Perkins Coie 2016 Pro Bono Annual Report

The Journey to Home

2016 PRO BONO ANNUAL REPORT | CHANGING LIVES. TRANSFORMING COMMUNITIES.

JOHN M. DEVANEY Firmwide Managing Partner This year’s Pro Bono Annual Report highlights the complicated journeys that our clients are forced to make and our critical assistance to them along the way. In reading about these and other stories from our recent pro bono work, I am reminded about why so many of us went into this profession in the first place. We want to help people and use our skills and resources to improve the legal system.

I truly believe we are better lawyers—and a better firm—because of our devotion to this work. We are committed to helping our partners in the legal aid community who need assistance from the private bar, now more than ever. I invite you to read this report and hope that you, too, will find inspiration in the stories of our clients and the impact that lawyers can have through pro bono legal service.

CONTENTS

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INTRODUCTION

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NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS AND MICROENTREPRENEURS

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HOMELESSNESS AND HOUSING

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YOUTH, FAMILIES AND THE UNDERSERVED

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VETERAN AND MILITARY AFFAIRS

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WHAT I AM WORKING ON

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IMMIGRATION AND REFUGEES

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IN THE COMMUNITY

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CRIMINAL JUSTICE

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AWARDS AND RECOGNITION

LEAH MEDWAY Pro Bono Counsel If you believe that home is where the heart is, then our 2016 Pro Bono Annual Report leads with its heart.

When looking at our work in the past year, we were struck by a common pursuit among nearly all of our pro bono clients—the search for home, in all of its physical and emotional meanings.

Our pro bono clients are some of the most vulnerable and underserved among us. They are individuals facing homelessness. They are men, women and children whose survival depended on fleeing their countries of origin and who now seek a safer home in our nation of immigrants. They are incarcerated individuals who made bad decisions earlier in their lives, some as children or young adults, who have repented and just want to return home and start a second chance at life.

For many clients, every day is a battle to secure the most basic needs many of us take for granted.

We tried to ease the burden, whether in clinics for immigrant youth, at asylum hearings or in adoption proceedings, as they persevered on The Journey to Home, a theme running throughout our report.

Perkins Coie attorneys and staff devoted over 52,000 hours of pro bono legal service in 2016. For the ninth consecutive year, we have met our goal under the Law Firm Pro Bono Challenge to have our pro bono time represent at least 3% of our total billable hours.

As 2016 concluded, there was a renewed sense of pro bono purpose and an urgency to protect certain values from coming under attack. I find inspiration in the words of Nobel Laureate Elie Wiesel, who passed away in 2016: “There may be times when we are powerless to prevent injustice, but there must never be a time when we fail to protest.�

Our attorneys and staff continually demonstrate their commitment to prevent injustice as they support the homeward journey of our clients. I am pleased to share with you some of their great work. I have never been more proud to be a member of the legal profession.

INTRODUCTION

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HOMELESSNESS AND HOUSING T HE J O U RNE Y TO H O ME Our most basic needs for survival are food, water and shelter. People need a place to call home, and we are dedicated to helping our clients in this endeavor. Through impact litigation, advice at legal clinics, direct service to individuals and transactional assistance to service organizations, our attorneys and staff provided much-needed help in this area. We helped clients remain in their homes and find improved living conditions, as well as offered assistance with other legal needs that contribute to homelessness.

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HOMELESSNESS AND HOUSING

HOMELESSNESS AND HOUSING

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Improving a Housing Crisis in the Bay Area EVER SINCE THE Gold Rush in 1849, the San Francisco Bay Area has undergone numerous boom and bust

cycles. Today’s tech-driven economic prosperity has led to rents that are among the most expensive in the country and created an affordable housing crisis that affects more than 7 million people in 101 cities in Northern California. Tenant evictions to pave the way for market-rate housing are widespread, and the conditions in remaining rent-controlled or otherwise inexpensive housing are often poor.

Perkins Coie is helping to alleviate this epic housing crisis on several fronts. In our partnership with Tenants Together, California’s only statewide renters’ rights organization, we have participated in legal clinics to counsel tenants and also worked in collaboration with our client, Intel.

“We hope that our work with Tenants Together will give our attorneys a chance to litigate issues in the courtroom and improve the livelihoods of California’s 17 million renters,” said Jim Valentine, a firm partner and clinic volunteer.

Our commitment also includes a joint sponsorship with Intel of an Equal Justice Works Fellow, Evelina Nava. A graduate of Berkeley School of Law, Nava first introduced the firm to Tenants Together. She also helped establish the monthly clinics where attorneys assist tenants in addressing habitability problems, such as mold, bed bugs and vermin infestations, which affect their families’ health. Our attorneys—often working shoulderto-shoulder with Intel’s Law and Policy Group’s pro bono attorneys—volunteered at eight clinics throughout the year.

Without access to legal assistance, many tenants face indifferent landlords and risk retaliatory evictions for requesting repairs.

We have helped write demand letters to support tenants and, in some instances, filed suit against intractable landlords, such as the suit we filed for Isabella Sanchez (pseudonym). Isabella’s landlord refused to repair her unit or return her security deposit, which forced her to vacate prior to her lease expiration.

We also assisted Nava and Tenants Together in their successful rent strike in Concord, California, after a landlord refused to make the necessary heating and plumbing repairs or address rodent problems but still expected tenants to pay additional rent. We continue our support of Nava as she transitions her work to assisting San Jose tenants with predatory habitability and fair housing claims under the supervision of Project Sentinel.

“There are so many suffering tenants in the Bay Area, particularly in San Jose,” says Intellectual Property practice associate Amisha Manek, who has helped coordinate our work with Tenants Together. “Many tenants are afraid to attend the clinic because they fear retaliation by their landlords. There’s a lot of work to be done.”

Equal Justice Works Fellow Evelina Nava, co-sponsored by Perkins Coie and Intel, focuses on affordability and habitability issues for low-income tenants in the San Francisco Bay Area.

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HOMELESSNESS AND HOUSING

COMMUNITY PARTNERS

Project Sentinel, Tenants Together

PEOPLE Attorneys Marcus Assefa, Nancy Cheng, Michael Clyde, Winnie Hung, Chris Kelley, Andrew Klein, Christian Lee, Amisha Manek, Lowell Ness, Kate Richard, Victoria Smith and Jim Valentine

OFFICE PALO ALTO

Perkins Coie attorneys provided legal assistance to Tenants Together related to its successful tenant rent strikes in California. Our Palo Alto attorneys also met with individuals seeking advice in housing legal clinics held throughout 2016.

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Helping the Elderly Remain in Their Homes THE ELDERLY, PEOPLE with disabilities and low-income

individuals are among the most vulnerable to the actions of aggressive landlords attempting to evict tenants. They are also the most afflicted by a sudden demand to leave familiar surroundings and find new accommodations. Without legal assistance, disadvantaged renters have limited ability to push back at possibly illegal evictions or to assert their rights as tenants.

Litigation practice associate Tyler Anthony pulled out the legal stops to help keep two at-risk clients referred by legal aid group Bet Tzedek in their Los Angeles apartments: Andrei Ramatsky (pseudonym), an elderly Russian immigrant, and Julia Reis (pseudonym), a 77-year-old Holocaust survivor residing in low-income housing.

Supporting Rural Tenants’ Rights HOUSING INSECURITY OCCURS beyond big cities, which is one of the focal areas of The Rural Justice Collaborative, a project coordinated by OneJustice to increase access to free legal services for low-income and otherwise underserved communities in rural and isolated areas of the greater San Francisco Bay Area. The collaborative hosts housing clinics in partnership with the Law Foundation of Silicon Valley and Community Solutions of Gilroy, California. Intellectual Property practice counsel Harvey Chen recruited several of our Palo Alto attorneys to participate in these clinics, which he also coordinated within the firm. The attorney volunteers develop a course of recommended action, including legal advice and brief drafting assistance, for housing clients. Our work helps underserved clients become more prepared to resolve their housingrelated issues.

PEOPLE: Attorneys Al Araiza, Harvey Chen, Shih-Yo Cheng, Colin Fowler, Winnie Hung, Andy Pettit and Steve Studulski OFFICE: PALO ALTO

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HOMELESSNESS AND HOUSING

In one of two unlawful detainer cases we handled, Ramatsky had occupied the same one-bedroom apartment in West Hollywood since immigrating from Russia with his wife in 1997. In 2015, a new building owner attempted to evict several tenants and initiated an unlawful detainer action against Ramatsky to enforce a three-day notice to cure or vacate. We investigated allegations and demonstrated our client did not violate his lease, as alleged, and the landlord dismissed its case.

When the second case came to us, Reis was entangled with a 60-day eviction for engaging in alleged nuisance-like behavior and claims of unpaid rent. Anthony provided verification of the existence of his client’s various disabilities and negotiated a settlement that allows Reis to stay in her apartment as a reasonable accommodation of her disabilities.

“Both results were great for the clients, who have both been able to remain in their homes—the ultimate goal of these clients,” Anthony said.

PEOPLE: Attorney Tyler Anthony OFFICE: LOS ANGELES

A proud new homeowner, Vanessa (center), is surrounded by her team from the Chicago Housing Authority. Associate Alexander Longan (far right) helped the client transition from renting to owning a home.

A Path to Home Ownership TO EMPOWER DISADVANTAGED families through homeownership,

Real Estate & Land Use practice partner Alexandra Cole and associate Alexander Longan in Chicago worked with participants in a Chicago Housing Authority (CHA) program to help families transition from renters to homeowners. The CHA’s Choose to Own Program allows qualified public housing families or those participating in the CHA’s Housing Choice Voucher program to use a portion of their rent payments to accumulate equity and offset a portion of their mortgage. The goal is to have these

families assume full responsibility of their housing payment after 15 years. We partnered with The Law Project, a civil rights organization, to provide several families—including the program’s 500th client—with a support network covering financial assistance, homebuyer education, credit counseling and other services to help them achieve their goal of homeownership.

PEOPLE: Attorneys Alexandra Cole and Alexander Longan OFFICE: CHICAGO

HOMELESSNESS AND HOUSING

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Facing Homelessness is a nonprofit organization that builds new awareness about our relationship to homelessness and to each other. Its website depicts the photos and stories of some of the people they have encountered living on the street.

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HOMELESSNESS AND HOUSING

Putting a Compassionate Face on Homelessness ONE ORGANIZATION, FACING HOMELESSNESS, is transforming perceptions and actions with its mission to remove the negative stereotype against people living on our streets. The group was founded in Seattle by Rex Hohlbein, a former architect who gave up his career to focus on this issue by starting a conversation about homelessness needs.

The nonprofit launched an extensive social media presence that puts a human face on the issue by sharing the stories behind scores of homeless people. The profiles offer heartfelt glimpses into their spirit and their struggles, and the organization gives the public a means to act in ways that immediately affect the lives of the homeless.

Facing Homelessness encourages a community of compassion and simple, personal encounters, like “Just Say Hello,� which

asks people to share a brief moment of time with a person living on the streets. Perkins Coie has assisted the nonprofit on a pro bono basis since 2012. We assisted with its application for tax-exempt status and continue to advise on critical legal issues, such as questions on state and federal nonprofit compliance and intellectual property. Founder Hohlbein was a featured speaker at the firm-hosted Pro Bono Fair in 2016. He shared stories of empathetic encounters with the homeless in Seattle and across the country made possible through the activities of Facing Homelessness, while encouraging people to share their time, resources and funds for the cause.

PEOPLE: Attorneys Stefan Blum, Lorri Dunsmore, Tony McCormick, Kate Reddy and Heidi Sachs; Senior Paralegal Rebecca Watt OFFICE: SEATTLE

It is too easy to look right past the homeless people we encounter, failing to see their humanity.

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Fighting to Protect Affordable Housing

Assisting a Senior Homeowner

WHEN THE NORTHWEST Housing Alternatives (NHA) nonprofit organization learned property it had purchased for a low-income housing development was actually a contaminated former maintenance yard for the City of Sandy, Oregon, the group faced a massive potential liability and the prospect of being saddled with effectively worthless property. The property had buried solid waste, low-level hazardous substances, petroleum and unconsolidated fill that made it unfit for residential development. NHA builds affordable housing for low-income and disabled residents.

THE ABILITY OF elderly people to remain in their own homes as they age is a nearly universal desire. We were able to help achieve that for our client, Susan Connors (pseudonym), 79.

When she purchased her Bay Area home in the early 1980s, the deed from the prior owner was not recorded. This became an issue when fire caused her home to become uninhabitable, and her insurance company balked at paying her because her name did not appear on the title.

Our pro bono representation of NHA spread across three practice areas and entailed analyzing the underlying real estate contracts and environmental statutes. We crafted a credible litigation strategy that led to a successful negotiated settlement under which the city agreed to repurchase the contaminated property and indemnify NHA for the contamination. The nonprofit can now use the recouped funds to provide critical housing to the more than 2,500 families, seniors and people with special needs across Oregon.

PEOPLE: Attorneys Ed Choi, Erick Haynie, Chris Rich and Andrew Solomon OFFICE: PORTLAND

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HOMELESSNESS AND HOUSING

Working closely with the Legal Aid Society of San Mateo County, we filed both an action to compel the insurance company to pay for the fire damage and a quiet title action to secure title for our client. In the interim, we started a nationwide search for the former owner (who had left the state in the early 1990s), hoping to find and persuade her to sign a new deed. Fortunately, we were successful and were ultimately able to resolve the insurance claim for the fire damage. Once repairs are complete, our client is happily anticipating moving back into her home of over 40 years.

PEOPLE: Attorneys Kathryn Bilder, Geoff Robinson, Jay Rossiter,

Donna Strain and Jackie Young OFFICE: SAN FRANCISCO

The Skid Row Carnival of Love provided 4,000 homeless people in Los Angeles with a day of entertainment and services, including haircuts, a hot steak meal, medical care and legal services. Litigation practice associate Max Rothman, on the left in the right side photo, works with one client at the Perkins Coie-hosted legal booth.

A Skid Row Carnival of Love EVERY JANUARY FOR the past three years, one of Los Angeles’

most impoverished areas is transformed by the Skid Row Carnival of Love for more than 4,000 homeless people. Founded by actor Justin Baldoni and his Wayfarer Entertainment Foundation, the carnival brings together over 1,000 volunteers who offer help—food, medical, dental and mental health services and, for the first time this year, legal counsel—right on the streets where the homeless live.

After attending the carnival in 2016, Litigation practice associate Oliver Gold came up with the idea to add legal services to the event. Working with Pro Bono Counsel Leah Medway, Gold began preparing in 2016 for our hosted drop-in legal booth at the 2017

carnival, in collaboration with our longtime pro bono partner, Public Counsel. “Looking into our clients’ eyes, you could see the struggles they faced, and it was a privilege and very moving to let them know people care and want to help,” said Gold.

PEOPLE: Attorneys Tyler Anthony, Sara Chenetz, Catherine Del Prete, Amir Gamliel, Oliver Gold, Ronald McIntire, Leah Medway, Marlena Moore, Courtney Prochnow, Max Rothman and Katelyn Sullivan; Staff Melanie Duncan, Miranda Shaft, Amy Spach and Rod Wall; Mitra Ahouraian for Wayfarer Entertainment; and Public Counsel attorneys Will Watts and David Daniels OFFICE: LOS ANGELES

HOMELESSNESS AND HOUSING

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VETERAN AND MILITARY AFFAIRS

VETERAN AND MILITARY AFFAIRS T HE J O U RNE Y TO H O ME We are honored to support the men and women who serve our country, and do so in a variety of ways. Through our partnerships with nonprofit military and veteran support organizations, we helped secure benefits for veterans and their families, assisted active duty military with civil legal needs and fought for victims of sexual assault in the military.

VETERAN AND MILITARY AFFAIRS

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COMMUNITY PARTNER

Protect Our Defenders

PEOPLE Attorneys Christina Buschmann, Don Friedman and Mary Rose Hughes; Senior Paralegal Michelle DePass; Summer Associate Laura Hamilton

OFFICE WASHINGTON, D.C.

Our representation repeatedly filled voids where our client would have been left unsupported, uncounseled and unsure of her rights and how to assert them.

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VETERAN AND MILITARY AFFAIRS

Protecting the Defenders of our Homefront MILITARY SEXUAL ASSAULT is so pervasive that it is seen as a greater risk factor than post-traumatic stress

disorder, according to the nonprofit advocacy group Protect our Defenders. This national human rights organization uses policy reform, public education and pro bono support to pursue justice for survivors of sexual assault in the military. In 2016, a Perkins Coie team based in Washington, D.C. worked on several pro bono cases referred by Protect Our Defenders.

Supporting a Civilian Victim in a Court-Martial

A Victim’s Right to Access Evidence

In one case, our client was a civilian victim whose report of sexual assault by an Air Force service member launched her into court-martial proceedings. We attended the court-martial at Shaw Air Force Base in South Carolina with the goal of helping prepare her to testify and enforcing her rights under recently enacted legislation giving victims specific rights in the military justice system. We also worked with the prosecution team when our client’s rights were implicated in various motions filed by the defense team. Our representation repeatedly filled voids where our client would have been left unsupported, uncounseled and unsure of her rights and how to assert them.

Another case involved a different branch of the armed services and occurred on the other side of the country. Our client, a female Navy service member stationed in San Diego, reported sexual assaults by a fellow Navy service member. She was launched into the naval criminal justice system with little understanding of her rights as a victim and her role in the process.

After a weeklong trial, our client’s assailant was convicted of abusive sexual contact and sentenced to a dishonorable discharge, one year in prison, reduction in rank to Airman Basic and total forfeiture of benefits. He also has been added to the National Sex Offender Registry, where he must remain registered for the rest of his life. Litigation practice partner Don Friedman reports, “Since our client was a civilian entirely unfamiliar with the military, let alone the military justice system, and since she was not entitled to a Special Victim Advocate, she and her family especially needed counsel and were grateful to get it through Protect Our Defenders.”

Prior to our involvement, our client gave a five-hour videotaped statement to the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS). She never received a copy of her statement, and our requests for one were repeatedly denied on grounds never articulated. We were permitted only to view the video at a naval base. Others who had attempted to get victims’ statements released to victims told us that this was a losing quest.

We made clear that we would pursue this issue to the highest levels. The commanding officer ultimately determined that there was insufficient evidence for this case to proceed. Shortly after this determination, however, NCIS supplied instructions for obtaining the release of our client’s video statement.

While we are disappointed that this case did not proceed to a court-martial, we are heartened to have established the right of a victim going through the naval criminal justice system to obtain a copy of her or his video witness statement upon request.

VETERAN AND MILITARY AFFAIRS

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Seattle Stand Down focuses on giving “a hand up, not a hand out” and on bringing every veteran in the Seattle area that is homeless or at-risk of homelessness safely “home.”

During the Seattle Stand Down event, Perkins Coie attorneys (left to right) Tomer Vandsburger, Rob Saka (who served in the U.S. Air Force) and John Dillow and our Equal Justice Works Fellow Mariah Hanley worked alongside the Northwest Justice Project in legal clinics for military veterans.

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Combating Veteran Homelessness DURING THE VIETNAM War, the concept of “Stand Down” meant

a safe retreat for units returning from combat operations. That same concept drives the annual Stand Down event held in cities across the nation. The 2016 two-day Seattle Stand Down brought together various service providers with the goal of eliminating homelessness among veterans, reconnecting service members and providing resources to veterans regardless of their length of service or discharge status.

Working alongside attorneys from the Northwest Justice Project (NJP) during the event, our attorneys, several of whom are themselves veterans, counseled dozens of veterans and connected them with external providers. We offered guidance on driver’s license restoration, housing discrimination, veterans’ benefits, less than honorable discharge status appeals and other challenges. We also completed intake forms so that NJP, Washington's publicly funded legal aid program, can formally take on many of these veterans as clients, including cases in which we now serve as pro bono counsel.

homeless and women veterans. She says, "The homeless and women veterans I work with are some of the most vulnerable populations the Department of Veterans Affairs serves.” Plans for 2017 include our participation in pro bono clinics for homeless veterans at the Seattle VA Hospital and taking on cases for veterans referred through NJP. PEOPLE: Attorneys John Dillow, Philip Kim, Rob Saka and Tomer

Vandsburger OFFICE: SEATTLE

Our commitment also includes co-sponsorship with client Microsoft of an Equal Justice Works Fellow, NJP attorney Mariah Hanley. Her fellowship began in the fall of 2016, and Hanley is creating a medical-legal partnership focused on helping

A Trial Victory Honors a Marine AS PART OF our continued support of military and veteran affairs, Perkins Coie offers legal support to assist members of the armed services. Working as pro bono counsel by appointment by the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, we secured a victory in federal court for the estate of a United States Marine Corps veteran who was struck by a car driven by a Federal Bureau of Investigation agent. Tragically, our client was murdered shortly after we took on the case, after he attempted to intervene in a domestic dispute. In an effort to fulfill the client’s wishes and attempt to benefit his young son, the firm procured a post-trial financial settlement with the government, set up the client’s estate and continued to represent his interest in both probate court and litigation.

PEOPLE: Attorneys Patrick Collins, Adam Marchuk and Caroline Teichner; Staff Amber Norris and Russell Allen OFFICE: CHICAGO

VETERAN AND MILITARY AFFAIRS

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34 COUNTRIES

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IMMIGRATION MATTERS

Armenia

Ecuador

In the past five years, our pro bono counsel on immigration

Bangladesh

Egypt

matters has included representing clients from 34 countries.

Cameroon

El Salvador

China

Eritrea

Dominican Republic

Ethiopia

Gambia

Honduras

Liberia

Nicaragua

Russia

Ukraine

Ghana

Indonesia

Libya

Nigeria

Sierra Leone

Venezuela

Guatemala

Iraq

Mexico

Pakistan

Somalia

Yemen

Haiti

Jamaica

Moldova

Philippines

Turkey

Zambia

IMMIGRATION AND REFUGEES T HE J O U RNE Y TO H O ME The clients that our attorneys help come from every corner of the world. In 2016, we advocated on behalf of low-income immigrants in more than 100 matters, not including all the individuals assisted through legal clinics. We secured for our clients grants of asylum, special immigrant juvenile status, deferred action for childhood arrivals and visas for survivors of domestic violence. And, as immigrants have come increasingly under attack, we have stepped up our efforts to protect vulnerable clients in their journeys home.

IMMIGRATION AND REFUGEES

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Navigating the Complicated Journey to Asylum THE UNITED STATES’ history of creating a safe harbor for people who have suffered persecution dates back

to our founding. When seeking asylum in the United States, individuals apply for protective status after they have already arrived in the country. They seek protection based on race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion. The asylum process is complex and bureaucratic. We helped pro bono clients from around the world through the asylum process to establish new homes. Here are a few of their stories.

A Victim of Boko Haram Joseph Okonjo (pseudonym) was an assistant professor at an African university, when he was attacked by Boko Haram militants. The name Boko Haram translates to "Western education is forbidden," and the Muslim militants have targeted educators as well as Christians. Okonjo—who is Christian— survived the attack that killed dozens of his university colleagues, but he returned home to find his young family slain. His escape to safety included riding animal and cargo transport vehicles over the Atlantic and through several countries until he crossed the U.S. border and surrendered himself to authorities.

San Diego Intellectual Property practice attorneys John Esterhay, Ryan Hawkins and Tom Millikan, on a referral from the Casa Cornelia Law Center, prepared and filed Okonjo’s asylum application, which was granted last year. Okonjo’s status as an asylee will allow him to reunite with members of his immediate family, who fled to a neighboring country after the attack.

Asylum for a Ukrainian Protestor As a college student, Ivan Babyak (pseudonym) joined a political movement that opposed the corrupt and pro-Russian ruling party then in power in Ukraine. As a result, he was expelled

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from his university program and endured several beatings and detentions by pro-government security forces. In 2012, he fled to the United States and filed an asylum claim for himself and his wife. Led by Phoenix partner Brian Lake, we helped gather and present the compelling evidence and eyewitness reports that led the immigration judge to grant asylum to the young couple.

Persecution Based on Sexual Orientation in Africa Franck Madjo (pseudonym) was brutally beaten by a mob in an attack that killed his boyfriend, sexually assaulted by police, and held captive and raped for several months after being released from police custody, all because he is gay. Rejected by his family and by his country, Madjo fled for his life on a journey that wound through multiple continents and eventually led him to Seattle.

Homosexuality is punishable by a five-year prison sentence in his native African country, and Madjo could have been jailed if he had returned. Madjo connected with New York-based Immigration Equality, which brought his case to us. Our Seattle team included Product Liability practice partner Christopher Ledford and EER practice associate Julie Wilson-McNerney, with critical translation assistance from staff member Johanne Cardinal-Dyason. The team helped Madjo win asylum, a process that typically takes years, in just three weeks.

COMMUNITY PARTNERS

Casa Cornelia Law Center, Immigration Equality, International Rescue Committee

PEOPLE Attorneys John Esterhay, Ryan Hawkins, Brian Lake, Christopher Ledford, Tom Millikan and Julie WilsonMcNerney; Staff Johanne Cardinal-Dyason

OFFICES PHOENIX SAN DIEGO SEATTLE

Our work with immigrants has involved clients from more than 30 countries in the past five years, such as one client from the Ukraine, whom Phoenix partner Brian Lake (right) helped secure asylum for in 2016.

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“Our client had endured so much for so long. I wanted to prevent any further delays to his freedom.”

SOMALIA

EL SALVADOR

A Hard-Fought Journey to a New Home

Creating a Nonviolent Future for a Teen

After a journey involving three continents and nine months of immigration detention, a pro bono client who sustained years of abuse in Somalia was granted asylum in 2016.

FROM THE TIME Fernando Garcia (pseudonym) was four years old, the Salvadoran MS-13 gang targeted his family. Fernando’s mother passed away when he was a baby, and he never knew his father. The notorious gang brutally murdered three of Fernando’s uncles and threatened Fernando that he was next. Fernando traveled to the United States as a teenager in search of a home free from the fear that came from living in a country with one of the highest homicide rates in the world.

Ahmed Kaahin (pseudonym) was a member of a small minority clan in southern Somalia that had been repeatedly abused by majority clans since the onset of the Somali civil war. Kaahin’s request to his oppressors for relief was met with years of imprisonment and abuse. After his house was burned down and fellow clan leaders murdered, Kaahin fled to Ethiopia.

When Somalis became targets for deportation by the Ethiopian government in 2015, Kaahin paid smugglers to fly him to Brazil and then transport him by land to the U.S.-Mexico border. He immediately requested asylum, was moved to immigration detention in New York, and held without eligibility for even a bond hearing for the next nine months.

New York Intellectual Property practice associate Matt Moffa served as lead trial counsel, with support from Partner Richard Ross, on Kaahin’s asylum case before an immigration judge.

The Legal Aid Society in NYC served as co-counsel in the case, which grew more complex when authorities took an (incorrect) position that our client already had temporary refugee status in Italy. Pushing through the obstacles and misunderstandings, we retained an expert on tribes and conditions in southern Somalia and persevered to obtain a prompt and favorable asylum decision.

“Our client had endured so much for so long. I wanted to prevent any further delays to his freedom,” said Moffa. Kaahin was released directly from the court and now lives with many other Somali immigrants in St. Paul, Minnesota. With asylum status, Kaahin can live in the U.S. forever and can apply to bring his wife and children here from the refugee camp in Kenya, where they have suffered for more than five years.

PEOPLE: Attorneys Matt Moffa and Richard Ross OFFICE: NEW YORK

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A Los Angeles team of attorneys, working on a referral from Kids In Need of Defense (KIND), represented Fernando in his asylum case. Persevering through numerous Immigration Court hearings, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services interviews, and a challenging political climate, we helped Fernando gain asylum status and start a new life away from the violence that once tormented his daily life.

PEOPLE: Attorneys Katherine Dugdale, Ofunne Edoziem and Katelyn Sullivan; Staff Jose Gamez, Sharon Jones and Carolyn Sanford OFFICE: LOS ANGELES

MEXICO, GUATEMALA, VIETNAM

The Flight and Fight to Find a Safe Home WHEN PHOENIX LITIGATION practice counsel Sambo (Bo) Dul

volunteered to offer legal services to asylum-seeking mothers and children at one of the Department of Homeland Security’s so-called “baby jails,” she brought a powerful and personal perspective with her. After enduring over a decade of genocide, war and trauma, Bo’s family fled Cambodia for a refugee camp along the border with Thailand when she was just one year old.

Her father was killed right before they made it into the refugee camp, leaving her mother to care for four young children alone.

In the refugee camp, they lived in makeshift shelters for four years before being approved for resettlement in Phoenix.

Decades later, in 2016, the plight of immigrant women and children was brought home again to her. Bo spent a week at an immigration detention center in Dilley, Texas, as part of the CARA Family Detention Pro Bono Project.

“When my family got to the United States, we felt relief and hope,” Bo said. “For mothers and children detained in Dilley, however, this couldn’t have been further from the truth.” Many of the children Bo saw were around the same age as her toddler daughter. “No words do justice to the heartbreak in children’s eyes as their mothers detail the violence, abuse and trauma they suffered, both in their home countries and on the treacherous journey to the United States.”

Forging the First Steps to a New Life During her week at the detention center, Bo worked around the clock. She conducted legal orientation sessions and advised many individual women, helping them prepare for their all-important credible fear interviews, the first step in the lengthy asylum process. The aim was to get the women through

that initial phase so they could gain release from the detention center and eventually present their full asylum claims before an immigration judge.

According to Bo, “It’s hard to overstate the trauma these families have already suffered. As attorneys, we can help frame what they suffered in ways that increase their chances of obtaining legal relief.”

For several women who had already received a negative credible fear determination, Bo worked on their appeals, and upon her return to Phoenix, learned that those appeals were granted and her clients were released from detention. Thanks to the work of Bo and other volunteers, over 90 percent of families receive positive credible fear determinations and over 70 percent of negative determinations ultimately get reversed on appeal.

Bo has had a longstanding commitment to immigrants and refugees. In 2016, the Florence Immigrant & Refugee Rights Project recognized her with its Pro Bono All-Star Award for her representation of immigrant women in domestic violence asylum cases and her work with unaccompanied immigrant youth, and Perkins Coie awarded her our 2016 Pro Bono Leadership Associate/Counsel Award. In addition to her work at the detention center, Bo also helped obtain lawful immigration status for a victim of human trafficking from Vietnam and relief from deportation for a woman who fled Guatemala following horrific and protracted domestic violence, despite challenging facts in the case.

PEOPLE: Attorney Bo Dul OFFICE: PHOENIX

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CUBA, HAITI, ERITREA, NEPAL, BURMA AND SOMALIA

Making a New Home Permanent

Perkins Coie attorneys assisted several refugees applying for legal permanent resident status on Refugee Adjustment Day, held in Portland, Oregon.

WHILE A REFUGEE’S journey to reach the United States requires fortitude and help, the quest to make that new home permanent also demands some legal support. We offered support by our participation in Refugee Adjustment Day. At the center of the day was a clinic during which they worked with professional interpreters to help refugees apply for legal permanent residency status. Sponsored by Catholic Charities and the American Immigration Lawyers Association, the clinic hosted refugees from all over the world, including Cuba, Haiti, Eritrea, Nepal, Burma and Somalia. Attendees included adult children who had lived their entire lives in refugee camps before arriving in the United States. “Refugee Adjustment Day was a sobering reminder of the devastating adversity refugees must overcome to flee their homes and make it to the United States,” said Stout.

PEOPLE: Attorneys Alletta Brenner and Michael Stout OFFICE: PORTLAND

MYANMAR

26

Supporting Education for Refugees

Advancing Refugee Entrepreneurship

IN THE SOUTHEAST Asian nation of Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, the Rohingyas are an ethnic and Muslim minority group in the Buddhist-majority country. The newly elected democratic government has been criticized by foreign governments for not doing more for the Rohingyas. They have been ostracized and denied citizenship, which has caused many of them to find a new home in Penang Island in Malaysia, according to the nonprofit Rohingya Refugee Education Fund (RREF). RREF raises funds to hire professional teachers to keep Rohingyan children in school, away from human traffickers, and aims to set a path to higher education for the students. We assisted RREF in gaining 501(c)(3) recognition from the Internal Revenue Service, which is vital to its fundraising mission.

WHEN REFUGEES GAIN financial self-sufficiency in their new homeland, it is a marker of achievement. But running a thriving business is not easy for anyone, let alone for newcomers to the United States. To help, the International Rescue Committee (IRC) and Seed Spot, a nonprofit incubator, hosted two days of workshops in February 2016 for IRC’s entrepreneur refugee clients. Industry experts spoke about starting and running a successful business, detailing business model strategies, branding and financing. The event also included a “pitch party” for trainees and their families. As part of our ongoing support of both Seed Spot and IRC, we added our knowledge on commercial real estate leases and other startup legal issues during the workshops.

PEOPLE: Attorneys Shaun Durrani and John Pierce

PEOPLE: Attorneys Raj Gangadean and Lindsey Jewell

OFFICES: BELLEVUE, WASHINGTON, D.C.

OFFICE: PHOENIX

IMMIGRATION AND REFUGEES

SPOTLIGHT

CLIENT PRO BONO COLLABORATIONS STRONG PARTNERSHIPS WITH NONPROFIT LEGAL SERVICE PROVIDERS AND OUR VALUED clients help to extend the effectiveness of our pro bono work in several areas. In 2016, we connected with Intel to advise low-income tenants in Silicon Valley with habitability issues (pg. 6). We also worked with Microsoft to evaluate potential innocence claims from prisoners (pg. 32), and we joined forces with both Microsoft and Amazon to evaluate and advise immigrant youth, as highlighted below.

NONPROFITS

Kids in Need of Defense Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals CLIENTS

KIND and Microsoft Both Microsoft Corporation and Perkins Coie have a long history of working with Kids in Need of Defense (KIND) and directly representing unaccompanied immigrant children. KIND was founded by actress Angelina Jolie and Microsoft with the mission to ensure that no child stands in court alone. Due to the surge in children and families seeking a safe haven in the United States, KIND started recruiting private

Amazon Intel Microsoft

OFFICES

SEATTLE BELLEVUE

Pro bono collaborations with firm clients included several legal clinics, such as this DACA clinic to help immigrant youth, which we hosted in our Seattle office.

attorneys to help screen more youth to determine eligibility for immigration relief. We hosted an intake clinic for potential pro bono immigration clients in our Seattle office in 2016. Following the success of the initial clinic, more will take place in the future.

DACA and Amazon Since 2012, we have hosted 88 semi-monthly Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program legal clinics in our Seattle office. Held in partnership with the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project and in the past few years with Amazon, the clinics brought together dedicated volunteers who have helped more than 1,100 minors obtain temporary status in the United States. The uncertain future of the DACA program, which was initiated by President Barack Obama, created a new urgency in our last clinic held in January 2017. The Washington State Bar Association recognized our DACA work with its 2016 APEX Award, which was awarded jointly to Microsoft for its own support of immigrant youth.

IMMIGRATION AND REFUGEES

27

28

CRIMINAL JUSTICE

CRIMINAL JUSTICE T HE J O U RNE Y TO H O ME Perkins Coie has devoted significant time and resources to assist individuals in the criminal justice system, many of whom have exhausted all other options. This work includes direct representation and advocacy for systemic change. Last year, we partnered with innocence projects seeking to free individuals with claims of wrongful conviction, and we fought to protect the rights of others in habeas, clemency, civil rights and death penalty cases. We advocated for changes in juvenile sentencing and, through our efforts in the national Clemency Project, helped clients—many of whom had given up hoping for freedom—get a second chance.

CRIMINAL JUSTICE

29

Clemency Project 2014: Going Home to a Second Chance PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA granted more prison sentence commutations than any other president in

history. The administration pushed to grant clemency for federal inmates serving unjust and disproportionately long sentences, particularly for drug crimes.

The firm contributed to the record-setting effort through Clemency Project 2014, a collaboration founded by the American Bar Association, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), Families Against Mandatory Minimums, the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and the Federal Defenders in response to the administration’s clemency initiative and appeal for pro bono assistance. In total, President Obama granted 1,715 commutations, 894 of which were supported by the Clemency Project. The project saved more than 9,800 years of sentences through its work.

cancer led to homelessness and many poor choices, including participation in a local drug distribution scheme overseen by two of his childhood friends. The scheme unraveled quickly, and Hunter and his co-conspirators were arrested, convicted and imprisoned. Hunter's co-conspirators’ sentences were later reduced, and they were released from prison pursuant to amendments to federal sentencing guidelines. While Hunter was the least culpable member of the scheme, the guideline change did not apply to him due to an earlier conviction for burglary of an unoccupied structure.

More than 75 Perkins Coie attorneys firmwide participated in the initial screening of more than 3,000 inmates. We then filed clemency applications for several incarcerated individuals, and we share some of their stories below. Within the firm, this massive effort was led by Phoenix Litigation practice partner J Cabou, who also served as counsel to the national ACLU by sitting on the Clemency Project’s Steering Committee, and Seattle Litigation practice senior counsel Tom Hillier, a veteran Federal Public Defender.

Our attorneys drafted a petition showing that if Hunter were sentenced for the same crime today under current sentencing laws and policies, he would have a significantly reduced sentence.

The petition also explained the mitigating circumstances of Hunter’s life and the personal details that made him worthy of clemency.

President Obama commuted Hunter’s sentence, and he was released in March 2017, after serving 17 years.

A Prime Contender for Clemency One prime example of the type of offender the clemency initiative was designed to help is Melvin Hunter (pseudonym), 42, from South Carolina.

When Hunter was sentenced to 30 years in prison, he was a 25-year-old high school dropout. The loss of his father to

30

CRIMINAL JUSTICE

Rehabilitation Is Not Just a Dream A second clemency client, Christopher Hart (pseudonym), 52, of Georgia, had already been in prison twice before for drug possession and trafficking when he was again arrested in 2007 for drug trafficking. He was convicted in the Eastern District of Tennessee where his sentence was enhanced from what should have been 11 to 14 years in prison to life imprisonment, due to his previous convictions. Despite little hope of release, Hart transformed his life of drug addiction and illiteracy. He taught

Clemency Project 2014

1,715

894

9,800+

COMMUTATIONS GRANTED BY PRESIDENT OBAMA

CLEMENCY PROJECT COMMUTATIONS

YEARS OF SENTENCES SAVED

3,000+

75+

INMATES SCREENED

BY PERKINS COIE ATTORNEYS

PERKINS COIE ATTORNEYS PARTICIPATED

himself to read and write, maintained a spotless disciplinary record, and earned a commercial driver’s license and other professional certifications.

With the support of his family and a well-drafted petition from his Perkins Coie attorneys, Hart’s sentence was commuted by President Obama, and he is scheduled to be released in 2018.

Hart shared his gratitude for the commutation in saying, “Truly, I am overjoyed at the chance to rejoin society and demonstrate that rehabilitation is not just a dream, but is an achievable goal.

I cannot thank you enough.”

“While quantifying what it means to be granted clemency when previously sentenced to die in prison is a truly impossible task, I think it is fair to say that by any measure these applicants, especially, have had their lives radically changed.”

—J Cabou, Perkins Coie partner and ACLU representative to the steering committee of the Clemency Project

CRIMINAL JUSTICE

31

Building the Case for Freedom

Seeking Justice for the Wrongly Convicted

IN ADDITION TO trying individual cases, there are several

WHEN AN INJUSTICE occurs, it is a failure felt by everyone in the

influential ways to help those in the criminal justice system.

The Innocence Project Northwest (IPNW), a clinical law program of the University of Washington School of Law, focuses on exonerating innocent prisoners, remedying the causes of wrongful conviction and providing educational and service opportunities to law students, volunteers and pro bono legal partners.

legal system. In 2016, we made several contributions to efforts trying to remedy criminal justice wrongs.

Professionals in our Bellevue and Seattle offices teamed with client Microsoft in November 2016 to participate in IPNW’s Freedom Friday, a CLE and pro bono legal review clinic. The educational program included an initial review of a pending IPNW application for direct pro bono representation.

“What an amazing opportunity to dig into a very different aspect of the law from my regular practice and to help make a difference.

Freedom Friday was also a terrific opportunity to work with my Perkins Coie contacts in a completely different way,” said Microsoft Assistant General Counsel Mary Jo Schrade, who also helped coordinate the event within Microsoft. Both Microsoft and Perkins Coie have committed to continuing to assist IPNW with its pro bono case review of defendants, and several attorneys have already begun reviewing case files.

PEOPLE: IPNW attorneys Kate Huber, Lawrence Lincoln and Anna Tolin; Microsoft team members Michele Burlington, Brittany Carmichael, Laura Carter, Geoffrey Creighton, Kathleen DuRoss, Gunnar Halley, Dave Heiner, Mary Jo Schrade, Lissa Shook, Susan Sieh, Sue Ventura and Megan Yoshimura; Perkins Coie attorneys Sheree Carson, Susan Foster, Jason Kuzma, Deborah Phillips, Phil Thompson and Kris Wilson; Perkins Coie staff Jana Bratton, Karen Campbell, Krista Herman, Jan Huso, Tatjana Mirkovic, Anndreya Perez and Rick Rasmussen OFFICES: BELLEVUE, SEATTLE

32

CRIMINAL JUSTICE

A team of our Madison attorneys represents Eric Blackmon, who had been convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to 60 years in prison. His conviction was based largely on the testimony of two eyewitnesses of the shooting of Tony Cox in Chicago on July 4, 2002. Blackmon’s defense counsel never interviewed a number of potential alibi witnesses, who would have testified that Blackmon was attending a Fourth of July barbeque a mile from the crime scene at the time of the shooting.

We successfully appealed the denial of a habeas corpus petition in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. We are now preparing for an evidentiary hearing, working with the Center on Wrongful Convictions at Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law. If we succeed in that hearing, our client will be entitled to a new trial.

PEOPLE: Attorneys Debra Bernard, David Pekarek Krohn and

John Skilton; Staff Lynne Bendt, Karen Dempski, Brenda Horn and Lucas Morgan; Former firm attorneys David Harth and Anne Readel OFFICES: MADISON, CHICAGO

Advocating Reform of Juvenile Sentencing BEGINNING WITH THE prohibition on execution of juveniles in Roper v. Simmons, 543 U.S. 551 (2005), and continuing through a series of decisions addressing the constitutionality of life and life-equivalent sentences, the U.S. Supreme Court has advanced a sentencing paradigm that meaningfully considers how youth are different from adults when imposing the most serious sentences on youth.

The issue of youth sentencing has long been important to Perkins Coie, particularly beginning in 2007 with the firm’s successful representation of Sara Kruzan, who was sentenced at the age of 17 to life without the possibility of parole for killing the pimp who trafficked her. After a lengthy court battle, Kruzan was released from custody in October 2013.

More recently, we have partnered in advocating for juvenile sentencing reform with Professor Robert Chang, Executive Director of the Fred T. Korematsu Center for Law and Equality at Seattle University School of Law. Together, we filed an amicus brief in In re Solis Diaz, 170 Wn. App. 1039 (Wash. Ct. App. 2011). In that brief, and during oral argument, we argued that brain science shows how children are categorically different from adults, and that sentencing regimes should reflect those differences. We also argued that the circumstances attendant to youth render harsh sentencing regimes unfit for evaluating the culpability of juvenile offenders.

The court ultimately ordered resentencing to take account of the defendant’s youth.

The Solis Diaz case was six years ago, and the Korematsu Center has continued to turn to Perkins Coie on issues of juvenile sentencing. As part of that partnership, we have collaborated with Professor Chang on a law review article describing how the states were finding ways to avoid providing an individualized assessment of a youth’s culpability. We have also actively

The court ultimately ordered resentencing to take account of the defendant’s youth. participated in cases challenging juvenile sentencing over the years, including filing two amicus briefs in youth sentencing cases in the Washington Supreme Court, State v. Ramos and State v. Houston-Sconiers, which were both argued in 2016.

PEOPLE: Attorneys Marc Boman, Alex Fenner, David Perez, Luke Rona, Mica Simpson and Charles Sipos; Professor Robert Chang; and ACLU of Washington staff lawyers Emily Chiang and Nancy Talner OFFICE: SEATTLE

CRIMINAL JUSTICE

33

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NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS AND MICROENTREPRENEURS

NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS AND MICROENTREPRENEURS T HE J O U RNE Y TO H O ME Nonprofit entities are at the heart of our communities, offering services that many members of society cannot afford yet desperately need. Support of these nonprofits is a critical component of our pro bono program. We assist our partners in the community with getting started, operating successfully and fulfilling their missions, performing work to prevent legal issues and stepping in when troubles arise. Attorneys from nearly every practice lend their knowledge and experience to assist these nonprofits. We also represent low-income individuals seeking to start businesses and improve their own lives as well as foster economic growth throughout their communities.

NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS AND MICROENTREPRENEURS

35

PRO BONO CLIENT

Pile of Puppies

PEOPLE Attorneys Lorri Dunsmore, James Vana and Scott Wallace

OFFICE SEATTLE

Pile of Puppies, whose visiting litter of young dogs lightens the lives of sick children, is one of many nonprofit organizations we helped to establish a strong legal foundation.

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NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS AND MICROENTREPRENEURS

When Home Has Four Paws and a Wet Nose ANIMALS HAVE THE power to provide more than a friendly face that greets you at the door. From seeing-

eye dogs helping people with disabilities to service animals reducing anxiety for anxious air travelers, the healing power of a beloved pet or animal can immediately make someone feel at home.

For Jennifer Thompson Trepanier, a love of dogs helped bring her joy when she faced serious health challenges as an adolescent and ongoing illness into her adult years. Jennifer combined her experiences as a sick child with her deep affection for canines to a create Pile of Puppies. The Oregon nonprofit organization brings, literally, a pile of puppies to “create joy experiences for chronically ill children and their families.”

The group works with responsible breeders and follows a vetting process. Volunteers run the organization and breeders donate their time and resources. The puppies receive a bath before each visit and may travel hours to visit with a sick child. Pile of Puppies has visited Ronald McDonald House Charities of Oregon and Southwest Washington and other healthcare facilities as well as the private homes of seriously ill children. Puppy visits require permission from a doctor; some hospitals write an actual prescription for joy, because as Trepanier has said, “joy heals.”

It was one of our own joys in 2016 to help Pile of Puppies.

Putting Legal Backing Behind Puppy Power The organization needed assistance with a review of its liability waivers and its fiscal sponsorship agreement with the Charitable

Partnership Fund (CPF). The purpose behind the fiscal sponsorship is to provide a mechanism for Pile of Puppies to raise charitable funds prior to receipt of its own charitable taxexempt status. CPF was in the business of serving as a fiscal sponsor for smaller nonprofits, but its form agreement needed an update.

Perkins Coie prepared a completely new agreement that helped not only Pile of Puppies, but also CPF with its other similar arrangements. In addition to our tax-related assistance, we also advised Pile of Puppies on its intellectual property, guiding the organization on clearing and filing applications to register its key trademarks.

According to Trust & Estate Planning practice partner Lorri Dunsmore, who provided assistance to this pro bono client, “It was so gratifying to provide Pile of Puppies the legal counsel they needed. Knowing their organization was protected allowed them to focus more fully on their fundraising mission and the happiness their puppies provide children and families at the toughest moments in their lives.”

NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS AND MICROENTREPRENEURS

37

Legal Services NYC and its Brooklyn Legal Services program assisted these New Yorkers in their lawsuit fighting the denial of vital benefits because they could not communicate in English. In 2016, the lawsuit was settled, and a new entity was created as a result of the successful merger we helped guide between two nonprofit legal advocacy groups.

Increasing the Reach of a Brooklyn Nonprofit WHILE BROOKLYN, NEW YORK has become known as the destination place for tech startups, great restaurants and avantgarde cultural events, the borough also represents the disruptive nature of gentrification, including decreasing affordable housing, rising eviction rates and the destruction of cultural capital and history.

To more efficiently respond to changes in a borough that is, paradoxically, experiencing a renaissance and also a crisis, Bedford-Stuyvesant Community Legal Services, South Brooklyn Legal Services and Legal Services NYC – Brooklyn Branch were merged to expand access to legal services and limit operational costs.

Working in conjunction with Legal Services NYC, a legal assistance nonprofit organization, we helped Bedford-Stuyvesant Community Legal Services and South Brooklyn Legal Services join together to provide legal advocacy for more than 70,000 low-income clients last year. The M&A effort was led by New York Corporate practice partner and Brooklyn resident Brian Eiting, and it resulted in the creation of Brooklyn Legal Services (BLS).

The pro bono team served as joint counsel, along with Lawyers Alliance for New York, for the two groups. In connection with

38

NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS AND MICROENTREPRENEURS

their representation, they negotiated transaction and governance documents and navigated complex not-for-profit statutes and regulatory approvals.

The two groups had worked separately with Brooklynites since 1967, seeking equal justice for low-income residents in the areas of housing, education, government benefits and employment.

Bringing the two groups together under a more efficient nonprofit structure required building consensus and using clear language about complex legal protections.

“The groups do so much good work for the borough, for my borough, that it was rewarding to have the opportunity to apply my M&A background to help these important organizations,” said Eiting. Our efforts in ensuring the merger of Legal Services NYC’s Brooklyn programs went smoothly and earned the firm a 2016 Champion of Justice Award presented by BLS. PEOPLE: Attorneys Sean Connery, Brian Eiting, Shan Haider,

Jalina Hudson and Richard Ross; Staff Lori Dirks and Nelson Vargas OFFICES: NEW YORK, SEATTLE

Making Music in Chicago The cultural landmarks of a city are part of what we think of when calling a community a home. In Chicago, the International Music Foundation (IMF) is a beloved musical institution that has brought free music of the highest quality to adults and children for decades.

IMF was founded in 1979 by Chicagoan Al Booth as the umbrella organization for two of his music projects—the Do-It-Yourself Messiah and the Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concert series—both of which are cornerstones of today’s Chicago musical scene. In 1981, IMF added Live Music Now!, a concert series for children in the Chicago Public Schools.

In 2016, the opportunity arose for IMF to strengthen its resources, expand programming and increase efficiencies by joining forces with another Chicago classical music presenter. To that end, we represented IMF in its merger with Rush Hour Concerts (RHC). In addition to producing its summertime chamber music and Make Music Chicago programs, RHC has developed curriculum for after-school music programs and brought expert musical instruction to under-resourced neighborhoods in Chicago.

In the fall of 2016, the two entities merged and became the new “International Music Foundation.” IMF Executive Director Ann Murray expressed her thanks for our pro bono counsel in bringing the IMF/RHC merger to a successful conclusion in saying, “You made the process a painless one for a group who can easily flounder in the legal world—we do music, not law.”

PEOPLE: Attorneys Cindy Cho and Daniel Marre OFFICE: CHICAGO

Helping Girls Stay on the Move

Furthering the Entrepreneurial Spirit

Girls on the Run (GOTR) has served over 1 million third- through fifth-grade girls nationwide since it was founded in 1996. With local councils in all 50 states, the nonprofit’s programs empower girls through an experienced-based curriculum that includes running. We provide pro bono counsel to GOTR’s council in Maricopa and Pinal Counties, Arizona as well as the Puget Sound council in Washington. In the Seattle area, we advise GOTR on appropriate and compliant employment policies and procedures, which is essential for rapid-growth nonprofits. From hosting board and training meetings in our Seattle headquarters to serving as board members, advisors and event sponsors, our continued partnership on the pro bono and community service fronts with GOTR truly brings home our commitment to transforming the communities in which we live.

Our support of entrepreneurial success includes participation in numerous pro bono legal programs for low-income entrepreneurs, such as the California Inventors Assistance Program (CIAP) established by the United States Patent and Trademark Office. California Lawyers for the Arts administers this program in conjunction with the USPTO. Working through the CIAP, we helped inventor Erik Freiser with several patent applications, including one for a new bicycle safety accessory, VizMo. Freiser reimagined the typical bicycle taillight to create an LED attachment that provides 360-degree illumination and increased visibility of the rider. In addition to patent protections, we drafted and negotiated a royalty agreement with a manufacturer for the design and manufacture of VizMo. We continue to advise Freiser on other critical agreements to keep this startup riding the road to market.

PEOPLE: Attorneys Raj Gangadean, John Halski, Lindsay McAleer, Chelsea Petersen and Linda Walton OFFICES: PHOENIX, SEATTLE

PEOPLE: Attorneys Brian Coleman and Zander Olsson OFFICE: PALO ALTO

NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS AND MICROENTREPRENEURS

39

YOUTH, FAMILIES AND THE UNDERSERVED T HE J O U RNE Y TO H O ME One of the hallmarks of our pro bono program has been the protection of vulnerable children and families. Across the firm, attorneys have helped children find their way to a safer home environment as they navigate the often-complex legal system. We represented children suffering from abuse and neglect, and we also represented their court-appointed special advocates, foster youth, survivors of domestic violence and the nonprofit organizations dedicated to helping these individuals. In addition to our individual representations, last year we assisted in several cases to help bring about systemic change for youth in our communities.

40

YOUTH, FAMILIES AND THE UNDERSERVED

YOUTH, FAMILIES AND THE UNDERSERVED

41

Finding a Forever Home THE TRANSFORMATIVE POWER of having a permanent, safe and loving home is at the heart of National

Adoption Day. Held in mid-November each year, the day is a collective national awareness effort focused on more than 100,000 children in foster care awaiting a “forever home.”

California has the largest population of foster care youth in the nation, over 30 percent of whom reside in Los Angeles County.

Spearheading the day of adoptions in Los Angeles is Public Counsel, the nation’s largest pro bono law firm, which works in conjunction with the Alliance for Children’s Rights. We have had a long partnership with Public Counsel and its adoption program. Our representation of adopting families has included successfully advocating for new countywide funding standards for foster families caring for children with medical conditions.

In 2016, several of our Southern California attorneys contributed to the more than 230 new families created on Los Angeles National Adoption Day. The legal proceedings take on a celebratory feel as Children’s Court fills with balloons, cookies, music and books. It also starkly contrasts the harrowing circumstances of the youngsters that led them into foster care.

For one family we represented, the finalization of their adoption of two brothers, 11-year-old R.L. and 9-year-old A.C., culminated a five-year process of trying to protect them from the neglect and abuse suffered from their mother. The boys had built a strong bond with their uncle, and when the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services recommended permanent adoption, he asked if he could adopt them.

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YOUTH, FAMILIES AND THE UNDERSERVED

In Support of Adoption

5,000

100+

NEW FAMILIES CREATED ON 2016 NATIONAL ADOPTION DAY

PERKINS COIE ADOPTION/ GUARDIANSHIP CASES 2011-16

“It is wonderful to see families come together, particularly after the children have been through so much,” said Los Angeles Office Managing Partner and litigator Audra Mori, a part of the firm’s National Adoption Day team.

All of the adoption petitions we worked on in 2016 were approved by the court, and our commitment to adoption cases continues in 2017. According to Public Counsel, for every one child adopted, there are two more waiting for forever homes.

“Working on adoptions is a relatively low-time commitment, with cases lasting about 3 months,” says Litigation practice associate Catherine Del Prete. “The satisfaction you receive when helping a foster child find a permanent home, and seeing the joy on the faces of the new family, exponentially outweighs the hours needed to make their new lives a reality.”

COMMUNITY PARTNERS

Public Counsel, Alliance for Children’s Rights

PEOPLE

Attorneys Catherine Del Prete, Katherine Dugdale, Oliver Gold, Audra Mori, Vilma Palma-Solana and Katelyn Sullivan; Legal Secretary Jenna DeRosier OFFICE

LOS ANGELES

A family newly created on National Adoption Day in Los Angeles enjoys the view from the bench of the judge (back row, left) who presided over the children’s adoption. It was one of more than 58,500 that have occurred nationwide since 2000, when the event began.

YOUTH, FAMILIES AND THE UNDERSERVED

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Protecting the Rights of Foster Children THERE ARE MORE than 400,000 children in the United States’

foster care system, and we have worked firmwide to advocate for their rights. In Anchorage, we are challenging Alaska’s Office of Children’s Services' practice of committing foster children to North Star Behavioral Health, a private lock-down psychiatric facility, without prior court approval or other due process protections. “Unnecessary placement at a mental hospital is not good for children and adolescents,” said Anchorage Labor & Employment Law practice partner Thomas Daniel, who serves as co-counsel arguing the case for Alaska Legal Services on behalf of two Alaska tribal governments. In an initial victory, the Alaska Superior Court issued a preliminary injunction ruling that requires a post-commitment hearing within 30 days after a child CHILDREN IN THE is committed. Our representation U.S. FOSTER CARE SYSTEM continues in the case pending before the court.

400,000

PEOPLE: Attorney Thomas Daniel OFFICE: ANCHORAGE

Upholding the Best Interest of the Child AMONG THE MANY pro bono clients we serve are Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) programs around the country. CASAs are trained community volunteers who investigate and advocate on behalf of children in dependency court proceedings and represent the best interests of children as they are taken through the legal process.

Our Boise office maintains a large and active docket of CASA cases, where they serve as pro bono counsel for the courtappointed guardian ad litem (GAL) for the minor child or

44

YOUTH, FAMILIES AND THE UNDERSERVED

Our arguments in a CASA case led to one of the systemic changes made by the Idaho Legislature in 2016 to the adoption, treatment and transition of children in foster care. children. Our representation in one case led to important changes, enacted in July 2016, to Idaho’s child protection laws.

Prior to the amendments, the state had unfettered discretion to decide who could adopt a minor child upon termination of the parental rights of the child’s biological parents. This was often problematic to GALs, particularly in cases when a GAL knew the best interests of the child would not be best served by the state’s intended adoptive parent(s).

Following legal arguments made by a Perkins Coie team in an important CASA case and lobbying efforts by CASA-related groups, the Idaho Legislature amended Idaho’s child protection laws to make it clear that the court retains the power to review the state’s post-termination placement decisions for the child, including who may adopt the child. The new legislation also provides obligations for the state to provide advance notice of its permanent placement plans and greater protections for placements with longer-term foster parents.

“We hope these important systemic changes will further protect children who have experienced enough hardship for a lifetime and ensure a brighter future,” said Labor & Employment Law practice senior counsel Christine Salmi. “The caseload for child protection matters in the Fourth Judicial District for the State of Idaho is tremendous, and we are glad our commitment led to measures that will benefit all children in the system.”

PEOPLE: Attorneys Rick Boardman, Alison Hunter, Erika Malmen, Stephanie Regenold, Christine Salmi and former firm attorney Knox McMillian OFFICE: BOISE

YOUTH, FAMILIES AND THE UNDERSERVED

45

What I Am Working On

CRAIG ALLELY | PARTNER

LINDSEY DUNN | ASSOCIATE

DANIELLE GRANT-KEANE | ASSOCIATE

Product Liability

Commercial Litigation

Intellectual Property

DENVER

DENVER

MADISON

Current Projects

Current projects

Current projects

Helping two clients with formation of tax-exempt entities: Global Pedagogy Initiative, which trains music teachers from developing countries, and Advocates Abroad, which accepts volunteer attorneys who come to Greece to prepare applications for asylum and refugee status.

Working on two cases referred by Rocky Mountain Immigrant Advocacy Network (RMIAN): obtaining asylum for a family from Mexico and a U visa for a victim of domestic violence. Additionally, I helped a woman with disabilities facing eviction secure critical remedies from her landlord.

Representing the Sauk Prairie Conservation Alliance in lawsuits against the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and National Park Service. I also help represent Marion Wilson, who has sat on death row for 20 years.

Why do you enjoy this work?

Pro bono work makes me a better lawyer because…

I feel obligated to do this work, particularly as a woman of color, because I am committed to fighting institutionalized forms of injustice.

Our client on death row could’ve been me or my sister, mother or father.

It reminds us that if we can change people’s lives for the better, even if we never see the change ourselves, it still matters.

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WHAT I AM WORKING ON

It makes me better at explaining legal concepts to non-lawyers—that’s an important skill.

Why do you enjoy this work?

LAURA KERR | ASSOCIATE

ALLAN LOW | PARTNER

ROB SAKA | ASSOCIATE

Environment, Energy & Resources

Real Estate & Land Use

Corporate

PORTLAND

SAN FRANCISCO

SEATTLE

Current projects

Current projects

Current projects

Assisting the Innovation Law Lab in the launch of the Oregon Center of Excellence, which focuses on complex or novel immigration cases to build and maintain healthy immigration adjudication ecosystems.

Assisting Chinatown Community Development Center on the adaptive reuse of a formerly abandoned building, and also representing the Mission Child Care Consortium in the purchase of its center, which establishes a permanent place for preschool and early education programs for low-income residents.

Participating in several clinics: Wayfind’s Microenterprise Legal Clinic; King County Bar Association’s Neighborhood Legal Clinics held in partnership with the Loren Miller Bar Association; and the Stand Down legal clinic for veterans (pg. 19).

I am also helping the Northwest Technology Equity Initiative.

Why do you enjoy this work?

I am a technology-focused attorney, who happens to be an Air Force veteran and black, and my pro bono work allows me to help similarly situated people while still connecting with them.

Why do you enjoy this work?

Currently, there is great uncertainty over immigration issues in this country.

It is important to me to help immigrants navigate the quickly changing legal landscape and to assist people in need or those who may not have access to legal services.

It brings meaning to my real estate transactional practice, and I believe lawyers should be active in the communities in which we live and practice.

Why do you enjoy this work?

WHAT I AM WORKING ON

47

In the Community AS A FIRM, we believe in social responsibility and in giving back to the communities in which we live and

work. This can take many forms, such as charitable giving, community service, public service and pro bono legal service.

THE PERKINS COIE Foundation makes charitable grants to

hundreds of nonprofits throughout the United States each year.

Our 2016 grants totaled more than $2.28 million and benefited 475 different nonprofits. With additional funds brought in through attorneys’ fees in pro bono cases, we have been able to leverage our foundation dollars in extraordinary ways. In addition to supporting two Equal Justice Works fellows (pgs. 6 and 19), we have also funded attorney positions with the ACLU of Arizona, the Florence Project for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, and the Center for Children and Youth Justice.

Our employees volunteer their time and talents to numerous community service activities across the United States. From food drives and “adopting” families during the holidays to park cleanups and volunteering in schools, Perkins Coie makes meaningful contributions to the quality of life in our neighborhoods. We served over 50 organizations last year alone.

One community service project undertaken in 2016 by our Dallas office involved serving as chaperones on a field trip for clients

2016 Perkins Coie Foundation Charitable Gifts

$2.28M

475

GRANTS

NONPROFITS

of Vogel Alcove, an organization that provides quality child development services at no cost to homeless children aged six weeks to five years. Vogel Alcove is also a firm pro bono client.

During the visit to Dallas Heritage Village, our attorneys and staff taught the kids to play horseshoes, helped them play with clay and engaged with them over snack time. The volunteers expressed gratitude for being able to give much-needed love and attention to the children.

Our many community projects in 2016 included chaperoning a field trip for the young clients of Vogel Alcove, as Dallas partner Ann Marie Painter (left) did, and volunteers from the Denver office (right) sorting and bagging more than 4,000 pounds of onions for the Food Bank of Denver.

48

IN THE COMMUNITY

AWARDS AND RECOGNITION

AWARDS AND RECOGNITION

49

Perkins Coie Annual Pro Bono Leadership Awards

We present awards to firm employees who have demonstrated outstanding leadership and commitment to providing pro bono services AWARDS

to our clients. Award winners have the opportunity to direct a $1,000 charitable contribution to the legal service organization of their choice.

PRO BONO LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD DAVID HARTH Commercial Litigation MADISON

A leader in the pro bono world for decades, David, who recently retired from practice, maintained a staggering load of pro bono cases, many taken on at the request of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin. Numerous cases involved prisoners who survived a summary judgment motion on their own but then needed representation from the local bar. In the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, David worked extensively on behalf of pro bono clients facing the death penalty, and he supervised a wide variety of other cases.

David’s effectiveness goes beyond managing a high volume of cases—his commitment is total. Whether assuming the lead counsel role in complex litigation for a colleague on medical leave or driving young associates to Chicago to watch an oral argument, David demonstrated equal dedication to pro bono and commercial clients. He continually supported attorney development by using pro bono opportunities to give every associate and counsel in Madison substantial litigation experience.

His artful balance between providing supervision and allowing for a “hands on” experience for young attorneys has earned him the admiration of his firm colleagues, public gratitude from judges and numerous awards for pro bono work.

50

AWARDS AND RECOGNITION

PARTNER AWARD GEORGE FOGG Business PORTLAND

A longtime business partner of the firm, George has a commitment to pro bono that is historical and inspirational. His work on social justice issues began in the 1960s, when he investigated educational inequities in the South through the U.S. Commissioner of Education. George has engaged in numerous pro bono matters, such as helping an indigent woman in a family dispute; representing a Haitian man to obtain asylum; and assisting the Melvin Hodges death penalty team.

In the past several years, George has recommitted to social justice and pro bono work. Beginning in 2014, he worked with the Oregon Innocence Project recruiting and leading a team of attorneys who researched and drafted a reference manual for judges, prosecutors and defenders. Their work dealt with scientific evidence and the limits of that evidence in cases related to shaken-baby syndrome, fingerprint analysis and questioned document examination. The resulting findings helped to exonerate inmates based on forensic evidence. George also helped the project review individual prisoners’ petitions for representation. George has also provided pro bono counsel to Mercy Corps, Habitat for Humanity (an organization he once worked with to build houses), and other nonprofits in their important agreements and deals.

ASSOCIATE/COUNSEL AWARD SAMBO “BO” DUL Commercial Litigation PHOENIX

Pro bono activist Bo Dul is a leader in immigration work in our Phoenix office and in Arizona. She works closely with the Florence Immigrant and Refugee Rights Project, which recognized her with its 2016 Pro Bono All-Star Award. A refugee from Cambodia, Bo focuses on helping immigrants and refugees, including victims of domestic violence and unaccompanied child migrants, in search of a safer, better life. Bo volunteered in 2016 for a weeklong assignment advising detainees through the CARA Family Detention Pro Bono Project in Dilley, Texas (pg. 25). Bo is a board member of the ACLU of Arizona and a member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association. She helped to create Youth Adelante, a nonprofit supporting unaccompanied immigrant youth upon release from federal custody, and she serves as president of its board. Her pro bono work also includes educating Cambodian women in the Phoenix community about their right to vote.

AWARDS AND RECOGNITION

51

Perkins Coie Annual Pro Bono Leadership Awards (Continued)

STAFF AWARD ELAINE CHERRY Commercial Litigation SEATTLE

Elaine exhibits a deep pro bono commitment and has played a lead role in several significant pro bono litigation matters. As lead paralegal on the Foster Parents Association of Washington State (FPAWS), Elaine contributed to the settlement agreement that changed the analysis and calculation of care payments to foster children and families throughout Washington. Elaine also worked on a major domestic violence case that involved a successful multi-week trial for an at-risk woman and child, and she is currently involved in another domestic violence case.

TEAM AWARD

MARY ROSE HUGHES

DON FRIEDMAN

CHRISTINA BUSCHMANN

MICHELLE DEPASS

Commercial Litigation

Commercial Litigation

Commercial Litigation

Commercial Litigation

WASHINGTON, D.C.

WASHINGTON, D.C.

WASHINGTON, D.C.

WASHINGTON, D.C.

Protect Our Defenders: Several years ago, Partners Mary Rose Hughes and Don Friedman became involved with Protect Our Defenders, a national human rights organization dedicated to pursuing justice for survivors of sexual assault in the military. In 2016, they successfully concluded several cases for victims of sexual assault, helped establish precedent for victims’ rights and began work to bring about systemic change (pg. 17). Senior Paralegal Michelle DePass contributed critical paralegal support for all these cases. Other team members included former senior counsel John Henault (now with Wyle Laboratories) and former summer associate/future associate Laura Hamilton. Don and Mary Rose have led the cases, backed by a team they recruited from attorneys in Washington, D.C. and beyond. Although no one was initially familiar with the military system and its code of justice for these cases, team members educated themselves and put in an extraordinary amount of hours over a short period of time.

In addition, Mary Rose and Don continue to work with Protect Our Defenders on language to address flaws in the current statutes relating to military justice and sexual assault.

52

AWARDS AND RECOGNITION

Staff Members Honored With Certificates of Appreciation ANCHORAGE

LOS ANGELES

SAN DIEGO

Marcie Craig, Legal Secretary Amy Jarrell, Senior Paralegal Dawn Smith, Paralegal

Maggie Bernal, Accounting Assistant Melanie Duncan, Legal Secretary Jose Gamez, Legal Secretary Mary McDermott, Senior Paralegal Nicole Thatcher, Paralegal Assistant

Linda Bernstein, Legal Secretary Patrick Kelly, Paralegal Darci Krummel, Legal Secretary Caro Moran, Docketing Specialist Dana Lee Mueller, Legal Secretary Yuri Sitler, Paralegal Assistant Kheng Sok, Legal Secretary

BELLEVUE

Karen Campbell, Legal Secretary MADISON BOISE

Chris Johnson, Office Assistant

Lynne Bendt, Legal Secretary Brenda Horn, Legal Secretary Matt Maier, Legal Secretary

CHICAGO

Russell Allen, Paralegal Nancy Bagatti, Paralegal Michael Kupka, Paralegal Paul Leicht, Paralegal Julie Pambianco, Paralegal

Sarah Howland, Paralegal Jonathan Parsons, Legal Secretary Diana Torres, Legal Secretary

DALLAS

Kimberley Thompson, Senior Paralegal

Kristine Farmer, Senior Paralegal Catherine Johnson, Senior Paralegal

PHOENIX

DENVER

Administrative Assistant

Jason Walter, Senior Financial Analyst

SEATTLE

Chris App, AV Support Technician Valentina Barei, Paralegal Jessica Flesner, Legal Secretary Jane Frissell, Paralegal Coordinator WASHINGTON, D.C.

Susan Carnall, Legal Secretary Delana Freouf, Legal Secretary Stephanie Lawson, Legal Secretary Lisa Mazza, Legal Secretary

Michelle DePass, Senior Paralegal Lakisha Foster, Senior Paralegal Leigh Nichols, Legal Secretary Sheri Pais, Senior Paralegal Jody Sullivan, Legal Secretary/ Legal Staff Coordinator

HEADQUARTERS

Holly Hanna, Intranet Manager Krista Herman, Pro Bono

Jim Otake, Senior Paralegal Pablo Portillo, Senior Paralegal

NEW YORK

PALO ALTO

Kristi Murray, Senior Paralegal

SAN FRANCISCO

PORTLAND

Jamaica Garman, Paralegal Karen Huang, Senior Paralegal Wendy Jackson, Legal Secretary Eunice Therrien, Legal Secretary

AWARDS AND RECOGNITION

53

Recognition for Our Pro Bono Services The following is a list of awards and recognition that the firm and firm attorneys have received for pro bono and community service efforts benefiting the legal community or the law. While the biggest rewards for our efforts in the community are the good results that we have received for our pro bono clients and their gratitude, we appreciate this additional recognition of our work.

Receiving recognition for outstanding pro bono work are (left to right) Chicago attorneys David Gold, Jordan McCarthy and Furqan Mohammed; New York partner Richard Ross; and Pro Bono Counsel Leah Medway and Beth Henderson of Microsoft.

2016

54

Washington State Bar Association’s 2016 Apex Award for Pro Bono

3Arts recognition of Perkins Coie as Award Partner

Brooklyn Legal Services' recognition of the firm’s excellence in pro bono work

CAIR Coalition’s 2016 Pro Bono Honor Roll

Innocence Project Northwest Pro Bono Award, presented to Perkins Coie and Chris Baird

Oregon State Bar Pro Bono Award for Individual at a Firm, presented to Kristina Holm

Public Interest Law Initiative’s 2016 Pro Bono Recognition Roster

King County Dependency CASA Program’s David W. Soukup Award for Outstanding Legal Advocacy for Children, presented to former firm attorney Nate Durrance

AWARDS AND RECOGNITION

Florence Immigrant and Refugee Rights Project Pro Bono All-Star Award, presented to Bo Dul Domestic Violence Legal Clinic’s 2016 Champion of Justice Award, presented to Jordan McCarthy, David Gold and Furqan Mohammed

Pro Bono Commitment: 50 or More Hours of Service Consistent with our acceptance of the Pro Bono Institute's Law Firm Pro Bono Challenge and the American Bar Association’s pro bono goals, these Perkins Coie attorneys and paralegals provided 50 or more hours of pro bono legal service to our clients in 2016.

Russell Allen

Claire Brown

Bo Dul

David Herbert

Kyle Amborn

Cynthia Brown

Lindsey Dunn

Nick Hesterberg

Lydia Ansari

Christina Buschmann

Lorri Dunsmore

Phil Higdon

David Anstaett

Jeremy Buxbaum

Nate Durrance*

Tom Hillier

Tyler Anthony

J Cabou

Shawn Durrani

Kristina Holm

Al Araiza

Kelly Cameron

Erin Earl

Joelle Hong

Tina Arroyo

Schuyler Carroll

Alex Fenner

Jalina Hudson

Marcus Assefa

Elvira Castillo

George Fogg

Mary Rose Hughes

Derek Athey

Michelle Chan

Caitlin Foley

Valerie Hughes

Jesse Bair

Harvey Chen

Lakisha Foster

Winnie Hung

Chris Baird

Elaine Cherry

Colin Fowler

Alison Hunter

Donna Barnett

Cindy Cho

Don Friedman

Amy Hunter*

Dan Barr

Vivek Chopra

Jane Frissell

Marcy Hupp

Don Baur

Christopher Chou

Markus Funk

James Ianelli*

Amanda Beane

Jeffery Clackley

Katie Galipeau

Dennis James

Anne Beaumont

Mala Clancey

Amir Gamliel

Zach Jones*

Heidi Beck

Michael Clyde

Raj Gangadean

Nick Kajca

Bryan Beel

Linda Concannon

Mary Gaston

Heather Karell

Katherine Bennett*

Rike Connelly

Nick Gellert

Nate Kassebaum

Sean Berens

Dan Coyne

Danielle Githens

Christopher Kelley

Hayley Berlin

Brandon Crane*

Jon Goddard

Mark Kittredge

Debra Bernard

Jared Crop

Sarah Gonski

Emily Klick

Ali Beyer

Bruce Cross

Mark Goodrich

Lissa Koop

Christine Biebel

Andrew Crowder

Matt Gordon

Steve Kostka

Kathryn Bilder

Josh Crum

Dan Graham

Jordan Kroop

Stefan Blum

Brian Daluiso

Danielle Grant-Keane

Lauren Kulpa

Richard Boardman

Alexis Danneman

John Gray

Nishant Kumar*

Josh Boehm

Darvin Davitian

Emily Greb

Brian Lake

Rebecca Borowitz

Trish Dean

Catherine Grech

Jade Lambert

Jeff Bowen

Catherine Del Prete

Theresa Gresl*

Gina LaMonica

Tyler Bowen

Michelle DePass

Anika Grubbs

David Lazarus

Elizabeth Breakstone*

Michael DiCato

Kendra Haar

Christian Lee

Adam Brenner

Elan DiMaio

Laura Hennessey

Paul Leicht

AWARDS AND RECOGNITION

55

Pro Bono Commitment: 50 or More Hours of Service (Continued)

56

Hillary Levun

Liz Mendoza

Lane Polozola

Michael Stout

Brandon Lewis

Steve Merriman

Pablo Portillo

Donna Strain

Eddie Lin

Randy Micheletti

Brian Potts

Steve Studulski

Abraham Lincoln

Eric Miller

Libby Rasmussen

Katelyn Sullivan

Rick Liu

Keith Miller

Will Rava

Shane Swindle

Seth Locke

Phyllis Miller-Coleman

Lynwood Reinhardt

Caroline Teichner

Kira Loehr

Julissa Milligan

Carla Reyes

Andrea Templeton

Alex Longan

Matt Moffa

Austin Rice-Stitt

Julia Thomas

Trevor Lovell

Furqan Mohammed

Geoff Robinson

Roque Thuo

Allan Low

Alexander Montgomery*

John Roche

Adrian Torres

Jerry Lutz

Marlena Moore

Ian Rogers

Peter Tracey

Mary Lou Maag*

Cody Moorse*

Luke Rona

Michelle Umberger

Jena MacLean

Lucas Morgan

Breena Roos

Jasmina Vajzovic

Andrew Magda

Phil Morin

Greg Rosenthal

Jeff Vanacore

Michelle Maley

Megan Morrissey

Laurie Rosini

Andrew Victor

Erika Malmen

Kimball Mullins

Max Rothman

Cara Wallace

Vince Maloney

Darren Nakata*

Melanie Rubocki

Katherine Wax

Melinda Manchester

Vinod Nama

Rob Saka

Eric Weiss

Amisha Manek

Kiry Nelsen

Christine Salmi

Aaron Welling

Adam Marchuk

Olivia Nguyen

Anahit Samarjian

Dane Westermeyer

Aubri Margason

Yasamin Oloomi

Kim Sampo

James Williams

Julia Markley

Chris O'Malley

Karl Sandstrom

Nancy Williams

Daniel Marre

Katie O'Sullivan

Harry Schneider

Reed Willis

Lorie Masters

Sheri Pais

Hayden Schottlaender

Julie Wilson-McNerney

Katherine May

Nick Palatucci

John Schreiner

Eric Wolff

Bob Maynard

Julie Pambianco

Rebecca Setlow

Laura Wolff*

Lindsay McAleer

Courtney Peck

Mik Shin-Li

Carmen Wong*

Jordan McCarthy

Dave Pekarek Krohn

John Skilton

Jackie Young

Tony McCormick

David Perez

Gretchen Smidt

Michael S. Young*

Mary McDermott

Derek Petersen

Alan Smith

Robert Yusko

Ronald McIntire

Jeffrey M. Peterson*

Mark Smith

David Zoppo

Maggie McLaughlin

Sherilyn Peterson

Victoria Smith

Antoine McNamara

Andy Pettit

Ben Stafford

Leah Medway

Tobias Piering

Bea Stam

AWARDS AND RECOGNITION

*No longer with Perkins Coie.

2017 FIRMWIDE PRO BONO COMMITTEE JULIA MARKLEY, Chair

LEAH MEDWAY

PORTLAND

SEATTLE

DAN BARR

ANN MARIE PAINTER

PHOENIX

DALLAS

JEFF BOWEN

DEBORAH PHILLIPS, Associate/ Counsel Management Chair, ex officio

MADISON

SEATTLE

KELLY CAMERON BOISE

RICHARD ROSS NEW YORK

NORTON CUTLER DENVER

DANIELLE RYMAN ANCHORAGE

PAULA GOODWIN SAN FRANCISCO

RICK SEVCIK CHICAGO

JIM JENSEN PALO ALTO

MICHAEL SCOVILLE SEATTLE

JASON KUZMA BELLEVUE

LAURA ZAGAR SAN DIEGO

LORIE MASTERS WASHINGTON, D.C.

STAFF SUPPORT KRISTA HERMAN

THOMAS MCMAHON LOS ANGELES

2016 PRO BONO ANNUAL REPORT PRO BONO COUNSEL Leah Medway EDITORIAL Maria Kantzavelos, Amy Spach REPORT TEAM Joan Hamilton, Connie Haslam, Sara Paguia RESEARCH Krista Herman PROOF EDITOR Christie Rears DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS Jodi Joung CREATIVE SERVICES/BRAND MANAGER Jennifer Hartpence GRAPHIC DESIGNER Mary Eaton PHOTO CREDITS Photos throughout this report are stock images unless otherwise noted. PAGE 7: Tenants Together (both photos) PAGE 9: Chicago Housing Authority PAGE 10: Rex Hohlbein, Facing

Homelessness PAGE 13: Georgia Yeh Photography (left) PAGE 18: Stand Down PAGE 26: American Immigration Lawyers Association PAGE 36: Jennifer Trepanier, Pile of Puppies Founder/Exec Director PAGE 38: Legal Services NYC PAGE 54: Domestic Violence Legal Clinic (left), Jon & Rach Photography (right)

Perkins Coie LLP | PerkinsCoie.com Some jurisdictions in which Perkins Coie LLP practices law may require that this communication be designated as Advertising Materials.

May 2017