Morrison & Foerster : Pro Bono Services

Morrison & Foerster has a long history of commitment to providing free legal services to low-income persons and in matters of public interest. Our attorneys have volunteered their time and expertise in class action cases to benefit tens of thousands of people and in numerous other cases to help individuals who otherwise would have been denied access to the justice system. Pro bono activities at our offices around the world cover the full range of public interest work, from staffing legal service clinics and counseling hundreds of nonprofit organizations to handling high-impact litigation. Our greatest efforts have focused on children in poverty and school education issues, civil rights and civil liberties cases, international human rights and political asylum, environmental matters, access to justice, and housing issues. The firm handles referrals of both civil and criminal matters from local courts, bar associations, and legal providers.

A fundamental component of the firm’s culture is our tradition that strongly encourages and values pro bono work. We believe it is an essential part of a lawyer’s professional responsibility to perform pro bono work and engage in other activities that benefit the community. One of our most important policies has been to treat our pro bono work in the same manner as we treat our billable work, including applying the same quality standards. We treat pro bono work equally with other client work for purposes of determining compensation, and pro bono receives the same consideration during evaluations.

Our attorneys contributed over 80,000 hours in 2008 representing pro bono clients. Over the past decade, the firm’s pro bono hours have averaged in excess of 5% of our billable hours. We were one of the charter signatory firms, and our attorneys were instrumental in the development, of the Pro Bono Institute Law Firm Pro Bono Challenge^SM, which calls upon the nation’s top 500 law firms to commit to specified levels of pro bono work as a percentage of billable hours. In July 2008, American Lawyer magazine again ranked the firm on its “A-List” of the Top 20 Law Firms in the Country for our combined scores in pro bono, diversity, associate satisfaction, and economic success.

We also participate in our communities through volunteer efforts and charitable contributions. Attorneys and staff volunteer their leadership skills to a wide variety of local and national nonprofit causes. Our offices provide team volunteer opportunities, while our Community Service Day encourages staff to take a paid day off to pursue their own means of community assistance. The Morrison & Foerster Foundation operates as a separate nonprofit organization.

We are proud of the pro bono work we have performed to date, and wish to continue to make significant contributions to the communities we serve.

Accolades and Awards

Date	Description

6/11/2008	The National Legal Aid & Defender Association honored the firm with its Beacon of Justice Award because of our long-term pro bono commitment to persons on death row including two recent cases taken by Charles Patterson in Los Angeles that were referred by the ABA Death Penalty Representation Project.
4/03/2008	Legal Services for Children presented the firm with a Children’s Legal Advocacy Award, in recognition of its extraordinary cumulative dedication to disadvantaged children and youth in the Bay Area. Rachael Clarke also received an Advocacy Award for her representation of a 17-year-old Guatemalan boy.
4/01/2008	Legal Aid Society of San Mateo named Chris Jeu their Pro Bono Honoree for his victories in court to stabilize a low-income family and protect a five-year old child.
3/21/2008	The AIDS Legal Referral Panel honored the firm with its first annual Benita Juarez Human Rights Award For Outstanding Service to the LGBT & PLWHA Immigrant Community.
3/19/2008	The Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law recognized the firm for its assistance with the United Nations periodic review of the U.S. implementation of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, noting the firm's steadfast commitment to justice for the advancement of democracy and civil rights of all racial minorities.
1/19/2008	The National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty presented the firm with its annual Legal Service Award in recognition of the pro bono work the firm has done around the issue of the death penalty.
11/1/2007	The Southern Center for Human Rights honored the firm with its Frederick Douglass Human Rights Award for its work in representing inmates at Guantanamo Bay.
10/24/2007	The American Lawyer magazine presented Shirley Hufstedler with a Lifetime Achievement Award, at its fourth annual gala ceremony in New York City. In recognizing her efforts, the publication noted the "difficult public interest cases" she and husband Seth Hufstedler have litigated over the years.
10/5/2007	California Supreme Court Chief Justice R.M. George presented Gordon Erspamer with the Contra Costa County Bar Association’s President’s Award for his and the firm’s continuing and substantial pro bono efforts on behalf of veterans and others over the years.
6/27/2007	The American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Southern California gave Dan Marmalefsky the Open Government Award for his multi-decade work on Wiener v. FBI involving access to the John Lennon papers. Dan was honored for defending the First Amendment and the Freedom of Information Act.
6/12/2007	The National Legal Aid & Defender Association recognized the firm with a Beacon of Justice Award for our exemplary commitment to pro bono services, especially on behalf of detainees at Guantánamo Bay. Charles Patterson in Los Angeles has been leading the firm’s Guantánamo Bay detainee efforts.
5/17/2007	The Immigrant Legal Resource Center in San Francisco honored the firm, as well as James Brosnahan and Kathi Pugh, with its Lawyering for Social Justice Award for our support for the rights of immigrants.
5/14/2007	The Washington Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs awarded Doane Kiechel, Seth Galanter, and a team of Washington DC attorneys with its Outstanding Achievement Award for their litigation on behalf of people with disabilities to access on-the-street public parking in the District.
5/4/2007	The Boalt Hall Alumni Association honored Kathi Pugh with its Young Alumnus Award for dedicating her legal career to serving the community.
4/18/2007	The AIDS Legal Referral Panel honored the firm for our long-term commitment to the organization.
3/28/2007	The Los Angeles County Law Library presented Shirley and Seth Hufstedler with its Beacon of Justice Award for their outstanding legal achievements, compelling legal scholarship, and distinguished record of public service.
2/23/2007	Legal Services for Children in San Francisco honored the firm and individually recognized Stacey Sprenkel, Evi Schueller, Kristina Paszek, and Jason Bartlett for our representation of children.
2/7/2007	The California Assembly commended the firm with a Resolution for our pro-environmental and public interest work, especially our pro bono work on behalf of The Nature Conservancy.
12/8/2006	The Faculty of Federal Advocates gave the firm its Annual Award of Appreciation for our professionalism in representing litigants referred to the firm by the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado.
12/1/2006	California Lawyer honored three of our partners, Dan Marmalefsky, Arturo González and Ken Brakebill, with Angel Awards, which recognize those attorneys who demonstrate a fierce commitment to pro bono.
10/10/2006	Alameda County Board of Education presented Arturo González with a Public Education Service Award for representing the high school students of California in a challenge to the High School Exit Exam.
7/20/2006	The Public Law Center of Orange County recognized the firm for our commitment to the highest ideals of the profession and dedicated service to the community in representing Isaiah House Homeless Shelter.
7/18/2006	The Public Interest Clearinghouse in San Francisco honored Kathi Pugh with its Opening Doors to Justice Award for her longtime commitment to legal aid.
7/11/2006	The Ninth Circuit’s Advisory Board presented Shirley Hufstedler of the Los Angeles office with its John P. Frank Award, which recognizes an outstanding lawyer practicing in the Ninth Circuit who has demonstrated a lifelong commitment to bettering the courts and the justice system.
6/28/2006	The ACLU Foundation of Southern California awarded Samantha Goodman in Los Angeles with the Racial Justice Award for their work on behalf of an African-American police officer.
6/17/2006	The San Francisco Eviction Defense Collaborative honored Jack Londen and Kathi Pugh with its 2006 Advocate Award for their outstanding contributions to tenants’ rights.
5/18/2006	The Nature Conservancy recognized the firm for our long-standing pro bono commitment to restoring the biological richness of Santa Cruz Island.
5/10/2006	The Law Foundation of Silicon Valley awarded the firm its Honorable Robert F. Peckham Award for outstanding public interest litigation, and specifically for the work of lawyers in the Palo Alto office.
4/1/2006	The Coalition of Rural Pueblos Economic Development in Fresno gave Arturo González in San Francisco a Latino Legend of the 20th Century Award for his pro bono work representing the Latino community.
3/2/2006	The Conference of Delegates of the California Bar Association presented James Brosnahan of the San Francisco office with its inaugural Jim Pfeiffer Philanthropy Award for his steadfast support of the State Bar’s Conference of Delegates as a forum for debate and a vehicle for improving the law.
2/10/2006	The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area honored James Brosnahan with its Living the Dream Partner Award for his years of pro bono civil rights and civil liberties work.
10/23/2005	California Rural Legal Assistance gave Arturo González in San Francisco the Cruz Reynoso and Ralph Abascal Don Quijote Award, which honors individuals who have pursued issues concerning the poor and demonstrated leadership on matters perceived to be unwinnable or unpopular.
9/30/2005	The Civil Justice Program of Loyola Law School presented James Brosnahan with its Champion of Justice Award for his long-term commitment to equal access to civil justice.
9/21/2005	The Nature Conservancy gave the firm its Lifetime Achievement Award for Excellence in Volunteer Achievement. The firm was lauded at The Conservancy’s Leadership Conference for our 25 years of navigating the legal complexities of an amazing array of programs and projects.
9/9/2005	The State Bar of California awarded the team that worked on the Williams v. State of California case with the President’s Pro Bono Service Award. The award recognizes California attorneys who have provided legal services to poor persons or organizations, without expectation of compensation from the client.
7/21/2005	The Public Law Center in Orange County awarded Beatriz Gordon with its Attorney of the Year Award for her tireless commitment to pro bono work and the clients of the Public Law Center.
6/28/2005	The Washington Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs gave John (Jack) Corrado its Outstanding Achievement Award for his representation of a deaf man who was denied a sign language interpreter while he was receiving medical care, in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
3/31/2005	The Innocence Commission of Virginia honored our attorneys in Washington DC and Northern Virginia for their assistance on the Innocence Commission’s comprehensive study of wrongful convictions.
3/2/2005	California Lawyer magazine awarded San Francisco partner Jack Londen with the 2004 California Lawyer’s Attorney of the Year (CLAY) Award in Civil Rights for his work on Williams v. State of California.
1/31/2005	The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area honored Peter Romo in San Francisco with its James T. Caleshu Award for his extraordinary contribution in helping to build and run Legal Services for Entrepreneurs.
1/25/2005	The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area honored the firm with a special Election Protection Award for establishing a call-center with 55 phone lines that addressed complaints and reports from voters regarding illegal voting challenges, voting machine irregularities, voter registration problems, provisional ballots, and other issues that prevented people from voting or having their vote count.