DLA Piper’s lawyers and staff across the country and around the world are committed to promoting access to justice by providing their time, talent and energy to those who cannot afford to hire a lawyer. In 2018, the firm devoted more than more than 201,800 hours to pro bono work globally, and more than 111,650 hours in North America.
Recognizing the significant contributions and tremendous impact of this work, DLA Piper is pleased to announce the seven recipients of the firm’s North American Pro Bono Awards.
The winners, who best exemplify the firm's commitment to giving back to its communities, were selected by DLA Piper's North American Pro Bono Committee. The committee considered each nominee's overall pro bono accomplishments, the difficulty of the matters handled, the courage involved in taking the assignment and the positive impact of his or her work.
Mike Bedke, a partner in the firm’s Miami office, helped the Florida Bar’s Real Property, Probate and Trust Law (RPPTL) Section develop and implement a project called “No Place Like Home,” through which members provide pro bono assistance to low-income homeowners in clearing the title to their homes, helping to prevent future problems with obtaining benefits following a natural disaster. Bedke also crafted a proposal to appropriate several hundred thousand dollars from the Florida Legislature for free legal help for military veterans and helped create medical-legal partnerships between Bay Area Legal Services, Inc. and two local VA hospitals. As part of his pro bono work, Bedke also prevented the eviction of an elderly, disabled woman from her apartment, which had been severely damaged by Hurricane Michael, and arranged for her alternative housing, and helped the grandparents of a young Boy Scout gain custody after the child’s opioid-addicted parents abandoned him. The Florida Bar Foundation recently recognized Bedke for his career-long commitment to pro bono with the 2019 Medal of Honor, the highest award that the organization bestows.
Mary Gately, a partner in the Washington, DC, office,has served as a leader helping DC Affordable Law Firm (DCALF), a nonprofit law firm created by Georgetown University Law Center, DLA Piper and Arent Fox. DCALF clients live at or near the poverty line and cannot afford legal services. Gately started working as a mentor to the fellows assisting DCALF, and then began working with them on specific cases. In 2019, she became a part-time pro bono legal director for DCALF. In that role, she provides oversight and strategic guidance for cases handled by DCLAF and has co-counseled with DCALF on several family law cases, along with litigation associates in the DC office.
Stephanie Lim, an associate in the Chicago office, focuses her pro bono practice on matters related to immigration, domestic violence and denial of social security benefits. She represented a client in her US citizenship application and in her interview with USCIS. Lim is currently part of a team representing a client who was married to an abusive US citizen spouse. In addition to assisting her with a divorce and protective order, she is working with the client to apply for legal status through the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA). She also serves as one of the co-chairs for the Woodlawn Legal Clinic, a monthly clinic hosted by DLA Piper and Legal Aid Chicago. At the clinic, she has advised clients facing a variety of issues, including evictions, denial of social security benefits and domestic violence. In May, Lim received the Award for Excellence in Pro Bono Service from the United States District Court for her work on her client’s case against the Cook County Jail.
Colleen McElroy, an associate in Los Angeles,last year represented a 14-year-old client who fled his home country in fear for his life from gang violence. She obtained a State Court’s Order granting parentage and custody of the child to his mother, as well as an order granting Special Immigrant Juvenile Findings, which was the first step in obtaining a visa for the child to remain in the United States with his mother. McElroy also participated in a New Perimeter program during which she traveled to Nepal and instructed female Nepalese attorneys on business development, public speaking and personal branding. In addition, she participated in a Teen Court program conducted at an East Los Angeles High School, and she strategized and reviewed a petition for a writ for habeas corpus on behalf of an eight-year-old boy who had been separated from his father at the border.
Chelsea Mutual, an associate in San Diego, focuses her pro bono practice on assisting human trafficking and domestic violence survivors. She recently secured two victories on behalf of a trafficking survivor under a new California law that permits courts to order the vacatur of prior arrests or convictions of any person arrested for non-violent offenses while a victim of human trafficking. In 2018, Mutual partnered with a nonprofit organization to organize trainings on representing trafficking survivors and other survivors of trauma, spent a week at an immigrant family detention center in Dilley, Texas, representing detained mothers and children seeking asylum, and obtained conservatorship for a client over her adult brother, who suffered a traumatic brain injury that left him incapacitated and unable to care for himself.
Cara Vasquez, an associate in Houston, collaborated with Tahirih Justice Center in 2018 to assist some of the organization’s most severely traumatized clients, many of whom have been victims of domestic violence or human trafficking. She took on an immigration application for a woman with substantial trauma manifesting in dissociation and memory lapses. As a result of Vasquez’s representation, the client received authorization from the government to work. Vasquez also mentors three junior attorneys working on similar immigration matters. Within the Houston office, she created a mentorship program for student interns who attend a college preparatory high school serving urban young people with limited educational options. After she implemented the mentorship program at DLA Piper, the school asked her to train others so that they could implement similar programs.
Chris Everhart, a litigation support project manager in San Diego,participates in Stand Down, a program that serves homeless veterans, every year. Recently, she also provided eDiscovery project management for a plaintiff class of inmates seeking relief from overcrowding in a state prison system. Her work includes managing databases for both DLA Piper lawyers and the team’s co-counsel, to aid in their efforts to reform the treatment of inmates, including ensuring proper medical, mental health and dental care, improving the treatment of disabled inmates and reducing the use of solitary confinement as a disciplinary tool.
DLA Piper is a global law firm with lawyers located in more than 40 countries throughout the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia Pacific, positioning us to help clients with their legal needs around the world. In certain jurisdictions, this information may be considered attorney advertising.
