Pro Bono Happy Hour

5/25/23 Racial Justice: PBI Signatory Showcase Featuring Crowell & Moring

Racial Justice
Crowell & Moring

On June 28, 2021, in a victory for racial justice, a settlement was announced on behalf of four residents of Baltimore’s Harlem Park, a predominately Black neighborhood, who filed a federal court lawsuit against the Baltimore City Police Department (BPD) and former Police Commissioner Kevin Davis. The residents’ lawsuit charged that their state and federal constitutional rights were violated during a six-day, multi-block lockdown of their neighborhood following the shooting death of Detective Sean Suiter. 

We spoke with Crowell & Moring Partner, Daniel Wolff, for this special edition of the Pro Bono Happy Hour Podcast.

3/29/23 Pro Bono and Indigenous People: PBI Signatory Showcase featuring Robins Kaplan

Robins Kaplan
Pro Bono and Indigenous People

In a pro bono case that has drawn national attention, Robins Kaplan sued the federal government on behalf of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe after the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services closed the only emergency room on the Rosebud Reservation. On behalf of the Tribe, Robins Kaplan attorneys argued that the closure of the emergency room violated the federal government’s treaty duty to provide the Tribe with adequate health care services. 

We spoke with Robins Kaplan Partner, Tim Billion, for this special edition of the Pro Bono Happy Hour Podcast. Listen to how Robins Kaplan got involved, and how they won the case for the Rosebud Sioux Tribe.

2/16/2023 Attorney Fees: Reed Smith

Attorney Fees
Reed Smith

In this episode, PBI interviews Chris Walters, Senior Pro Bono Counsel at Reed Smith. Chris describes Reed Smith’s successful appeal in the Ninth Circuit of a lower court’s refusal to grant Reed Smith attorney fees in conjunction with the firm’s pro bono representation of a mistreated prisoner in the California correctional system. Listen and learn about best practices when litigating claims for attorney fees in prisoner pro bono cases and how this precedent affects the pro bono community.

9/1/2022 Expanding Access to Justice: DLA Piper and Mexico Appleseed

Expanding Access to Justice
DLA Piper

For 14 years, Mexico Appleseed has been growing a network of law firms and corporate counsel engaging in pro bono in Mexico. In this episode, NihadMansour, Assistant Director, Law Firm Pro Bono Project^® interviews Lisa Dewey, Pro Bono Partner, in DLA Piper’s Washington DC office, Maru Cortazar Executive Director of Mexico Appleseed and Gabriela Alaña, Partner, in DLA Piper’s Mexico City Office. Hear how Mexico Appleseed and DLA Piper have been working together to expand access to justice through pro bono in Mexico.

6/30/22 Pro Bono Assistance for Ukraine: Interview with L4GG’s Lauren Worsek

Assistance for Ukraine
Interview with L4GG’s Lauren Worsek

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 has given rise to many legal needs for those in Ukraine. In this episode, Nihad Mansour, Assistant Director, Law Firm Pro Bono Project^® interviews Lauren Worsek, Director of Pro Bono Initiatives at Lawyers for Good Government (L4GG). Hear more about L4GG’s pro bono program offering assistance to those in Ukraine and how law firms and corporations can get involved.

5/31/22 Well-Being and Pro Bono: Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP

Well-Being and Pro Bono
Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP
In honor of May Mental Health Awareness Month, PBI takes a look at what one firm, Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP, is doing to support health & wellness through pro bono. In this episode, Nihad interviews Jonathan Baum, Senior Counsel and Director of Pro Bono Services, and Janet Hoffman, Senior Counsel and Pro Bono Counsel. Hear ways in which Katten is embracing pro bono and supporting mental health and well-being.

3/31/2022 Staffing in the Name of Racial Justice Pro Bono

Since 2020, many law firms have incorporated new racial justice efforts into their pro bono programs. Some have hired pro bono professional staff whose primary focus is to expand the firm’s racial justice work. Others have expanded the roles and responsibilities of their pro bono professionals to include racial justice. In this episode, hear from pro bono professional staff focused on racial justice: Diane Lucas, Pro Bono Counsel for Racial Justice Initiative at Davis Polk, Quinncy McNeal, Pro Bono Counsel at Husch Blackwell, and Corrine Irish, heading pro bono as a Partner at Squire Patton Boggs. Learn how the establishment of these pro bono professional roles has incorporated racial justice and pro bono to contribute to the firm’s long-term racial justice commitment.

PBI Challenge Report

As we wind down 2021 and gear up for 2022, PBI takes a look back at 2020, which was an extraordinary year for legal pro bono, despite the many challenges. In this episode, Nihad interviews members of the PBI Team, Eve Runyon, President & CEO, Erik Swenson, Director of Law Firm Pro Bono Project and Alyssa Saunders, Director of Corporate Pro Bono. Hear Eve, Erik, and Alyssa share reflections on the 2021 Report on the Law Firm Pro Bono Challenge^® Initiative and the 2021 Corporate Pro Bono (CPBO) Challenge^® Report which feature Law Firm and CPBO Challenge signatory data from the 2020 calendar year. Will the trends identified in 2020 continue? Join us to learn more.

DOJ's Office for Access to Justice

In this episode, PBI interviews access to justice leaders, Tony West, Karen Lash, and Maha Jweied who all played an integral part in leading the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) first office for Access to Justice, which was formally established in 2016.  Hear Tony, Karen, and Maha share more about the exciting recent announcements by the President and Attorney General on relaunching some of the work of the former Office for Access to Justice and what this means for the Office for Access to Justice and the White House Legal Aid Interagency Roundtable (LAIR).  

EP#7 - The Challenge of COVID-19: Legal Community in Action

"We have to challenge the status quo and model the way." In this episode, PBI interviews Jo-Ann Wallace, President and CEO of the National Legal Aid and Defender Association (NLADA), to learn more about NLADA’s continued efforts to assist civil legal aid, public defenders and client and community advocates through the pandemic. Hear how NLADA is addressing unemployment benefits, remote court systems, racial equity, the eviction crisis, and more. This is the seventh episode in a special podcast from Pro Bono Institute illuminating the legal aid and pro bono community’s response to Covid-19.