Replies to post #3336 on Circa Pict. & Prod. Co. Intnl Inc. (fka CPPD)

[thepennyking]

Pro Bono

Fulbright & Jaworski Is Committed to Quality Legal Services for All

Each year our attorneys contribute tens of thousands of hours of pro bono time to a variety of activities, including accepting representation of those who are unable to pay for legal services, as well as legal assistance for charitable non-profit organizations and community development. Our service continues a long tradition at this firm of fulfilling public service and pro bono responsibilities.

Our attorneys not only have provided quality legal services for those who cannot pay, but also helped create and provide leadership to those community organizations which provide pro bono legal services. Fulbright & Jaworski lawyers were instrumental in founding and continuing the operation of Houston Volunteer Lawyers Program, which is sponsored by the Houston Bar Association and provides assistance to low income clients in a wide variety of civil matters. Six Fulbright & Jaworski partners have chaired this committee. Fulbright & Jaworski attorneys have served as president of other pro bono volunteer organizations, including the Volunteer Legal Services of Central Texas.

Examples of pro bono matters our attorneys have handled: - Our attorneys were instrumental in founding and continuing the operation of Houston Volunteer Lawyers Program which is sponsored by the Houston Bar Association and provides assistance to low income clients in a wide variety of civil matters. Six Fulbright & Jaworski partners have chaired this committee.

- Our New York office brought a pro bono civil rights action against the City of New York on behalf of an indigent, who was the victim of excessive police force during his arrest. After extensive discovery, the city entered into a favorable settlement.

- In Washington D.C., we helped a ministry gain ownership of what was formerly a notorious crack house.

- Our Houston office represented a foreign national on a pro bono basis after her husband of six years sued for divorce. After a five-day trial, the jury awarded $1.6 million to the wife for intentional infliction of emotional distress, the largest tort judgment at the time in family court in Harris County.

- Our lawyers have also represented and are currently representing inmates on death row in federal court habeas proceedings. A team of our Austin office lawyers secured a new trial for a death row inmate after an appeal of a denial of a federal habeas corpus petition to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.

- Through their pro bono representation, our Los Angeles lawyers obtained the largest settlement for a client of the Inner City Law Center in a habitability and retaliatory eviction case for a family against their landlord. The case received substantial media coverage.

- We have represented foster parents in a dispute regarding the custody and adoption of Native American children in a jurisdictional battle between the foster parents and the tribe in a case of first impression.

- Several of our attorneys have represented disabled veterans in obtaining disability benefits, worked on behalf of refugees requesting political asylum, assisted military personnel and their dependents, and appeared for and tried lawsuits for numerous inmates complaining about treatment in prison.

- We have received numerous awards for our pro bono work, including:

An award from the Houston Volunteer Lawyers Program for contributing the greatest number of hours among large firms


The W. Frank Newton Pro Bono Award by the State Bar of Texas and its Committee on Legal Services to the Poor in Civil Matters for providing consistent and ongoing pro bono representation


An Outstanding Achievement Award from the Washington Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law for donating time and legal services to the Asylum & Refugee Rights Law Project and the Latino Civil Rights Group


An award from the Volunteer Legal Services of Central Texas for Fulbright Austin lawyers' contributions of time and legal services


The 1999 Scurlock Award from the State Bar of Texas for outstanding pro bono contributions made by Houston family law partner Stewart Gagnon


The 2003 W. Frank Newton Award from the State Bar of Texas for outstanding pro bono contributions

How to Obtain Pro Bono Assistance

Fulbright & Jaworski works through a number of agencies who assign cases to the firm. Cases are also assigned to the firm through the courts and through the firm's involvement in the Texas Death Penalty Project. If you need pro bono assistance, we invite you to contact the following agencies:

Austin
Volunteer Legal Services of Central Texas [phone]
Houston
Houston Bar Association's Houston Volunteer Lawyers Program [phone]
Gulf Coast Legal Foundation [phone]
Dispute Resolution Center (a mediation organization as an alternative to litigation) [phone]
Dallas
Dallas Volunteer Attorney Program (a joint program of the Dallas Bar Association and Legal Services of North Texas) [phone]
Los Angeles
Inner City Law Center [phone]
New York
Lawyer's Committee for Human Rights (Asylum Cases) [phone]
New York Legal Assistance Group (Indigent Services) [phone]
United States District Court for the Southern District of New York Pro Bono Panel (Civil Rights/Prisoner Rights/Other Federal Litigation) [phone]
United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York Pro Bono Panel (Civil Rights/Prisoner Rights/Other Federal Litigation) [phone]
San Antonio
San Antonio Bar Association Pro Bono Project [phone]
Bexar County Legal Aid [phone]
Washington D.C.
D.C. Bar Pro Bono Program [phone]
Lawyers for Children America (child advocacy in abuse and neglect cases) [phone]
Washington Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs [phone]
Washington Area Lawyers for the Arts [phone]

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