MoProBono Fall 2018 Newsletter

3 MoProBono Fall 2018 MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIR When I signed a pledge on June 25 that made MoFo one of 34 law firms committed to reunifying migrant families and ensuring representation for legitimate asylum seekers, our pro bono team heard almost hourly from attorneys who wanted to help. That help has thus far required eight MoFo pro bono volunteers to travel to some of the most remote parts of the United States. “I flew into Atlanta, Georgia, and then I took another hour-long flight into a city called Albany and then I drove an hour to the town where I actually stayed in a hotel. The immigration detention center was another 30 to 40- minute drive out into the country, in the middle of nowhere,” explains New York-based restructuring counsel Erica Richards. Erica assisted Southern Poverty Law Center staff attorneys with drafting motions requesting that detained immigrants be released on bond—something that can go a long way toward helping a detainee prevail on his or her immigration application. “I met with a young woman who has lived in the U.S. since she was an infant and was picked up at her high school graduation party by ICE,” Erica describes. “She was 18, so they walked into her graduation party and took her into custody, and she has not been able to return home since then.” Erica and the rest of our pro bono team have made a real difference in the lives of detainees like the ones she worked with and in the lives of parents separated from their children as a result of the government’s family separation policy. When you read details of the change our pro bono lawyers effected in detention centers in Texas and Georgia—and the lengths they went to achieve those results—I think you’ll be moved. This is just one example of the extraordinary pro bono and community-related work that you will read about in the Fall Edition of MoProBono . Whether advocating for the most underrepresented members in our community, or offering their time to train lawyers in Kenya about how to implement the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights in pursuit of economic and human prosperity, our lawyers’ willingness to take on matters and initiatives to help make the world a better place is nothing short of inspiring. Please take the time to read their stories and think about how you too can contribute your time to help us carry out our firm’s proud pro bono mission. Larren