All citizens deserve a voice and representation. And all lawyers have an obligation to assist people and organizations that otherwise would have no access to the justice system.
We have embraced the American Bar Association’s challenge to law firms to commit 3 percent of their total firmwide billable hours to pro bono work, and we encourage our attorneys to contribute a significant percentage of their hours to pro bono work each year. In 2009 our attorneys, paraprofessionals, and staff devoted a great deal of time to such projects, including 21,720 attorney hours, at a value of almost $7.3 million.
Our attorneys have a broad range of interests and political philosophies, and they are free to pursue their diverse interests within the guidelines of our pro bono program. These projects are often emotionally demanding and may even involve unpopular causes or clients. But they’re always rewarding.
Here’s a look at a few of our most compelling recent projects, from global to local:
- In 2007, Chauncey Bailey, the editor of The Oakland (Calif.) Post, was investigating the troubled finances and strife at a local bakery. Bailey was murdered because of his investigation. A coalition of media and related groups started the Chauncey Bailey Project to investigate the murder and uphold the principle that journalists cannot be silenced through intimidation or violence. DWT's Duffy Carolan has represented the Project since 2007.
- An estimated 60,000 Holocaust survivors who performed “voluntary work” in Jewish ghettos were eligible for the German government’s Ghetto Work Payment Program, which offered payments of 2,000 Euros (approximately $3,000). We helped survivors complete their applications in a program organized by Jewish Family Service and Bet Tzedek.
- Joseph Kalubi is a Tutsi refugee from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. In the late 1990s, when the genocidal Hutu-Tutsi conflict spilled into Congo, he saw men being murdered because they were (or appeared to be) ethnic Tutsis or Rwandans. After participating in a peaceful protest, he was imprisoned, beaten and threatened with death. Joseph eventually made his way to the U.S. to seek asylum. An attorney/paralegal team at DWT dedicated several years to helping Joseph and his wife obtain U.S. asylum and visas.
For more information about our pro bono programs, please contact Julie Orr, coordinator, Pro Bono & Public Service Committee.
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