interest to people, and found that there weresmall "pockets" of pro bono activity in many parts ofthe firm. I drafted a pro bono policy, and we becamemembers of the Solicitors Pro Bono Group (a charitywhich had just been set up to help and encourage solic-itors throughout the U.K. to engage in pro bono workand which we now actively support in a number ofways).

Partnering with Agencies Because my survey revealed that our lawyers wereinterested in civil liberties, and also as our Public LawGroup was keen to help with human rights issues, webecame members of the panel of solicitors who take probono cases from Liberty, an eminent civil libertiesorganization in the UK.

We also joined the panel of the Bar Pro Bono Unit,which provides barristers willing to help on a pro bonobasis and which often needs input from solicitors. Sincethen, we have had a variety of cases referred by bothLiberty and the BPBU, ranging from claims againstGovernment bodies (by a disabled prisoner allegingdiscrimination in his treatment, and witnesses involvedwith a murder investigation whose names and address-es appeared by mistake in a public report) to helping atalented but penniless cartoonist/animator who had hadjudgment entered against her whilst suffering a nervousbreakdown.

The survey also showed that, on the non-contentious side,a number of commercial lawyers were interested in thePrince’s Youth Business Trust, which helps disadvan-taged young people to set up their own businesses and

Julie Dickins, a London office partner, directs all pro bono activities for that office.As she explains in the following message, she has formalized the practice in recentyears and sees the combining of Mayer, Brown & Platt and Rowe & Maw as a largestep forward in the practice. Julie offers an overview of how pro bono is approachedin Britain and what one might expect of it.

Pro Bono Practice

Julie Dickins

continued on next page

20Pro Bono Update

BRUSSELS # Square de Meeus 35 # B1000 Brussels, Belgium # +322.502.5517 $ CHARLOTTE # 100 North Tryon Street # Suite 2400 # Charlotte, North Carolina28202 # +1.704.444.3500 $ CHICAGO # 190 South LaSalle Street # Chicago, Illinois 60603-3441 # +1.312.782.0600 $ COLOGNE # Kaiser-Wilhelm-Ring 27-29# 50672 Cologne, Germany # +49.221.577.1100 $ FRANKFURT # Bockenheimer Landstrasse 98-100 # D-60323 Frankfurt am Main, Germany # +49.69.79.41.0$ HOUSTON # 700 Louisiana Street # Suite 3600 # Houston, Texas 77002-2730 # +1.713.221.1651 $ LONDON # Principal Office # 11 Pilgrim Street # LondonEC4V 6RW # +44 (0)20.7248.4282 $ LOS ANGELES # 350 South Grand Avenue # 25th Floor # Los Angeles, California 90071-1503 # +1.213.229.9500 $MANCHESTER # Canada House # Chepstow Street # Manchester M1 5FW # +44.161.236.1612 $ NEW YORK # 1675 Broadway # New York, New York 10019-5820 # +1.212.506.2500 $ PALO ALTO # 555 College Avenue # Palo Alto, California # +1.650.331.2000 $ PARIS # 13 Avenue Hoche # 75008 Paris, France #+33.1.53.53.43.43 $ WASHINGTON # 1909 K Street, N.W. # Washington, D.C. 20006-1101 # +1.202.263.3000 $ INDEPENDENT MEXICO CITY CORRESPON-DENT # Jáuregui, Navarrete, Nader y Rojas, S.C. # Paseo de los Tamarindos No. 400-B # 05120 Mexico, D.F. # +525.267.45.00

Copyright © 2002 Mayer, Brown, Rowe & Maw. This Mayer, Brown, Rowe & Maw publication provides information and comments on legalissues and developments of interest to our clients and friends. The foregoing is not a comprehensive treatment of the subject matter coveredand is not intended to provide legal advice. Readers should seek specific legal advice before taking any action with respect to the matters dis-cussed herein.

needs business mentors to help them. The Trust has sincetrained a number of our solicitors as business mentors.

Firm ProgramsOur main schemes now comprise the work we do for theHigh Court CAB, the Prince’s Youth Business Trust,Liberty and the Bar Pro Bono Unit. In addition, weadvise charities such asTRANSAID Worldwide.An offshoot of Save theChildren, TRANSAIDhelps Third World coun-tries set up transport sys-tems giving people accessto basic facilities and aidsuch as vaccination centersand schools. (One majorproject has been assistingBill Gates in his initiativeto get people immunisedby helping them to get tothe vaccination centres.)Our Corporate, IP and Employment teams have all beeninvolved in giving advice.

There have also been stand-alone projects such as sec-onding a volunteer to the Low Pay Unit, a charity thathelps and advises workers on low incomes.

The latest project is a community scheme, which I setup in response to interest in community work particu-larly by non-legal staff. The project has received over-whelming support from all over the firm, and a 10%cross-section of staff are now helping 8-10 year oldswith reading and numeracy at a junior school in theTower Hamlets district of East London, Malmesbury

Juniors. Other initiativesin Tower Hamlets schoolsinvolve mentoring head-teachers and helpingpupils with practice inter-views.

Reading about your probono work in the Stateshas been a source of inspi-ration to me; and I hopeand believe that each of uswill find the pro bono ini-tiatives and ideas through-out Mayer, Brown, Rowe

& Maw a mutual source of benefit, encouragement andvision, as we work together "for the common good".

Julie Dickins(pro bono and donations partner, MBR&M, London)

Some of the volunteers with children and staff from Malmesbury JuniorSchool