Vinson & Elkins LLP. locations Fannin Suite 2500 Houston, Texas Phone: (713)

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1 1001 Fannin Suite 2500 Houston, Texas Phone: (713) locations Austin, TX Dallas, TX Houston, TX New York, NY Palo Alto, CA San Francisco, CA Washington, DC Abu Dhabi Beijing Dubai Hong Kong London Moscow Riyadh Tokyo MAJOR DEPARTMENTS & PRACTICES THE STATS. of Attorneys: 621. of Offices: 15 Chairman: T. Mark Kelly Managing Partner: Scott Wulfe Hiring Partner(s): Doug Bland EMPLOYMENT CONTACT Patty Harris Chief Talent Officer Phone: (713) Appellate Capital Markets Complex Commercial Litigation Condemnation Employment, Labor and OSHA Energy Transactions/Projects Energy Regulatory Environmental Finance Intellectual Property/Technology International M&A/Private Equity Real Estate Restructuring & Reorganization Tax/Employment Benefits/Executive Compensation 637

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). Ellyn Josef is V&E s full-time Pro Bono Counsel. She spends all of her time managing the firm s robust pro bono program. Please provide the primary pro bono contact(s) s information below. Ellyn Haikin Josef Pro Bono Counsel Phone: (713) ejosef@velaw.com Does the firm have a pro bono committee? How often does the committee meet? Quarterly Please describe the composition of the committee. V&E s pro bono committee is made up of approximately 50 lawyers, both associates and partners, representing both the domestic and international offices. 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? V&E maintains a list of pre-approved Pro Bono Providers. Attorneys are welcome to take matters from these providers, without having to receive specific approval from the Firm s Pro Bono Committee. These pre-approved providers include legal service providers in all of our office communities that provide pro bono opportunities in typical pro bono subject areas. In order for an attorney to take on a pro bono matter that is not from a pre-approved provider, the attorney must complete a form memorandum seeking approval from the Pro Bono Committee. Additionally, the Firm s Pro Bono Committee and Pro Bono Counsel consistently look for innovative and impactful pro bono opportunities in our communities to provide to our lawyers. 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, Death penalty defense, Disability benefits, Domestic violence, Education, Elder law, Fair housing/tenants rights, Family law, First Amendment and constitutional issues, Homeless advocacy, Immigration, Indigent criminal defense, International human rights, Juvenile justice reform/children s rights, nprofit corporate law, nprofit incorporation/tax exemptions, nprofit intellectual property, Prisoners rights, Probate law, Public benefits, Real estate transactions, Social Security law, The arts and historic preservation, Veterans benefits/appeals List up to 10 of your firm s pro bono clients or partners since 2012, including legal service providers or clearinghouses. Houston Volunteer Lawyers Volunteer Legal Services of Central Texas Dallas Volunteer Attorney Program Human Rights First Human Rights Initiative Legal Aid Society of DC Tahirih Justice Center Catholic Charities Texas Civil Rights Project Texas Appleseed List up to three representative examples of your firm s pro bono matters since Please limit your answer to a short paragraph per matter. V&E donates considerable pro bono time to providing legal assistance to non-profit corporations, to assist them with a variety of legal matters. A team of V&E lawyers recently donated time to assist Connecting Park Cities, an organization dedicated to helping families with special needs children, in obtaining their 501(c)(3) status. The assistance went beyond the initial tax advice, and helped the group put together a plan for a post-secondary school-type learning environment for handicapped young adults. The legal assistance donated allowed the organization the foundation required to begin to help these youth and families in the Park Cities area. Following more than two years of litigation, V&E succeeded in convincing the U.S. Immigration Court to grant asylum status to our client, an immigrant from China. The V&E team was able to demonstrate that our client faces a wellfounded fear of persecution if he were to return to China, based on the client s religious and political activities in the Vault.com Inc.

3 U.S. These activities included providing seed money and organizational support for an unregistered (and therefore illegal) house church in China for the last twelve years, and participating in a human rights advocacy organization in the U.S. The Department of Homeland Security vigorously contested every element of our client s case, proof of which involved presentation of testimony of multiple witnesses over the course of many hearings. This matter was referred to V&E by Human Rights First. V&E lawyers negotiated a settlement agreement with a Texas college of nursing on behalf of their client BN. After experiencing complications with a pregnancy and being hospitalized, BN was denied excused absences and was forced to withdraw from the college of nursing. The forced withdrawal came on the heels of derogatory comments from one of BN s professors regarding her pregnancy. Under the settlement agreement, BN was admitted back into the college of nursing and will be able to take her final two semesters at the nursing school free of charge. The agreement also put measures in place to prevent retaliation against BN. In the agreement, the university acknowledges the requirements of Title IX and its regulations application to pregnant students, and states that the university will continue its efforts to make its faculty members aware of these legal obligations. 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. V&E, together with the University of Virginia Law School Supreme Court Litigation Clinic, was retained by the Nevada Commission on Ethics, the small independent state agency charged with enforcing the state s ethics laws governing public officials, to seek review of a Nevada Supreme Court ruling striking down on First Amendment grounds a provision of the state ethics law requiring government officials to abstain from voting on matters in which they have a personal interest. In this case, a member of a city council failed to recuse himself from voting on a casino development project although the casino was represented by the manager of the official s ongoing reelection campaign, was the campaign s largest outside vendor, and also was his close friend. The Nevada Supreme Court held that elected official to cast legislative votes and thus recusal statutes were subject to strict scrutiny. V&E attorneys and the Clinic persuaded the Supreme Court to grant certiorari. After full briefing and argument, the Supreme Court unanimously reversed. Although most federal courts of appeals had held that a legislator s vote was protected speech under the First Amendment, the Supreme Court agreed with V&E and the Clinic that a legislator s authority to cast a vote is not personal to the legislator but belongs to the people; the legislator has no personal right to it. Accordingly, rules requiring legislators to abstain from matters in which they had a potential conflict of interest did not implicate any personal First Amendment right to free speech. This case presented the Supreme Court of the United States with its first opportunity to determine whether a legislator s authority to cast a vote is protected by the First Amendment. The case has direct implications for numerous federal, state, and local laws requiring public officials to disqualify themselves from acting on matters in which they, a relative, an employer, or a business associate have an interest. V&E produced a report for a women s legal aid NGO in China, the Beijing Zhongze Women s Legal Counseling and Service (the Centre ). The report compared the legislative approaches to compensation relating to mental suffering of rape victims and the rape and prostitution laws relating to minors in the following eight countries: Canada; England and Wales; Germany; Hong Kong; the People s Republic of China; Singapore; Taiwan; and the United States of America (in the states of California, Florida, Illinois, New York and Texas). The report was used by the Centre to prepare its proposal to the National People s Congress 2013 annual conference regarding compensation for the mental suffering of rape victims and rape laws relating to minors in China. The Centre hopes that its proposal to the National People s Congress will help to strengthen protections for women and girls, and improve access to compensation for rape victims, across China V&E attorneys recently won asylum for their client, Mr. X, a native and citizen of the Republic of Maldives, an archipelago of about 1,000 islands in the Indian Ocean. The application, which was several hundred pages and included more than 70 exhibits, sought asylum for Mr. X, who, beginning in 1995 and lasting until 2010, was systematically confined, persecuted, and tortured at the hands of the Maldivian government because of his political beliefs and association with a democratic political party organized by his brother, Mr. Y. Throughout his confinement, Mr. X was assaulted almost daily and regularly deprived of food and sleep. His torture and persecution also included waterboarding, brutal beatings, long periods in forced stress positions, and physical and sexual abuse of his family members within viewing and hearing distance. Mr. X had no opportunity to speak to legal counsel during his confinement, never saw the inside of a courtroom, and was never even charged with a crime. His persecutors still hold positions of power in the Maldivian government and have continued to subject his family members to arrest, physical abuse, and murder. Mr. X is married to Mrs. X, who also received asylum through the application prepared by the V&E team. The two have four children together, all of whom escaped persecution in the Maldives and are now naturalized citizens of the United States. One of their sons is a United States Marine, who has served combat duties in Afghanistan and Iraq. w that Mr. X has obtained asylum in the United States, he can similarly establish a life safe from his persecutors, free from fear that they will harm him again. 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: 31,034 Total number of pro bono hours in 2013: 29,799 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. 639

4 What was the attorney headcount in your firm s U.S. offices? Number of attorneys as of December 31, 2012: 628 Number of attorneys as of December 31, 2013: 621 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: 49 Average number of hours per attorney in 2013: 48 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: 41 50% Percentage of attorneys who did pro bono work in 2013: 41 50% 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? 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? 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? 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? At V&E, pro bono matters are treated the same as any other client matter, and associates working on these matters have available to them a full range of training opportunities. V&E has its own significant in-house professional education department, and pro bono subject matters are a regular part of the curriculum of V&E s training program. New associates receive information and training about the Firm s pro bono program shortly after their arrival at the Firm. For particular substantive areas of pro bono work, such as political asylum, guardianship and family law matters, specialized training is available either through in-house training from V&E staff or through external speakers hosted by V&E. Additionally, V&E supports its lawyers attending outside training opportunities as it relates to their pro bono matters or areas of interest. 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: 2, : 1,680 Average hours per summer associate spent on pro bono work 2012: : 19 Percentage of summer associates in your firm s U.S. office(s) engaged in pro bono work 2012: 72% 2013: 57% Please provide any additional information about pro bono opportunities available to summer associates. Over the last several years, V&E has developed its own Summer Associate Research Program, in which Summer Associates are given the opportunity to draft research memos for a variety of V&E s pro bono partner organizations. These memos are then used by the organizations to conduct trainings, propose legislation and engage in impact litigation. Our commitment to our summer associates involvement in pro bono is also demonstrated by our Public Interest Split Summer Program. Summer associates may apply to work half of the summer at V&E and the other half at a public service organization while being paid by V&E Vault.com Inc.

5 Finally, V&E has also provided the opportunity for our summer associates to complete pro bono requirements of their respective law schools, by completing additional weeks in their summer program and focusing solely on pro bono work during those particular weeks. Does the firm have established programs, such as externships, that enable its associates to work in a public interest setting? 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. Parallel to its commitment to pro bono work, V&E has always had deep involvement in the communities in which its lawyers live and work. V&E has partnered with law school clinics to provide pro bono work in those communities, and has partnered with law schools to assist in their fundraising efforts and other community-related programming. V&E has always been and continues to be incredibly supportive of lawrelated community organizations and law schools, helping to provide the support and pipeline for law students into the legal community. What non-law related volunteer opportunities does your firm offer? For example, list any work with high school students and non-legal volunteerism for organizations like Habitat for Humanity. In addition to all of V&E s law-related community activities, V&E supports and offers opportunities to its lawyers and staff to participate in other volunteer activities in the community. Some examples of this work include: building houses with Habitat for Humanity, staffing holiday parties and other events at the HAY Center for foster youth, volunteering at local food banks and participating in apprenticeship and mentoring programs in local low-income middle and high schools. Please list any special recognition or awards your firm has won since 2012 for its pro bono work. February 2012: V&E received the Houston Bar Foundation award for Outstanding Law Firm Contribution to the Houston Volunteer Lawyers Program for 2011 April 2012: V&E was awarded the Harris County Bench Bar Pro Bono Award for outstanding contributions to pro bono legal services during 2011 October 2012: V&E lawyers received an award from the Texas Civil Rights Project for their tireless and dedicated work on behalf of a wronged Texas prisoner October 2012: V&E lawyers received an award from the Dallas Volunteer Attorney Program for V&E s commitment to pro bono work on behalf of clients in need in the Dallas community vember 2012: V&E was awarded the Angel of Freedom Award from the Human Rights Initiative for the work they have done in the area of political asylum May 2013: For the second year in a row, V&E was awarded the Harris County Bench Bar Pro Bono Award for outstanding contributions to pro bono legal services during 2011 May 2013: V&E received the Alpha Award from Alpha Workshops in New York for the pro bono contribution made to their organization July 2013: The Texas Civil Rights Project awarded four Vinson & Elkins lawyers the 2013 Kristi Couvillon Pro Bono Award for dedicated work on a civil rights matter vember 2013: Who s Who Legal recognized Vinson & Elkins as one of 10 Leading Law Firms for Pro Bono May 2014: V&E was awarded the Access to Justice Award for Best Pro Bono Firm of 2014 by American Gateways Please add any additional information about your firm s pro bono program. V&E lawyers are guided by the principle that pro bono clients, like all of our clients, should be fully and effectively represented. As a result, we devote significant time and financial resources to the legal needs of persons and organizations who cannot afford to pay for representation. V&E s pro bono initiatives provide our lawyers an opportunity to connect with the human side of the practice of law. From senior partners to first-year associates, in both our domestic and international offices, our lawyers apply their skills to personal passions and gaps in service and make lasting impacts in the communities in which they live and work. Each year, V&E lawyers provide nearly 30,000 hours of free legal services to those in need. Our pro bono work comes from many sources from attorneys interested in specific legal issues to legal services providers who work each day to improve the lives of those in need to partnering with clients to assist the underserved. Whether we are helping to reunite mothers and children, assisting Holocaust survivors in the U.S. with obtaining restitution from the German government, or representing veterans and active duty military personnel with legal problems, V&E s long tradition of pro bono work has grown over the years to become a broad and diverse practice area. The strength of V&E s pro bono program is deeply rooted in the Firm s core principles and is sustained by our lawyers personal dedication to service. In 2008, V&E added a full-time Pro Bono Counsel, Ellyn Haikin Josef, to assist the Firm s Pro Bono Committee with both program development and management. In January of 2012, V&E named Harry Reasoner, former Managing Partner of V&E, as the Firm s Pro Bono Chairman. Throughout Harry s nearly 50-year legal career, he has devoted several thousand hours of legal services to some of the most high-profile and important pro bono cases. As V&E s most notable pro bono champion, Harry Reasoner, continues to encourage lawyers to do their part to make a difference in the lives of individuals and communities. 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. 641