Public Counsel eNews

Attorneys On Loan

When was the last time you heard of an attorney at a large law firm working on their pro bono projects for two months straight? Never, right? Well, for Public Counsel this unusual occurrence happened not once, not twice, but five times. Three associates from Sidley Austin, LLP and two from Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy, LLP recently ended their “pro bono rotation” at Public Counsel. “That’s a grand total of 1,600 hours of work on behalf of the LA’s most vulnerable residents,” says Dan Grunfeld, Public Counsel’s president and CEO, who is amazed by and grateful for the generosity of both of the participating firms who paid their associates their firm salaries for their work at Public Counsel for two months.

“Lisa’s pro bono rotation in our project was just such an incredible gift to the Child Care Law Project,” says Melissa Lawton of Lisa Jochums, corporate associate at Milbank who worked at Public Counsel from last October to December. Lisa’s work in the project featured some compelling litigation cases (unusual in this largely transactional project).

“One case I worked on," says Lisa, "was to argue on behalf of a disabled 18-month-old girl who needed a rolling walker. These types of walkers are not allowed in daycare settings but she needed it to help with balance and coordination. Our client, a child care provider, contacted the state seeking special permission to use this device and the state responded with a citation. After writing many letters on the client’s behalf, we ended up making an ADA (American’s with Disabilities Act) claim, citing this device as a reasonable accommodation for the disabled child. We’re confident this work will help other needy kids in day care. It was great to work on this little girl’s behalf.”

In the spring of last year, John Ha, a 4th year corporate attorney from Milbank, came to Public Counsel as the first pro bono rotation associate in our brand new building. He was very patient with us as we scrambled to secure him an office and a working phone. Milbank was kind enough to provide a laptop for him to work on since all we had available were older PCs. John worked in our Community Development project (CDP) in the summer. Tiffanie Baker, part of the “Sidley-Three,” worked with CDP in the fall.

“John and Tiffanie each worked to incorporate and obtain tax exemption determinations for nonprofit organizations that serve at-risk youth and low-income communities,” says Liz Bluestein, CDP directing attorney. “John and Tiffanie also advised microentrepreneurs on the choice of business entity and helped to form small businesses as well as to draft contracts that would enable small businesses to expand and create jobs, and much more. They were exceptional.”

The other two from Sidley were John Fitzgibbons and Chris Pelham. They worked on very different projects. “Throughout the summer, I worked on public policy matters involving homelessness, mental health, and foster youth,” says John Fitzgibbons, who worked as a policy associate alongside Paul Freese, Public Counsel’s Director of Litigation and Advocacy. “Specifically,” says John, “I participated with a committee involved in drafting policy recommendations to solve the mounting housing crisis in Los Angeles. These public policy matters were a big eye-opener for me, as I had no experience in any of these issues. I learned a great deal from Paul Freese and others at Public Counsel.”

“John’s intellectual insights were a tremendous asset and were, in fact, the cornerstone of our policy work this past summer," says Freese.

Chris Pelham, worked in Public Counsel’s Consumer Law Project, under the guidance of Hernán D. Vera, that project’s directing attorney. “We miss working with Chris,” says Vera. “He worked on all aspects of litigation – interviewing clients, propounding discovery, drafting motions on a wide variety of matters including home equity fraud, auto fraud, and a pending class action. Thanks Sidley.”

When Mark Haddad of Sidley Austin LLP approached Ted Zepeda, Public Counsel’s pro bono coordinator last year about this program, Mark was visionary. “Our hope is that they not only will make a positive contribution to the organization during the period of the internship, but that they will then bring their contacts and knowledge back to our firm and help us expand the amount of work that we as a firm do for the public interest organizations for years to come.”

Milbank’s program has been supporting Public Counsel for years. Anthony Perez Cassino, the assistant director of public service at Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy LLP, out of their New York office, believes that all attorneys, “have a responsibility to set the right example regarding pro bono. That means creating an environment where pro bono work is valued as much as work for paying clients, and where experienced lawyers lead the charge to volunteer.”

"The farsighted and compassionate policies of these firms’ pro bono rotation programs is an extraordinary service to the city of Los Angeles,” says Dan Grunfeld, “and all of us at Public Counsel, our staff and our clients, salute their commitment to public service.”