The Davis Wright Tremaine Heart of Justice Award is presented each year to an associate who has exhibited exceptional pro bono commitment and performance. The recipient is selected each year from nominees put forward by the partner-in-charge from each of our offices. The recipient receives a commemorative trophy and the opportunity to direct a $1,000 donation to the legal services organization of his or her choice.
2010: Boris Gaviria, Bellevue, Wash.
Boris consistently serves pro bono clients each year, and 2009 was no exception. In 2009, Boris handled two asylum matters. One matter involved obtaining derivative asylum for a client's children living in Haiti, based on the client's asylum granted in 2007. In the other, Boris is preparing the client for her individual immigration court trial. This client was forced to flee Columbia in 2000 and leave two of her three children behind. Boris has prepared for her trial, which was delayed for years for "security" reasons by the U.S. Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services.
In addition to his asylum work, Boris took on a workplace disability matter, in which he obtained a lifetime pension in 2009 for a Latino client who had been injured on the job in 2002. The client's benefits had been prematurely and incorrectly terminated before Boris began representing him.
Throughout his tenure at Davis Wright Tremaine, Boris has shown a consistent commitment to pro bono service, and has represented the firm and the Puget Sound community as a leader in pro bono matters over the years. In addition to handling his own cases, Boris has developed expertise in the area of asylum law which he has brought to bear helping other Davis Wright Tremaine lawyers on their pro bono cases. He is currently supervising another associate on two asylum cases, and he has also done language interpretation and document translation. Boris has also done pro bono work for Mujeres of the Northwest, Bellevue Philharmonic Orchestra, and Eastside Latino Leadership Forum.
2009: Lisa Zycherman, Washington, D.C.
Muhammad Saad Iqbal returned home to Pakistan in 2008 after more than six years in U.S. custody, most of which was spent at the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Iqbal was imprisoned without charges and was subjected to severe mistreatment including torture. His freedom came amid exhaustive pro bono work performed by Lisa Zycherman and partners Bud Walsh, San Francisco, and Rick Cys, Washington, D.C.
The team’s litigation efforts include filing a Detainee Treatment Act (DTA) petition on Iqbal’s behalf seeking review of his detention. In June 2008, after a Supreme Court decision relating to DTA cases, Iqbal’s earlier petition for habeas corpus and other statutory relief was reactivated in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, and is currently pending.
Although Iqbal has since been released, our team plans to prosecute his habeas corpus action and various statutory claims they have made on his behalf against the U.S. government for unlawful torture. Because Iqbal has been released, the habeas action may not be heard for many months. But we consider his release—and the fact that he is now getting the medical treatment he has long required—a substantial victory.
Lisa also was recognized for her work on behalf of a student at Valdosta State University who was expelled for peacefully protesting the university’s construction of a garage. She succeeded in getting the expulsion revoked, and is now helping the student seek damages for civil rights violations.
2008: Emilio Gonzalez, Los Angeles
In 2002, when Emilio was still an associate, he signed on to represent Anthony Jimenez, a convicted felon who brought an action alleging excessive use of force in violation of his civil rights by sheriff ’s deputies while he was in the Los Angeles County jail in 1998.
Jimenez claimed he was unjustifiably beaten on three different occasions, when deputies punched him and kicked him; attacked him with pepper spray and hobbled him; placed a black bag over his head; struck him with a large metal flashlight; and used a "carotid" head-lock and straps to choke him.
“I did considerable soul-searching before I decided to take responsibility for the case,” Emilio says. “I had never first-chaired a trial. All of us had thought from the beginning that the case was a long shot. The trial would pit the testimony of a convicted felon against that of 10 law enforcement officials, and there would be no video evidence of the beatings themselves, nor any corroborating testimony.
“But I felt that Mr. Jimenez had been victimized and beaten, and he deserved his day in court—even if we lost. So I had to try.”
After five years of work and a three-week jury trial, Emilio and his team prevailed: they were awarded compensatory and punitive damages against four of the defendants on behalf of Jimenez. The court also awarded Davis Wright Tremaine attorneys’ fees and costs. The final court order praised the “tenacious work” of Emilio and his team.
2007: Kristina Silja Bennard, Seattle
In Hamdan v. Rumsfeld, 548 U.S. 557 (2006), Kristina worked with partners Jeffrey Fisher and Monty Gray on an amicus brief on behalf of The American Jewish Committee, People for the American Way Foundation and others, arguing that the military commissions established by the President to try Guantanamo Bay detainees lacked the most time-honored element of the adversarial process: the right of the defendant to be present and to confront witnesses against him. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit upheld the military commissions, but the Supreme Court reversed. The majority and concurring opinions reflected Davis Wright Tremaine’s arguments, and Mr. Hamdan's counsel had high praise for the quality and impact of the amicus brief. Drafting the brief required significant historical research into the right of confrontation, military commissions, and the adoption of the Uniform Code of Military Justice.
In addition, Kristina prepared an amicus brief for Americans United for Separation of Church and State in a case before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit challenging the practice of a Missouri school district that allowed the distribution of Bibles to its students during instructional hours. The 8th Circuit agreed that the program violated the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. Doe v. South Iron R-1 Sch. Dist., 498 F.3d 878 (8th Cir. 2007).
2006: Sarah Bhagwandin, Seattle
Sarah received the award for her expertise and determination in working to have custody of two children awarded to their aunt.
Sarah, whose practice is focused on employee benefits law, proved to be a formidable litigator, especially when her custody case became very challenging because of a highly aggressive opposing attorney and a neglectful mother who appeared and disappeared unpredictably.
Sarah also received an award from the King County Bar Association for her work on the custody case. |