2008 – Volume 1
for the public good
The publication highlighting
select pro bono work of
Kirkpatrick & Lockhart
Preston Gates Ellis
LLP .
Table of Contents
Pro Bono Beyond Borders............................................................................ 3
International Focus
World Justice Project Works to Advance the Rule of Law ............................... 4
PAWS, Water Advocates Take Action for Sustainable Sanitation Worldwide...... 6
Immigration
Immigrants Seek Safe Haven.................................................................. 10
Family Law
Pro Bono Partnership Aims to Secure International Child Custody Rights........... 14
Immigrant Wins New Hearing in Domestic Violence Appeal......................... 15
Motion for Revision Squad Wins Protection Order...................................... 16
Criminal Justice and Civil Rights
Handicapped Death Row Inmate Fights for Life.......................................... 18
Prisoner Wins Civil Rights Appeal........................................................... 19
Government Witness Gains Protection...................................................... 20
Lawyers Lend District Attorney’s Office a Helping Hand................................ 20
Pro Bono Highlights Around the Firm
Northern Ireland Peace-Building Accomplishments Benefit from Firm Work........ 22
Mercy Corps Fights Worldwide Vetting System........................................... 23
St. Giles Trust Champions Smooth Transition for Ex-Convicts.......................... 24
Merger Creates Girl Scouts of Western Washington.................................... 24
Legal Services for Entrepreneurs Promotes Economic Justice........................... 25
San Francisco Program Supports HIV-Positive Patients.................................. 25
Park Preserve Challenges FAA Decision.................................................... 26
Associate Transforms Personal Hardship into Pro Bono Legal Advocacy........... 27
Club Strives to Save Historic Clay Tennis Courts......................................... 28
Awards
Star Volunteer Award............................................................................ 30
Dallas Volunteer Attorney Program Silver Awards........................................ 30
National Center for Missing and Exploited Children Award of Merit............... 31
John Carroll Society Pro Bono Legal Services Award................................... 31
Pro Bono Beyond Borders
By Peter Kalis, Chairman and Global Managing Partner
The past year has been marked by
In this, our Spring 2008 edition of “for the public
good,” we underscore our service to the global
population, while maintaining our commitment to
the local communities in which we live and work.
Articles highlight our significant work in both
the United States and the U.K. for sustainable
drinking water worldwide, as well as one lawyer’s
efforts to help Mercy Corps fight for fairness in
international charitable funding. We take a look
at our work in Ireland, where the firm has helped
position two organizations to pursue American
support for their causes. Recognizing that the rule
of law is fundamental to a just and economically
strong society around the globe, ABA 2007–08
President and K&L Gates partner Bill Neukom
describes his work with the World Justice Project.
significant growth for K&L Gates,
in size, capabilities, resources and
geographic reach. As our firm expands
its global presence, the breadth of
its pro bono activities expands as
well. However, the essence of and
commitment to our pro bono service
remain the same.
The report also provides a glimpse of our work
closer to home, providing access to justice for
those who are most at risk in our communities.
Our lawyers routinely combat domestic
violence and help address basic needs such as
healthcare in their communities. We encourage
the development of strong self-sustaining
neighborhoods by nurturing nascent businesses
and supporting cultural, civic and artistic
organizations that enrich those communities. We
also help to extend rule of law protections to those
who are newly arrived on our shores by providing
representation in immigration and asylum matters.
As K&L Gates grows, so does our ability to
meet the very real pro bono legal needs of our
local and global communities, while furthering
our lawyers’ professional development and job
satisfaction. I hope these stories of our efforts far
and near both educate and inspire you.
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World Justice Project Works to
Advance the Rule of Law
By Bill Neukom, ABA President and K&L Gates Partner
The project defines the rule of law by four universal principles. First, the
government must be accountable under the law. Second, laws must be
clear, publicized, stable and fair, and they must protect fundamental rights.
Third, the process by which laws are enacted, administered and enforced
must be accessible, fair and efficient. Fourth, the legal process must feature
competent, independent, ethical and diverse advocates and umpires.
Each year the current ABA president
On November 3, while Pakistan’s Supreme Court
considered whether then General Pervez Musharraf
could run for office as a member of the army,
Musharraf suspended the constitution and put under
house arrest Supreme Court justices and other
judges who would not take loyalty oaths to him.
He then violently arrested thousands of lawyers and
other people for protesting his lawless acts.
identifies issues he or she wishes to
address during his or her term. In this
piece, ABA President and K&L Gates
partner Bill Neukom expands on his
focus, the World Justice Project.
Musharraf’s actions were a breach of the rule of
law and demonstrate the critical importance of the
rule of law to communities. Contrary to his claim
that emergency rule was needed to protect Pakistan
from terrorism, Pakistan is less stable now than
before. When Musharraf attacked the rule of law,
Pakistan became less safe, its economy suffered,
and the prospect of free and fair elections dimmed.
American lawyers expressed solidarity with our
Pakistani colleagues through marches, petitions,
and other means. Yet, the Pakistan example
shows that all members of a community—not only
lawyers—have a stake in the rule of law. Public
health officials, engineers, educators, business
people, labor leaders and members of many other
fields need the rule of law to do their work.
In order to build a broad base of support for the rule of law, the project
has held multidisciplinary meetings in Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America
and North America. We have struck a chord. Leaders of varied disciplines
agree that we must work together to advance the rule of law, and
organizations representing business, education, engineering and public health already have become
co-sponsors of the project.
The project also is developing new knowledge and tools to advance the rule of law. The Rule of Law
Index, the first comprehensive such index, will measure countries’ adherence to the rule of law, and will
help governments and civil society make informed decisions about needed reforms. This spring, the project
will run the index in Chile, Columbia, India, Nigeria and the United States. The project also is supporting
scholarship led by two Nobel Laureates, which will show the relationship between the rule of law and
functional communities.
The project will hold the World Justice Forum July 2–5 in Vienna. About 500 world leaders representing
15 disciplines will gather to design new multidisciplinary programs to advance the rule of law in their
communities. The project will release its index findings and the scholars’ papers, and participants will help
define the project’s second phase.
Lawyers have always understood the importance of the rule of law to our communities, and now members
of other disciplines are recognizing that it is an essential foundation for their work, too. As the project
demonstrates, lawyers can show leadership by bringing a cross section of their community together to
support the rule of law. By working together, we get more accomplished, and everyone benefits.
The World Justice Project, launched by the
American Bar Association last year, is building
a multidisciplinary, multinational movement to
advance the rule of law. The project has two
premises. First, the rule of law is the foundation for
communities of opportunity and equity. Second,
multidisciplinary collaboration is the most effective
way to advance the rule of law.
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PAWS, Water Advocates Take Action for
Sustainable Sanitation Worldwide
Water Advocates
In the United States, another long-term partnership with a non-profit
organization has led to improvements in water and sanitation abroad. The
firm’s Washington, D.C. office has long aided client Water Advocates in its
efforts to increase American support for worldwide access to safe, affordable
and sustainable supplies of drinking water and adequate sanitation.
In 2005, our lawyers worked with Water Advocates to push through Congress
the Water for the Poor Act. The bill makes it a major U.S. foreign policy goal
to promote safe, affordable drinking water in developing countries worldwide
and requires the State Department to create a water development strategy.
According to the United Nations, 2.6
Partners for Water and Sanitation
billion people worldwide are without
For several years, the firm’s London office has
worked with U.K.-based Partners for Water and
Sanitation (PAWS), a not-for-profit partnership
whose members include U.K. water companies,
development NGOs, engineering consultancy
firms, trade unions and government departments
and agencies. PAWS uses the wide range of skills
from these partners to provide advice and support
to projects on the request of partner countries,
with the aim to build capacity through knowledge
transfer in the water and sanitation sector and help
provide a sustainable solution. K&L Gates is the
organization’s only law firm partner.
proper sanitation facilities, and every
year inadequate water, sanitation and
hygiene contribute to the deaths of 1.5
million children. K&L Gates lawyers
do their part to help remedy this
international crisis, working pro bono
with water advocacy organizations.
More recently, the firm’s policy team scored a dramatic success for the organization when Congress
signed a bill appropriating $300 million in the 2008 fiscal year for water projects in the developing
world, an increase of 50 percent over last year. This funding will bring sustainable drinking water and
sanitation to as many as three million people. The funding comes with strong requirements that it be
spent in accordance with the Water for the Poor Act, ensuring that it will be used to provide long-term
solutions in areas that need it most.
Partners Daniel Ritter and Bruce Heiman and associate Paul Stimers have been the core leaders of this
project, with nearly 20 policy group members participating in some way.
In the past, our lawyers have donated time to
partnering programs with three African countries:
South Africa, Nigeria and Ethiopia. Lawyers work
in teams with other PAWS partners alongside local
municipalities for a week at a time, transferring
expertise. Most recently, London lawyers
Christopher Causer and Peter Dzakula spent a
week in Pretoria, South Africa, leading a workshop
on public-private partnerships. The two provided
hands-on advice to officials from the different
provincial governments in South Africa about how
to negotiate successful outsourcing contracts and
public-private partnerships.
In addition to his fieldwork with the organization,
Causer sits on the PAWS Steering Group. He has
been involved with PAWS from its first creation,
which followed the World Summit on Sustainable
Development in 2002.
Fellow London lawyer Stuart Borrie aided PAWS
with corporate work this year, converting PAWS
into a company limited by guarantee.
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Immigration
Immigrants Seek Safe Haven
Democratic Republic of Congo
Seattle associate Carrie Valladares successfully secured asylum for a
Congolese woman and her three young children. Widow to a murdered
husband and mother to missing twins, Carrie’s client and her family
suffered violent persecution at the hands of the ruling government in the
Democratic Republic of Congo for many years. As if asylum was not
victory enough, our client can also rejoice in the possibility of being
reunited with her missing twins, recently found in Rwanda.
Helping refugees fleeing persecution
Afghanistan
in their homelands find a safe haven
Los Angeles associate Alexandra Sparling argued
for and achieved asylum for a young woman
fighting for her life in war-torn Afghanistan. Fleeing
the Taliban who kidnapped and presumably
murdered her father, the woman found herself in
Pakistan, fighting for the opportunity to come to
America and further her education. With the help
of the K&L Gates team, she won her fight and is
currently attending college in the United States.
in the United States is a cornerstone
of K&L Gates’ pro bono activity.
Lawyers from offices throughout
the firm regularly represent clients
in immigration hearings, giving
Djibouti
Taking on the case as a referral from Hate Free Zone, Seattle of counsel Jamie Pedersen successfully
obtained political asylum for a Djiboutian refugee. The man fled to the United States after being
arrested and tortured for his engagement to a woman from a different clan, a relationship prohibited
by traditional Somali custom. After fleeing Djibouti to wait for his fiancée, our client learned that the
woman’s father had had the man’s own father killed.
Pedersen, with assistance from associate Nancy Kim and summer associate Brianne Anderson, persuaded
an immigration judge to grant our client’s request for political asylum in the United States. Our client was
released this fall after spending nearly four months at the Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma, Wash.
individuals from around the world a
new lease on life.
Croatia
Pittsburgh of counsel Barbara Bower has spent
seven years advocating for a Croatian family
that traveled to the United States seeking help
for their three-year-old daughter, who needed a
small intestine transplant. The procedure is rare for
children, and the Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh
is one of the premier pediatric small intestine
transplant centers in the world. Originally in the
United States under a six-month visitor’s visa, five
years passed before the girl received the transplant.
Her body rejected the organ, and the girl, who is
now 11, is waiting for a new transplant.
The United States Citizen and Immigration
Services (USCIS) has twice denied the family an
extension of its visas in the nearly nine years they
have lived in the country. In each case, Barbara
argued before the USCIS that the girl will not
survive elsewhere. Barbara is currently assisting
the family in seeking other visa options, but that
brings new challenges as many of their required
documents, which were located in Sarajevo,
Bosnia, were destroyed during the conflict there.
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El Salvador
Thanks to the efforts of Washington, D.C. associate Scott Lindsay and partners Brian McCalmon and
Jim Weiss, a 20-year resident of the United States secured permanent residency under the Nicaraguan
and Central American Relief Act (NACARA). The pro bono client’s NACARA application was technically
barred because of two prior marijuana convictions; federal law allows for only one and, under a recent
change, counts an arrest the same as a conviction. In a race against the clock, our lawyers worked to
file the NACARA application and to have one of the client’s guilty pleas and convictions expunged.
While a Maryland district court annulled both the guilty plea and the conviction, the U.S. Customs and
Immigration Service agency pushed to consider our client’s application as if the conviction had not been
set aside, on the basis of the arrest. The K&L Gates team called into question the constitutionality and
legality under NACARA of using an annulled conviction to bar our client from eligibility. After a two-year
struggle, USCIS agreed, and our client became a permanent resident of the United States.
Zimbabwe
As a local ward chairman for the Movement for Democratic Change, the primary opposition to
Zimbabwe’s government, Canaan Gwebu was a target for government agents concerned with the
silencing of political opposition. Gwebu fled his native Zimbabwe after surviving the unlawful invasion
of his home, the destruction of his personal property, the beating of his farm hands and threats on
his life and those of his wife and six children. With the help of K&L Gates associate Lorna Neill and
partner Rick Valentine, a judge ordered Gwebu’s release from Piedmont Regional Jail and granted his
application for political asylum. Gwebu is currently working to bring his family to the United States,
where they can begin a new life free of terror and persecution.
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Family Law
Pro Bono Partnership Aims to Secure
International Child Custody Rights
someone eventually referred her to the Mexican Central Authority. There,
she filed a petition to the U.S. State Department and was soon put in
touch with the NCMEC.
The team, including associate Lauren Syler and partner Michael Napoli,
secured a passport and visa for the mother to travel to the United States
for the hearing. The team prepared her for court but on the day of the
hearing, the woman’s ex-partner did not appear. The judge ruled that the
children should be returned to their mother, and that she should then have
a Mexican court determine her custodial status. The judge also asked the
U.S. Marshals to recover the woman’s children from her ex-partner.
When children are taken across borders
by one parent without the permission of
the other, the ensuing custody dispute
can be complicated, messy and fraught
with family law issues. K&L Gates’
Dallas office is well-versed on this
subject, representing clients pro bono
in two recent cases referred through a
partnership with the National Center for
Missing and Exploited Children.
In the first case, the NCMEC asked the firm to
represent the Mexican government in responding
to an amicus brief filed in connection with a
Sixth Circuit appeal of a return order under
the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of
International Child Abduction. The coalition of
domestic violence groups who had filed the brief
argued that the court should take into account
the potential exposure of children to long-term
domestic abuse in considering whether to return
children who were illegally removed from Mexico
to the United States.
If the groups’ arguments had been adopted,
Hague proceedings would have been converted
from a purely jurisdictional dispute to a custody
dispute, impacting the return of the large number
of children abducted from Mexico to the United
States. If U.S. courts were to broaden the scope
of the return proceeding to include custody issues,
courts in other countries would do the same. This
could impact and likely derail the application of
the Hague convention and hamper the return of
children taken from the United States to foreign
countries. In its ruling, the Sixth Circuit held that
the court should not consider the long-term wellbeing of the children but instead should focus
on the potential for grave risk during the time
between repatriation and the determination of
custody in the child’s homeland.
K&L Gates’ Dallas office is also active in
advocating for victims of international child
custody rights violations. In another case referred
by the NCMEC, a young mother came to the
firm after her common law husband abducted
her two children from Mexico two years earlier.
She went to the police every day for six months
seeking help for her children’s return, until
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The authorities quickly found the children and returned them to the mother’s custody. The K&L Gates
team helped her on a bus back to Mexico later that day.
Pro bono cases such as these often deeply affect both the client and the lawyer. Comments Syler, “I was
incredibly touched by this whole process—and honored to be a part of it. It was one of those moments
in life, where you realize that you are only a small cog in a huge process. It was unbelievable that this
woman’s tenacity and refusal to give up hope brought her to K&L Gates. She sought and searched and
did everything she could. I’m so proud that I got to help her and I hope to work with more women like
her in the future.”
These two matters are a sample of the cases in which K&L Gates has represented parents seeking the return of
their children under the Hague Convention through its offices in Dallas, Miami, Spokane and San Francisco.
Immigrant Wins New Hearing
in Domestic Violence Appeal
As a result of a decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, an immigrant woman
who alleges that she has been the victim of domestic violence now has another chance to prove
that she should be allowed to remain in the United States. K&L Gates Harrisburg partner David Fine
and associate J. Leigh Wray filed an amicus curiae brief in support of the woman on behalf of the
National Network to End Violence Against Immigrant Women. In a published opinion, the Seventh
Circuit recognized the importance of protections provided by the Violence Against Women Act
(VAWA) for immigrants who claim that they are victims of domestic violence.
In Sanchez v. Keisler, the court found that the Board of Immigration Appeals erred when it rejected Ana
Sanchez’s effort to invoke the longer time period for filing motions to reopen under the VAWA. The court
also disagreed with the board’s conclusion that her lawyer did not offer ineffective assistance when he
failed to pursue a claim under the VAWA.
For Ms. Sanchez, the decision means a new hearing with a more complete and fair record. More broadly,
the decision highlights the need for immigration lawyers, immigration judges and the Board of Immigration
Appeals to consider the application of the VAWA when a case presents issues of domestic violence.
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Motion for Revision Squad
Wins Protection Order
The Domestic Violence Revision Squad sponsored by the King County Bar Association regularly
benefits from K&L Gates’ pro bono efforts. As part of the program, volunteer lawyers represent victims
in filing motions for revision or reconsideration in cases in which a protection order has been wrongly
denied or is insufficiently protective of the children. Seattle partners Laura Clinton, Stephanie Pickett and
Steve Smith have been regular participants in this program.
Smith recently won a case as a volunteer for this program. Smith represented the former spouse
and daughter of a man who threatened his daughter with physical violence, withholding food and
sending her to a foster home. A protection order was entered, but aggressive opposing counsel
filed motions for revision, to quash the order and for contempt of court. The revision motion
contended that threats of corporal punishment of a child were lawful, and denied the other conduct.
Smith demonstrated that the record contained ample evidence of conduct which constituted domestic
violence under the statute or the judge’s domestic violence handbook. Judge Mary Roberts affirmed
the protection order, granting Smith’s motion.
Criminal Justice and
Civil Rights
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Handicapped Death Row Inmate Fights for Life
affidavits from jurors attesting to the fact that, had they been aware of the
client’s mental retardation, tragic personal history or counsel’s conflict of
interest, they would not have voted for the death penalty.
Currently, the team is preparing for an opportunity to argue at a hearing
later this year that the client is mentally retarded, that he was not present
at the time of the crime and that the co-defendants, aware of the client’s
limitations, blamed him for the crime in an attempt to escape their own
death sentences.
In the area of criminal justice, the
need for pro bono lawyers is great.
On the flip side, for the participating
attorney, opportunities afforded by
programs offering pro bono assistance
to individuals in the justice system are
extremely valuable. The underlying
skills necessary to represent defendants
in all of these cases are the same:
working to protect the client’s interests,
maintaining their trust, negotiating
sentencing and witness protection, and
operating effectively within the multiple
levels of government.
A current pro bono case illustrates this point, as
Washington, D.C. lawyers Brian Stolarz, Bethany
Nikfar and David Case, and Dallas of counsel
Frederick Medlin help a Houston man on death
row fight for his life.
The client, who suffers from mental retardation, was
sentenced to death in 2005 for the murder of a
Houston police officer. Two other men accused in
the double murder and robbery were convicted;
one was also sentenced to death, while the other
was sentenced to 30 years in prison after testifying
against the co-defendants.
When the Texas Defender Service asked K&L
Gates for assistance, Stolarz and Nikfar stepped
in to investigate the inmate’s claims of innocence
and the evidence that he is mentally retarded—
evidence that would spare his life. Along with
a team of investigators, Stolarz and Nikfar
uncovered evidence that witnesses had been
pressured to testify against their client; that trial
counsel failed to conduct a proper investigation
into both evidence of the client’s limited mental
functioning and mitigating evidence about his
troubled family background; and that trial counsel
labored under a conflict of interest that had not
previously been disclosed.
Prisoner Wins Civil Rights Appeal
New York partner Doug Broder has worked with the Pro Bono Panel of the United States Court of
Appeals for the Second Circuit for more than 25 years, handling nearly 50 appeals in that time.
He accepts cases from the court’s pro bono clerk to assist pro se appellants whose cases have been
dismissed or otherwise lost in the lower courts. The majority of the cases involve prisoners’ claims that
they have been mistreated during arrest or while in prison or that they have otherwise been denied
their constitutional rights.
Recently, Broder and associate Brian Koosed represented an inmate in a New York state correctional
facility. In Wheeler v. Butler, the client contended that he was denied due process of the law under the
Fifth Amendment in a prison disciplinary hearing and that the ensuing sentence constituted cruel and
unusual punishment under the Eighth Amendment.
Alleged to have started a fire, the inmate was sentenced to 86 days in solitary confinement, where he
was denied use of his hearing aids. Diagnosed almost a decade ago with severe hearing loss, the
client felt that solitary confinement without his hearing aids was both cruel and unusual and so sued
the responsible prison officials.
Broder and Koosed became involved in the case after it was dismissed by the New York District Court
and appealed to the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. Koosed performed the oral argument
in December 2006. The judges recently reversed the lower court’s decision and granted the client’s
appeal, a victory for Broder and Koosed as well.
Armed with this evidence, the K&L Gates team
filed an application for a writ of habeas corpus
in the District Court of Harris County, Texas,
urging the court to overturn the death sentence.
In support of the application, first-year associates
Lauren Bergen, Denise Gitsham, Grace Su, Chris
Tate and Nicole Trudeau, along with paralegal
Craig Gaver, traveled to Houston to gather signed
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Government Witness Gains Protection
San Francisco lawyers spearheaded by Jeff Bornstein regularly represent both prisoners and indigent
criminal defendants in two California courts, the Eastern District Court of California in Sacramento and
the Criminal Justice Act Panel of the Northern District Court of California.
In the second half of 2007, Bornstein took on four cases in which his team represented two different criminal
defendants in federal drug cases, a material witness in a federal smuggling case and a prisoner in a civil
rights case.
Currently, Bornstein and associate Leah Shough represent a government witness in a large-scale drug
case. The client is a witness against more than a dozen defendants allegedly involved in a sophisticated
scheme to transport illegal narcotics. Bornstein and Shough argued for a reduction in their client’s
sentence when he agreed to be a witness in the federal case.
Lawyers Lend District Attorney’s Office
a Helping Hand
In addition to providing pro bono representation to indigent criminal defendants, our lawyers in
Newark have the opportunity to assist the prosecutors, helping to maintain a smooth-running justice
system. Through the Appeals Division of the New York County District Attorney’s Office, our lawyers
provide assistance to the assistant district attorneys who respond to criminal appeals filed by convicted
defendants. In these cases, our lawyers prepare an appeal brief, confer with the assistant district attorney
and argue the appeal before the New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division, First Department.
In a recent case, associates Angela DiGiglio and Megan Mueller represented the People in a case
where the defendant/appellant was convicted of criminal possession of a controlled substance in the third
degree without having been afforded the right by the trial judge to a lesser included charge of criminal
possession of a controlled substance in the seventh degree. The assistant district attorney who assigned
the appeal acknowledged the weakness of the case, but our associates drafted a well-written and wellreceived response to the appellant’s motion. Oral argument was held before a full five-judge panel of the
First Department where an energetic discussion took place. Although the appellant prevailed, the district
attorney’s office was pleased with the written and oral advocacy skills provided by our associates.
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Pro Bono Highlights
Around the Firm
Northern Ireland Peace-Building
Accomplishments Benefit from Firm Work
K&L Gates’ pro bono work extends far
beyond the offices’ local communities.
In the firm’s Boston office, partner
Harry Grill helps to lead pro bono
efforts with international impact,
dedicating time to worthy causes in
Northern Ireland. The organizations,
Intercomm Enterprises USA and the
Linen Hall Library Foundation, both
came to Grill for help establishing their
status as 501(c)(3) entities.
For more than 10 years, Intercomm has served
as a model for conflict resolution, reconciliation
and peace-building programs in Northern Ireland.
By incorporating as a non-profit organization,
the group aims to raise awareness and support
throughout the United States. Grill also advises the
group in ways to expand their conflict resolution
protocol into other areas of the world.
“K&L Gates continues to provide invaluable
counsel to Intercomm in its efforts to assist not only
Northern Ireland, but other areas of the world
such as Israel, the Palestinian territories and Iraq
in promoting the successful conflict resolution and
peace maintenance protocols that have worked in
Belfast and Northern Ireland. We are grateful for
the pro bono representation and being part of the
K&L Gates family,” said Liam Maskey, Intercomm’s
executive director and president.
Similarly, Grill advised the Linen Hall Library
Foundation in their incorporation as a non-profit
organization. The library is the oldest in Belfast,
Northern Ireland, and is a leading center for Irish
and local studies. It serves as a neutral space
to foster intellectual discussion through debates,
seminars, workshops, exhibits and community
events. Through its non-profit entity in the United
States, the organization hopes to sustain and
develop its unique work by gaining support to
preserve and facilitate access to the library’s
historic resources.
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Mercy Corps Fights
Worldwide Vetting System
In the summer of 2007, the United States Agency for International Development issued a notice
in the Federal Register regarding its proposed Partner Vetting System. The agency plans to use the
information storehouse to vet individuals, officers or other officials of non-governmental organizations
applying for USAID funding, ensuring that neither USAID funds nor USAID-funded activities provide
support to terrorist activities. Concerned that this system would adversely affect charitable organization
funding worldwide, international volunteer organization Mercy Corps called on Portland associate Joy
Nair for help.
Nair aided the organization with two comment letters addressing the organization’s concerns. Mercy
Corps officials believe that this system “will ultimately affect not only those living in America but
citizens of nations throughout the world.” In each of the comment letters, Nair outlined the problems
with USAID’s proposal, including USAID’s improper policymaking process, the lack of demonstrated
need for such a system, USAID’s lack of authority to set up a worldwide system and the restriction of
due process caused by the system’s vague application.
USAID never adopted the PVS and a timetable has yet to be set for future implementation.
Mercy Corps is a non-profit volunteer organization that aims to alleviate suffering, poverty and
oppression by helping people build secure, productive and just communities.
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St. Giles Trust Champions
Smooth Transition for
Ex-Convicts
The St. Giles Trust is a U.K. organization that provides employment
opportunities for ex-convicts upon their release from prison, easing their
transition back into the public.
The two London lawyers spearheading the relationship, associate
Comron Rowe and partner Danny Tsang, recently provided pensions advice for the transfer of an
employee from the Probation Service to the St. Giles Trust. In addition, partners Noel Deans and
Laura Harcombe provided employment and litigation advice on a grievance brought against the
organization by an employee.
The U.K. pensions, employment and litigation teams are hoping to build an ongoing relationship with
the St. Giles Trust.
Merger Creates Girl Scouts
of Western Washington
A team of Seattle lawyers helped create Girl Scouts of Western Washington, which is made up of the
former Girl Scouts – Totem Council, in northwest Washington, and Girl Scouts – Pacific Peaks Council in
the southwestern part of the state.
The new council, which serves more than 27,000 girls in 17 Washington counties, will be able to better
use shared resources, build on the strengths of each region and improve efficiency. Associate Richard
Denenny led the legal team for the merger, with assistance from partners Pat Char and Tammy Watts.
Legal Services for Entrepreneurs
Promotes Economic Justice
Our San Francisco and Palo Alto offices provide ongoing pro bono counsel to the Legal Services for
Entrepreneurs (LSE) project, a branch of the San Francisco organization Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights.
Legal Services for Entrepreneurs is an economic justice project that provides free business law counsel
to low-income individuals who want to start or develop for-profit businesses, and to certain for-profit
businesses committed to community economic development.
Associate Michael Haven is the San Francisco and Palo Alto office liaison to the Lawyers’ Committee
for Civil Rights. Our lawyers work with LSE on business law matters ranging from zoning compliance
to copyright infringement.
San Francisco Program Supports
HIV-Positive Patients
K&L Gates lawyers in the San Francisco area provide counsel to the AIDS Legal Referral Panel (ALRP), an
organization that offers free or low-cost legal services to anyone who is HIV positive. ALRP believes that any
legal problem is a stress on patients’ health, and the organization contracts attorneys on a pro bono basis
to work with the patients on issues ranging from consumer credit to immigration disputes.
Associate Erin Murphy, San Francisco lawyer and firm liaison to ALRP, has been involved in the
organization for more than four years. She and other K&L Gates lawyers take on between eight and 10
cases every year, drafting wills, powers of attorney and advanced health care directives for clients to
ensure that each client’s possessions reach the right person.
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Park Preserve Challenges FAA Decision
When the Federal Aviation
Administration ruled to restructure
aircraft arrival and departures from
New York and Philadelphia-area
airports, pro bono client Friends of the
Rockefeller State Park Preserve, Inc.,
was dismayed. The park, carved out of
the original John D. Rockefeller estate
and designated a park preserve by
New York, is designed to be a quiet
setting for contemplation. The FAA’s
decision would route significantly
more air traffic over the park from the
The group turned to New York partner Don
Stever, who quickly filed a petition to review the
decision in the United States Court of Appeals
for the District of Columbia Circuit. Stever argued
the FAA ignored Section 4(f) of the Department
of Transportation Act, which prohibits the federal
government from affecting public parks and
recreation areas without undertaking a full analysis
of feasible alternatives.
The pro bono client is in good company: there
are approximately 12 petitions challenging
the FAA’s ruling currently pending, filed by the
state of Connecticut, a number of counties
and municipalities in New York, New Jersey,
Connecticut and Pennsylvania, and several other
citizens’ organizations, making this the largest
challenge to an FAA decision in the Department of
Transportation’s history.
Westchester County airport, creating
more noise pollution.
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Associate Transforms Personal Hardship into
Pro Bono Legal Advocacy
Experiencing his own family’s struggle with cancer brought Portland associate Matt Goldberg face to
face with the plight of others in the same situation. When his wife, Cary, was diagnosed with breast
cancer in 2006, he became aware of the hardships that less fortunate breast cancer patients and their
families often encounter, from disputes with insurance companies to issues with employers. Tying his
personal plight to his career, Goldberg’s goal is to create a pro bono legal clinic to assist low-income
breast cancer patients.
For Goldberg, the firm’s flexible approach to balanced hours helped him keep up with his work while at
the same time be by his wife’s side during treatments and surgery, as well as take care of his two young
children. He realized that many breast cancer patients don’t have the luxury of flexible employers and
full health insurance, and wanted to do something positive to change that.
Goldberg felt legal assistance could help make a difference, and his efforts to create a legal advocacy
project for low-income breast cancer patients are well under way. He began by contacting lawyers in
Seattle who had helped form a similar program. The American Bar Association’s Committee on Women
in the Profession, the ABA’s Health Law section and the Oregon Women Lawyers have lent their support,
and, along with K&L Gates, co-sponsored an initial training session for lawyers in December 2007. The
Breast Cancer Legal Advocacy Project of Oregon is currently representing its first pro bono client in an
insurance coverage dispute and hopes to begin providing free legal assistance to other patients and
further legal training to lawyers later this year. Goldberg has since been invited to join the ABA’s Breast
Cancer Task Force.
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Club Strives to Save
Historic Clay Tennis Courts
It isn’t often that cities are urged by their citizens to not spend money. But inaction is exactly what a
team of Pittsburgh lawyers helped pro bono client Frick Park Clay Court Tennis Club achieve.
The city of Pittsburgh was seeking funds from the Allegheny Regional Asset District to asphalt over the
red clay tennis courts in Frick Park, a 600-acre park donated by millionaire-industrialist Henry Clay
Frick in 1927. The Frick clay tennis courts are the only public clay courts in Pittsburgh and the only red
clay courts in all of southwestern Pennsylvania.
Because Pittsburgh did not have the resources or expertise to maintain the courts, the city decided it
would be better to pave them over. However, after the tennis club received permission from the city to
make some minor improvements, the unincorporated club sprang into action, rehabilitating four of the
six courts, raising money, recruiting members, and holding clinics and tournaments.
The club tapped partner Joseph Leibowicz to incorporate the group and enter into a formal agreement
with the city. Associate Cordy Glenn, with assistance from associate Christina Burke, helped
incorporate the club and obtain their tax-exempt status. After hearing the group and other local
residents state their case, the ARAD board urged the city of Pittsburgh to hear the residents’ requests.
In the meantime, Leibowicz helped establish a dialogue with the city solicitor and the office of Parks
and Recreation, and sought the assistance of the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy. The city listened and
has shelved plans to pave the courts.
With Glenn’s and Burke’s assistance, Leibowicz is now in the process of negotiating a permanent
agreement with the city and a cooperative arrangement with the Parks Conservancy to assure the
future of the red clay courts.
Awards
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K&L Gates Lawyers Honored
for Pro Bono Work
National Center for Missing and Exploited
Children Award of Merit
K&L Gates lawyers are regularly
recognized for their pro bono work.
Recent awards include:
Star Volunteer Award
The South West London Law Centres recently
named London assistant lawyer Dan Lopez a “Star
Volunteer” for his work on behalf of the Battersea
Legal Advice Centre. For more than five years Dan
has been part of the K&L Gates team contributing
to the Centre’s efforts, offering free legal advice to
those who would otherwise not be able to afford it.
In June 2007, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children
(NCMEC) named San Francisco associate Deirdre Digrande and
Washington, D.C. associate Amanda Kostner, formerly of San Francisco,
recipients of its Award of Merit for their efforts in representing a Mexican
mother seeking return of her abducted infant daughter. On behalf of
their client, Digrande and Kostner filed a petition for return of the child
pursuant to the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International
Child Abduction and the International Child Abduction Remedies Act and
argued its merits during a four-day evidentiary hearing. While the petition
was ultimately unsuccessful, Digrande and Kostner received, in addition to the Award of Merit, high
praise from the judge and the attorney who represented the state of California in the proceedings.
John Carroll Society Pro Bono Legal Services Award
The John Carroll Society presented Washington, D.C. associate Brian Stolarz with their 2007 Pro Bono
Legal Services Award at the Annual Red Mass, at which the chief justice of the Supreme Court and
associate justices were in attendance. The award honors the lawyer with the most case referrals from the
Archdiocesan Legal Network for disadvantaged individuals in the greater Washington, D.C. area.
Dallas Volunteer Attorney
Program Silver Awards
The Dallas Volunteer Attorney Program recognized
the firm’s Dallas office with the Silver Award,
honoring the lawyers’ outstanding pro bono
contributions by a law office with 50 lawyers or
fewer. This is the fourth consecutive year that K&L
Gates has received this prestigious award. This
recognition is well-earned: in 2007, the office
doubled its pro bono hours from the previous year.
The program also honored the legacy Hughes &
Luce Dallas office with its 2007 Gold Award for
large law offices.
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For more information about our pro bono work, please contact:
Rory Fitzpatrick Carleton O. Strouss
Matthew D. Wells
+1.617.261.3162
+1.717.231.4503
+1.206.370.7651
rory.fitzpatrick@klgates.com carleton.strouss@klgates.com
matthew.wells@klgates.com
K&L Gates comprises approximately 1,500 lawyers in 24 offices located in North America, Europe and Asia, and represents
capital markets participants, entrepreneurs, growth and middle market companies, leading FORTUNE 100 and FTSE 100 global
corporations and public sector entities. For more information, please visit www.klgates.com.
K&L Gates comprises multiple affiliated partnerships: a limited liability partnership with the full name Kirkpatrick & Lockhart Preston
Gates Ellis LLP qualified in Delaware and maintaining offices throughout the U.S., in Berlin, and in Beijing (Kirkpatrick & Lockhart
Preston Gates Ellis LLP Beijing Representative Office); a limited liability partnership (also named Kirkpatrick & Lockhart Preston
Gates Ellis LLP) incorporated in England and maintaining our London and Paris offices; a Taiwan general partnership (Kirkpatrick &
Lockhart Preston Gates Ellis) which practices from our Taipei office; and a Hong Kong general partnership (Kirkpatrick & Lockhart
Preston Gates Ellis, Solicitors) which practices from our Hong Kong office. K&L Gates maintains appropriate registrations in the
jurisdictions in which its offices are located. A list of the partners in each entity is available for inspection at any K&L Gates office.
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