Davis Wright Tremaine LLP

Transcription

1 1201 Third Avenue, Suite 2200 Seattle, WA Phone: (206) dwt.com locations Anchorage, AK Bellevue, WA Los Angeles, CA New York, NY Portland, OR San Francisco, CA Seattle, WA Washington, DC Shanghai MAJOR DEPARTMENTS & PRACTICES Business & Tax Communications, Media & IP Employment Services Energy & Environmental Financial Services Health Care Litigation Real Estate & Land Use THE STATS No. of Attorneys: 454 No. of Offices: 9 Managing Partner: David C. Baca Hiring Partner(s): Ken Payson (Seattle) Bill Miner (Portland) David Ubaldi (Bellevue) claude Goetz (New York) John Seiver (Washington, DC) Joe Addiego (San Francisco) mike Jungreis (Anchorage) mary Haas (Los Angeles) norm Page (Shanghai) EMPLOYMENT CONTACT Brook Dormaier Law Student Recruiting Manager Phone: (206) brookdormaier@dwt.com Careers website: 144

2 Who s Who Does the firm have one or more pro bono coordinators and/or partners? If so, how many? 1 Please provide a general description of how much of their time each of your pro bono coordinators and/or partners spends on pro bono work and/or administering the firm s pro bono program (e.g., less than half of their time, more than half of their time, all of their time). Approximately 99% on administration, 1% on advocacy. Please provide the primary pro bono contact(s) s information below. Julie Orr Pro Bono Administrator Phone: julieorr@dwt.com Does the firm have a pro bono committee? THE SCOOP Does your firm have a pro bono policy? Can associates bring pro bono matters of interest to the firm? How does the firm decide whether to take on a pro bono matter? Matters are reviewed by the Pro Bono Administrator and/or the Pro Bono Committee for compliance with policies and to ensure that we have the necessary expertise. Has the firm signed on to the Law Firm Pro Bono Challenge? What are some of the areas of law in which your firm has performed pro bono legal work since 2012? Asylum, Civil rights, Community economic development, Disability benefits, Domestic violence, Education, Employment, Fair housing/tenants rights, Family law, First Amendment and constitutional issues, HIV/AIDS advocacy, Homeless advocacy, Immigration, Indigent criminal defense, Nonprofit corporate law, Nonprofit incorporation/tax exemptions, Nonprofit intellectual property, Prisoners rights, Real estate transactions, The arts and historic preservation, Veterans benefits/appeals, Voting rights List up to 10 of your firm s pro bono clients or partners since 2012, including legal service providers or clearinghouses. King County Bar Association ACLU Portland State University Business Outreach Project Kids in Need of Defense Seattle University School of Law Entrepreneur Legal Clinic Second Chance Legal Clinic Alaska Network on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault U.S. District Court of the District of Oregon Pro Bono Program Domestic Violence Impact Project Online Medial Legal Network List up to three representative examples of your firm s pro bono matters since Please limit your answer to a short paragraph per matter. In November 2013, immigration associate Megan Vogel successfully received approval for her client s wife and son s derivative asylum petitions. The case first came to DWT in 2009, with several different associates having handled it, until Megan agreed to take it on. At one point, the son s full-ride scholarship was at risk. By having him enroll in school part-time at his own expense until Megan could get the case in order, they were able to preserve his eligibility for the scholarship he d been awarded. Green card applications are in the plans for each family member and work authorization extension applications are pending. New York associates Lisa Keith and Jeremy Chase, with Partner Chris Robinson s oversight, represented a muralist who had painted three murals displayed in a hospital that were later destroyed in the course of hospital construction. They wrote a letter to the hospital asserting their client s potential claims under the Visual Artists Rights Act. The case was referred to the New York City Law Department because the hospital was owned by New York City. After meeting and negotiating with the New York City Law Department, they were able to settle the case with the New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation for $20,000. San Francisco Partner Harvey Schochet volunteered to assist a gravely ill client referred by AIDS Legal Referral Panel who needed to be released from a commercial lease. The matter was very time sensitive, but when the client s partner tried to handle the negotiations, the landlords were unreceptive and inflexible. Once Harvey stepped in, he was able to negotiate a lease termination in a very short time that met the exact terms requested. List up to three pro bono matters that are highlights (e.g., a Supreme Court case). Please limit your answer to a short paragraph per matter. A settlement agreement reached in the first quarter of 2014 is helping insure appropriate service for tens of thousands of Visit for company rankings, ratings and reviews to learn what it s really like to work in an industry or company and how to position yourself to land that job. 145

3 developmentally disabled individuals living in California s San Bernardino and Riverside counties. DWT partner Terri Keville, along with associate Sarah Fallows and former associate Aleah Yung, helped gather information and negotiate and draft the agreement on behalf of our pro bono client, Disability Rights California (DRC). The agreement follows more than five years of effort to improve services and communications by the Inland Regional Center (IRC), a non-profit, private agency that is the largest of 21 regional centers in California working with the developmentally disabled. Among the many issues raised by DRC were ongoing complaints that IRC provided inadequate notification and failed to provide fair process when it terminated or reduced services to some consumers. Under an agreement signed between the parties in January, IRC has agreed to abide by a number of important guidelines regarding its notifications to applicants and consumers, insuring timeliness, responsiveness, and clear communication, as well as its processes for ensuring that consumers receive necessary services. DWT attorneys will continue to work with DRC to assist and monitor compliance with the agreement. Domaine Javier v. California Baptist University We represent a student expelled from California Baptist University after she came out as transgender. DWT helped score a major victory for free speech on campus in February 2013, as a federal jury found former university president Ronald M. Zaccari personally liable for violating the due process rights of Hayden Barnes, a student he expelled. DWT represented the Valdosta State University student who peacefully protested the university s plan to construct a new, $30 million parking deck. In response to Barnes activism, Zaccari ordered that he be administratively withdrawn from the institution. The verdict in February followed five years of litigation, during which DWT partner Robert Corn-Revere worked with the Philadelphia-based Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) and Cary Wiggins of The Wiggins Law Group in Atlanta. Lisa Zycherman and Erin Nedenia Reid, associates in our DC office, participated in the trial, and former associates Chris Fedeli and Brigham Bowen worked on earlier stages of the case. Barnes objected to the new garage on environmental grounds, and his protest activities included posting flyers, writing a letter to the editor of the VSU student newspaper, and writing to Zaccari himself to request an exemption from the mandatory student fee designated for funding construction. Barnes also created a collage on his personal Facebook page that combined photos of a garage structure and Zaccari and used the acronym for an on-campus student group (Students Against Violating the Environment) in a caption that read S.A.V.E. Zaccari Memorial Parking Garage. In a letter to Barnes, Zaccari called that Facebook post a threatening document and told Barnes you are considered to present a clear and present danger to this campus. By means of the letter, and without further notice or a hearing, Barnes was expelled. That fall, Barnes sought help from FIRE. A few months later, with Corn-Revere s help, a complaint was filed against Zaccari and other school administrators in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia. Not long after, the VSU Board of Regents reversed the expulsion of Barnes, who had since enrolled at another university. The district court found that Zaccari had violated Barnes constitutional right to due process. A trial on Barnes breach-of-contract claim against Zaccari took place in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Georgia, Valdosta Division, earlier this year and ended with a verdict in Barnes favor and the $50,000 judgment. A separate breach of contract claim against the Board of Regents remains pending in state court. BY THE NUMBERS What is the total number of hours that lawyers at your U.S. office(s) spent performing pro bono legal services, as defined by the Law Firm Pro Bono Challenge, in 2012 and 2013? Do not include summer associate or non-lawyer pro bono hours in your answers. Total number of pro bono hours in 2012: 18,680 Total number of pro bono hours in 2013: 19,220 What was the attorney headcount in your firm s U.S. offices? Number of attorneys as of December 31, 2012: 448 Number of attorneys as of December 31, 2013: 454 Using the number of attorneys listed above, what is the average number of pro bono hours per attorney in your firm s U.S. office(s) during the following years? Average number of hours per attorney in 2012: 37 Average number of hours per attorney in 2013: 42 What percentage of attorneys employed during 2012 and 2013 in your firm s U.S. office(s) did at least 20 hours of pro bono during that calendar year? Percentage of attorneys who did pro bono work in 2012: 31 40% Percentage of attorneys who did pro bono work in 2013: 31 40% SUPERVISION AND EVALUATIONS Is there partner supervision on all pro bono matters? Do partner supervisors or, if applicable, senior associates provide written evaluations of associates work on pro bono matters? 146

4 Are those evaluations taken into account in determining salary or bonuses?, they are taken into account when determining salary., they are taken into account when determining bonuses. Are those evaluations taken into account in determining advancement within the firm? Is there a pro bono requirement at your firm? No Does the firm give billable hour credit for pro bono work? Does the firm have a maximum number of pro bono hours that can be applied toward the billable hour target? What is the maximum number of pro bono hours that can be applied toward the billable hour target? 144 hours, or more with an hours waiver. Does the firm consider pro bono hours when determining bonuses? PRO BONO POINTS What training opportunities are open to associates working on pro bono matters? All associates are encouraged to participate in pro bono trainings offered throughout the year by legal service providers and others. In 2013, training opportunities included domestic violence protection orders, services to homeless clients, services to youth aging out of foster care, immigration/asylum, veterans, FBI interview training, third-party custody, and an annual pro bono fair in Seattle where associates learn more about pro bono opportunities from many local legal service providers. Does the firm offer the use of support staff in handling pro bono matters? Please indicate how many total hours and average hours per person your summer associates spent performing pro bono in 2012 and Total hours summer associates spent on pro bono work 2012: : 180 Average hours per summer associate spent on pro bono work 2012: : 18 Percentage of summer associates in your firm s U.S. office(s) engaged in pro bono work 2012: 54% 2013: 47% Please provide any additional information about pro bono opportunities available to summer associates. Summer associates provide legal research, observation and participation in legal clinics, review of potential exoneration cases for The Innocence Project, and assist attorneys on existing cases. They may shadow our lawyers as they volunteer representing low income tenants facing eviction, and they may observe our monthly legal clinic for the homeless. We are happy to help summer associates get connected to the organizations and causes about which they care. Does the firm have established programs, such as externships, that enable its associates to work in a public interest setting? No What other law-related public interest and community service programs (that are not pro bono as defined by the Law Firm Pro Bono Challenge) do you offer and manage? For example, list any law school collaborations and public interest scholarships, auctions at law schools, monetary support, or fellowships. John M. Davis Diversity Scholarship, University of Washington Law School DWT-Seattle offers two Diversity Scholarships to first-year law students, including summer internships DWT-Portland offers one Diversity Scholarship to a first-year law student, including a summer internship DWT-Seattle has been a sponsor at several events for the Black Law Student Associations (at UCLA, Harvard and UVA) DWT-Seattle annually participates in fall recruiting at the Northwest Minority Job Fair DWT-Portland annually participates in fall recruiting at the following diversity fairs: Northwest Minority Job Fair, the Oregon Minority Job Fair, the National Black Law Student Association Portland Career Fair and the Council on Legal Education Opportunity Program (CLEO) DWT-Portland is a current sponsor of the Robert Phillip/ POIC Scholarship fundraiser through Lewis & Clark Law School s Black Law Students Association. What non-law related volunteer opportunities does your firm offer? For example, list any work with high school students Visit for company rankings, ratings and reviews to learn what it s really like to work in an industry or company and how to position yourself to land that job. 147

5 and non-legal volunteerism for organizations like Habitat for Humanity. We participate in Food Frenzy, an annual event to raise money to feed the hungry in Western Washington; for the past several years DWT has been the recipient of the Food Frenzy Award for the highest contribution among participating law firms. We also support Habitat for Humanity, LegalVoice, Seattle Works, United Way and YMCA. Please list any special recognition or awards your firm has won since 2012 for its pro bono work. A Pro Bono Leadership Award was conferred on Vidhya Prabhakaran in 2013 by Legal Services for Children in San Francisco, for his work securing a U Visa for a young woman from El Salvador. The National Press Photographer s Association presented DWT with its 2013 Kenneth P. McLaughlin Award of Merit for our representation of photojournalists in Datz v. Milton and Garcia v. Montgomery County Police. The Seattle Office received a 2013 Community Service Award from Puget Sound Association of Legal Administrators, for participation in the Seattle Stand Down, an event to provide many types of services for homeless veterans The Legal Aid Society in New York honored George Wukoson with a 2013 Pro Bono Publico Award for outstanding service to the Society and its clients for representing Milanis Rivas, a tenant in an apartment building in Washington Heights whose landlord refused to accept federally funded Section 8 vouchers in partial payment of her rent. Gene Grant was awarded the Oregon State Bar s 2013 Public Service Award which recognizes an Oregon attorney s contribution to public service and pro bono work. Gene has served on the Board, including chairing the Board, of the Cascade Pacific Council of the Boy Scouts, as well as on the Board of the Mt. Hood Cultural Center and Museum. He has also been very active in both the bar and other organizations focused on development, urban planning and sustainability, and given many hours of pro bono work for a variety of individuals and organizations. Portland Partner Bob Newell received an individual pro bono award from Oregon State Bar at the 2013 Annual Pro Bono Fair and Social. Minority Media and Telecom Council selected DWT Washington, DC for their Distinguished Pro Bono Service Award in July 2013, which was awarded for DWT s generous support of MMTC by providing mentoring, office infrastructure, and general operational support, above and beyond the call of duty. Nick Verwolf, Bellevue partner, was honored by King County Dependency CASA, with the Judge David W. Soukup Award as the 2013 Legal Advocate of the Year, for extraordinary contribution to the advocacy for abused and neglected children. Three DWT lawyers were recognized by the New York State Bar Association as Empire State Counsel Honorees for rendering at least 50 hours of pro bono service in The Empire State Counsel program was created in 2006 to give special recognition to NYSBA members who provide 50 hours of pro bono legal services in a calendar year. The program celebrates the idea that pro bono service by qualified lawyers can change the lives of those unable to afford counsel and can help them achieve justice. Honorees include Rob Balin, Sam Bayard, and Deirdre Davis. The Community Service Society of New York honored Carolyn Foley and Alison Schary in June 2012, recognizing their work with the editor of City Limits (a magazine now published by the Society that features investigative journalism and in-depth reporting about local NYC affairs, politics and policies) on a high-profile series of articles written by Tom Robbins about The Phantom Landlord of New York City, a man who controlled an empire of dangerously decaying buildings through shell companies and managed to avoid financial responsibility for them. Eastside Legal Assistance Project in Bellevue, Washington, named DWT Pro Bono Law Firm of the Year in King County Bar Association Board of Trustees selected DWT for its 2012 annual law firm pro bono award. The ACLU Foundation of Southern California presented DWT with its 2012 Artistic Freedom Award, in recognition of our work as co-counsel on People v. MTA. The case was a defense of aspiring artist Cris Gheorghiu against novel attempts to restrict his most basic freedoms and ability to lawfully create art because of his alleged past membership in a tagging crew. Please add any additional information about your firm s pro bono program. DWT expects all attorneys to provide at least 50 hours of pro bono service a year, in keeping with the expectations of many bar associations. The purpose of our pro bono program is first and foremost to make a meaningful contribution to access to justice, but as with many worthwhile goals there are other benefits that flow from it. In the case of pro bono, professional development is a significant benefit. In addition to being the right thing to do, pro bono work offers excellent training opportunities for both litigators and non-litigators alike. It can help associates develop proficiency in particular legal skills, as well as competence in case management and strategic analysis. The increased responsibility that comes with pro bono work does much to build an associate s confidence and develop an aptitude for exercising initiative. 148