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Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP

	Pro Bono Experience "Victor" El Salvador Refugee Case Obtained asylum for our client, a 15-year-old refugee from El Salvador, who fled to the United States after witnessing the murder of his best friend by members of the notorious gang, Mara 18. Hurricane Katrina Victims Class Katrina Victims; Diane Ridgley; Judy Sturcken; David Bellinger; and Tamica Dickson, on behalf of themselves and all others similarly situated v. Federal Emergency Management Agency; United States Department of Homeland Security; Michael Chertoff, Secretar Represented a group of low-income individuals displaced from their homes by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in suit against the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and other Federal officials; class action lawsuit in Federal court in the Eastern District of Louisiana. Court certified class action and granted a preliminary injunction prohibiting FEMA from terminating people from its rental assistance program. Disabled American Veterans\|National Veterans Legal Services Program Kirkendall v. Department Of Army Successfully represented, as amici, the Disabled American Veterans and the National Veterans Legal Services Program on an appeal that reversed the anti-disabled veteran state of the law in two key areas. New York City Bar Association's Vance Center for International Justice Initiatives Colombia Same-Sex Partnership Rights Drafted an amicus brief for submission to the Constitutional Court of Colombia, that led to a landmark decision by the Court that same-sex couples are entitled to register their domestic partnerships and receive certain economic benefits on equal terms with opposite-sex couples. Non-Native English Speaking Teachers (Lowell MA) AALDEF/Lowell Teachers; Vandy Dutch, et al. v. City of Lowell Weil Gotshal won a major pro bono victory on behalf of non-native-speaking teachers from the Lowell, Massachusetts school system, fired when they failed an English fluency test. The arbitrator found the terminations were without just cause and reinstated the teachers with full back pay, all seniority rights, health care benefits, and pension benefits. The arbitrator further found that Lowell’s policy impermissibly discriminated against non-native-speaking teachers and that the teachers’ constitutional rights were violated when Lowell failed to observe the teachers and examine their past teaching history. On January 16, 2007, a single justice of the Appeals Court ruled in favor of the teachers and denied Lowell’s motion to stay. The teachers are now back at work while the appeal is pending. more Lawyers Alliance for New York & Citigroup/Senior Center Legal Assessment and Training Day Participated in the second annual “Legal Assessment and Training Day,” coordinated by Lawyers Alliance for New York, to assist the Council for Senior Centers & Services of New York City, Inc. with a variety of legal issues affecting not-for-profit senior centers, including corporate governance, contracts, employment and real estate law. Ashoka Foundation Ashoka Foundation/Friends of Integration Association “Barrier-Free Poland” Campaign Assisted the Friends of Integration Association, a prominent Polish non-governmental organization that is focused on promoting the social integration of people with disabilities with drafting leaflets and a “law in practice” guide that instructs individuals on how to initiate administrative proceedings to remove obstacles that prevent disabled individuals from having access to urban infrastructure. Oxfam Hunger Banquet Involved in creating programs to educate the public about Oxfam, including the development of a 50-minute workplace version of the Oxfam Hunger Banquet to teach participants about global hunger. Fatoumata Lamarana Diallo Diallo Asylum Obtained asylum for abused Guinean woman. Center for International Human Rights U.S. v. Salim Ahmed Hamdan David Berz, Managing Partner of the Washington, DC office, is working with the Center for International Human Rights at the Northwestern School of Law, to prepare an amicus curiae brief in this matter. The defendant was charged with conspiracy to commit war crimes. He is being tried for his crimes by a Military Commission. The Center for Human Rights states that the hearings violate international due process requirements and standards set forth in the Geneva Conventions. Chilean Nationalist Pro Bono victory for family under Hague Convention on International Child Abduction Tried and won a case under The Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction in Alabama federal court. The St. Nicholas Neighborhood Preservation Corporation Aiding entrepreneurs and small businesses in Brooklyn Provide pro bono legal services to entrepreneurs and small businesses in the Williamsburg and Greenpoint communities of Brooklyn. Elizabeth Davis Frizell Dallas City Council v. Judge Frizell Represented City of Dallas Municipal Court Judge, Elizabeth Davis Frizell in a case where the Dallas City Council attempted to remove Judge Frizell from her position as a Municipal Judge because she is running for a state judicial position. Cameroonian Asylee Washington Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs/ Cameroonian Asylee Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP secured asylum on behalf of a Cameroonian widow who was abused and persecuted by her late husband's politically powerful tribal family. more Guantanamo Bay Detainees Abdulla Thani Faris Al-Anazi, et al. v. George W. Bush, et al. Filed habeas petitions on behalf of five Saudi Arabian citizens held by the US at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. Tenafly Eruv Association Inc. Tenafly Eruv Association, Inc. v. The Borough of Tenafly In a major First Amendment case of first impression that went to the United States Supreme Court, Weil Gotshal successfully obtained a preliminary injunction barring a New Jersey town from removing plastic strips that a group of Orthodox Jews had affixed to telephone poles in order to create an "eruv." The eruv is a ritual boundary within which Orthodox Jews may conduct certain activities on the Sabbath that would otherwise be confined to the home. more ACORN, et al. v. Bysiewicz ACORN, et al. v. Bysiewicz Represented plaintiffs in a lawsuit challenging as unconstitutional Connecticut’s 14-day voter registration deadline, which imposes different rules for access to the franchise. more Make-A-Wish Foundation of America Make-A-Wish Foundation of America Filed a complaint and motion for a temporary restraining order seeking to stop US Office of Personnel Management OPM from publishing a listing of CFC-eligible charities that did not include Make-A-Wish. more Sergio Suarez Martinez Crawford v. Suarez Martinez WGM filed an amicus curiae brief in the U.S. Supreme Court on behalf of a number of major refugee resettlement and advocacy organizations, including the International Rescue Committee and Immigrant and Refugee Services of America. in the case, Crawford v. Suarez Martinez (No. 03-878). The case examines the statutory and constitutional limits on the federal government’s ability to detain aliens (that is, non-US citizens) who have not been admitted as permanent residents and who are subject to an order of removal under the immigration laws requiring them to leave the country. The amicus brief argued that indefinite detention was inconsistent with various international treaties governing treatment of refugees, as well as principles of customary international law, and that the applicable US statute should be interpreted consistently with these international law doctrines. Empire State Development Corporation Empire State Development Corporation Defended the Empire State Development Corporation (ESDC), the parent entity of the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation (LMDC), in an Article 78 proceeding before the New York Supreme Court. New York City television station NY1 News sought under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIL) access to videotaped discussions between New York Governor George Pataki, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani and the LMDC World Trade Center Memorial Jury, the entity charged with picking the World Trade Center Memorial. The Judge 's ruling is the first opinion that has ever extended FOIL protection to private citizens that were not compensated for the services that they rendered on behalf of a public agency. Prairie View Chapter of the NAACP Prairie View Chapter of the NAACP, et al. v. Oliver S. Kitzman Represented the NAACP’s Prairie View, Texas chapter in lawsuits addressing election-time violations by District Attorney Oliver S. Kitzman and the Commissioners’ Court of the Fourteenth Amendment and the Voting Rights Act. more Hoots Hoots v. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Pro Bono success where, working alongside the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under the Law, Weil Gotshal lawyers from NY and DC obtained an order requiring the State of Pennsylvania and the Woodland Hills School District to equalize education oppportunities for minority students in their district. The Court's historic order recognized that school districts must continue to enforce court-ordered remedies designed to provide equal educational opportunities for all students in their district until the completion of the desegregation process. more Ever Cabrera Ever Cabrera v. Dan Butler Represented Ever Cabrera, a victim of police brutailty, in a civil rights action filed in the Eastern District of Virginia. The federal case settled favorably in the middle of discovery. Trade Liberalization Prepared a memo addressing how the degree and pace of trade liberalization in Africa, the Caribbean, and Pacific countries would affect the countries’ ability to meet minimum requirements of trade agreements with the European Union. more AALDEF Voting Rights Lawsuit Against the New York City Board of Elections Representing several individual and organizational plaintiffs in a lawsuit alleging violations of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (VRA) by the New York City Board of Elections. Adoption Project Pro Bono - Adoption Project Represented prospective adoptive parents seeking to adopt children in foster care, and assisted other adoptive parents in connection with post-adoption legal hurdles involving government subsidies and custody disputes. more American Civil Liberties Union Powell v. Allstate Insurance Co. Successfully represented amicus curiae A.C.L.U. in case that decided whether racially bigoted remarks during jury deliberations are grounds for new trial or inhere in the jury’s verdict. Angola Three Supporting the Angola Three Wrote an amicus brief to the Louisiana Supreme Court in support of one of the “Angola Three” – men who were charged with the murder of a guard during a prison riot and held in solitary confinement for 29 years. The men have always declared their innocence. One member of the group was exonerated by the State of Louisiana in 2001 and released. He is now fighting for the release of the other men. Arlene Burger Burger v. Singh In conjunction with South Brooklyn Legal Services ("SBLS"), Weil Gotshal obtained justice for Arlene Burger, a 60 year-old disabled woman whose house, where she had lived most of her life, was stolen by a ring of house thieves operating in Brooklyn and Queens. The decision returned title and possession to Ms. Burger. more Arturo Otero Voting Rights Suit - Arthur Otero WGM represented Arturo Otero, a Hispanic citizen of Puerto Rican heritage and candidate who seeks to intervene in a voting rights suit against Osceola County, Florida. The US Department of Justice alleges that the at large system currently in place for electing the members of Osceola County’s Board of Commissioners violates Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. Mr. Otero disagrees with that contention and sees the lawsuit and its objectives as greater hindrances to the exercise of political power by Hispanics. A separate suit challenges Kissimmee’s similar at-large system for electing its city commissioners. Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund Protecting Minority Access to Jobs Weil Gotshal co-counseled with the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF) to secure an appeals court affirmation of a trial court decision protecting the rights of tenured public school teachers in Lowell, Massachusetts. Citing the longstanding rule that courts may not disturb an arbitrator’s legal and factual findings, the court preserved the arbitrator’s ruling that discrimination against non-native speakers violated Massachusetts anti-discrimination law. The decision significantly advances the rights of non-native English speakers in the workplace, and was featured widely in the press and legal trade publications. Child Advocate of Rhode Island & Children’s Rights Children in Foster Care Joined forces with Child Advocate of Rhode Island and Children’s Rights, the national child advocacy group, in commencing a federal class action to bring reforms to the Rhode Island child welfare system and provide better protection for the rights of the approximately 3,000 children living in state custody. Clarence Elkins Innocence Project - Clarence Elkins Weil Gotshal joined the case to draft an amicus brief on behalf of NIN to appeal the denial of Mr. Elkins’s request for a new trial, but our role quickly expanded as more new evidence was discovered and the need for additional litigation strategies and resources became apparent. The case, which garnered national attention, arose from the wrongful conviction of Mr. Elkins for the 1998 rape and murder of his mother-in-law and the rape and attempted murder of his then six-year-old niece. In 2004, Mr. Elkins’s attorneys used a new “Y-STR” type of DNA testing on critical evidence to demonstrate that Mr. Elkins was excluded as the perpetrator of these heinous crimes. Evidence collected from the crime scene was matched to a convicted child rapist and the prosecutor finally agreed to Mr. Elkins’s release. more Client convicted of rape and murder The Innocence Project Wrote an amicus brief in support of an Ohio man who was wrongfully convicted of murdering his mother-in-law and raping his eight-year-old niece. He was exonerated after DNA evidence proved his innocence and the culpability of the actual perpetrator, a convicted rapist who lived in the neighborhood at the time of the crime and who has since confessed to the crime. The Innocence Project consulted on the case; Weil Gotshal filed its brief on behalf of the Innocence Network. Client convicted of rape II The Innocence Project Provided legal counsel on matrimony and tax issues to a recently released exoneree who spent 21 years in prison for a rape he did not commit. Council of Senior Centers & Services of New York City, Inc. Council of Senior Centers & Services of New York City, Inc. Weil Gotshal serves as pro bono general counsel to Council of Senior Centers & Services of New York City, Inc. (CSCS), a membership organization representing over 200 community-based senior centers and service agencies, which in turn assist over 300,000 elderly New Yorkers. Weil Gotshal has provided guidance in matters related to corporate governance, litigation, contracts, intellectual property, real estate, strategic alliances, and business ventures, including the development of “The Marketplace@CSCS,” an internet group purchasing program that provides discounted food and services for senior citizen agencies and public interest groups. Disabled American Veterans Department of Veterans Administration Assisted Disabled American Veterans who were challenging the Department of Veterans Administration current regulation. The group is petitioning the US Supreme Court for a writ of certiorari to review a ruling of the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit that upheld the challenged regulation. Disabled Client Broadening Access to Aid for Disabled Persons As part of its continuing pro bono service to persons with disabilities, Weil Gotshal successfully represented a Harlem man diagnosed with severe and debilitating depression who had been denied Disability Insurance Benefits and Supplemental Security Income. Our client’s depression made it difficult for him to perform his daily tasks or even to show up for work as a janitor in an apartment complex, and bullying from his coworkers made him increasingly paranoid. He lost his job, and with very little income, our client and his ailing 86-year-old mother, for whom he is the caretaker, had to move into a new apartment that was rat-infested and unhealthy. more Disabled Client II Securing Benefits for the Disabled In a case over thirty years in the making, Weil Gotshal secured for a needy client Social Security benefits that had been denied since 1978, covering a nine-year period several decades ago. Our client was provided disability benefits from 1987 to the present, but was denied benefits for the 1978 to 1986 time period, despite being eligible for them. more E+Co Empowering Those Who Seek Change In 2008, Weil Gotshal contributed over 1,500 hours of legal services to E+Co, a non-profit social enterprise corporation started by the Rockefeller Foundation. E+Co invests capital and provides business development support to local enterprises that supply clean and affordable energy to households, businesses, and communities in developing countries. Weil Gotshal’s multi-disciplinary efforts have included advising the company in its sales of “People and Planet Notes,” which are sold to accredited investors; structuring and negotiation of several loan agreements and joint venture agreements with financing institutions and foreign development funds to raise capital to invest in clean energy projects; and general corporate, tax, employment, and intellectual property advice. more El Salvador Asylum Applicant El Salvador Asylum Applicant Represented a minor from El Salvador in removal proceedings before the United States Immigration Court. The client has sought asylum in the United States because he openly opposed the Mara Salvatrucha or “MS” gang, a network of street thugs and paramilitary guerrillas omnipresent in El Salvador. On July 22, 2004, the Immigration Court issued its opinion, denying our client’s application for asylum. WGM filed a notice of appeal to the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA). In the meantime, the client may remain in the United States pending adjudication of the appeal. Election Protection Program Protecting Equal Access to the Ballot Box Weil Gotshal attorneys have been coordinating with the Election Protection Program with the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund, and the Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund, as part of the nation’s largest nonpartisan program working to break down barriers to the ballot box for traditionally disenfranchised voters. Elmaghraby and Iqbal Urban Justice Center/Detainees; Elmaghraby and Iqbal v. Ashcroft, et. al. Weil Gotshal joined the Urban Justice Center and Koob & Magoolaghan to represent detainees held by the US Government in the aftermath of the September 11th attacks. Claims on behalf of plaintiff Ehab Elmaghraby were settled in February 2006, in the amount of $300,000, the first reported settlement between the U.S. Government and any persons detained in the aftermath of the September 11th attacks. The case continues on behalf of plaintiff Javaid Iqbal. On June 14, 2007, the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the vast majority of a district court ruling, holding that the exigencies of 9/11 did not entitle high-level officials to qualified immunity for claims related to religious and racial discrimination and the abuse plaintiffs suffered while detained in solitary confinement. European Roma Rights Centre In re School segregation case in Alsózsolca Prepare a submission to the Equal Treatment Authority (ETA) requesting it to declare that the segregation of schools and kindergartens is a violation of equal treatment rights. European Roma Rights Centre Preserving Equality Under the Law Through a joint effort of several Weil Gotshal offices in Europe and the United States, we assisted the European Roma Rights Centre (ERRC) in a case before the European Court of Human Rights. The ERRC is disputing the widespread discriminatory practices of Croatian secondary schools of forcing students of Romani origin into Roma--only classrooms, ostensibly under the guise that the children’s inability to speak fluent Croatian results in a need to segregate them from other Croatian classrooms and terminating their studies prematurely more Former Medtronic, Inc. Employees Assisting Trade-Impacted Workers Weil Gotshal secured trade-related unemployment benefits, known as Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA), from the US Department of Labor for a group of former employees of Medtronic, Inc., the Minneapolis-based medical device company. Our clients had lost their jobs as a result of Medtronic’s decision to shift production of cardiovascular stents from its California facility to Ireland. After filing a petition for TAA with the Labor Department and being twice denied, three former employees filed a pro se challenge to the decision before the US Court of International Trade, which appointed Weil Gotshal to represent the former employees. more Guardianship Workshop Program Helping Parents Manage Their Children’s Disabilities Working alongside the staff members of New York Lawyers for the Public Interest, Weil Gotshal attorneys participate each month in the Guardianship Workshop Program. This ongoing project connects volunteer attorneys with parents of children with developmental disabilities to help familiarize the parents with the necessary pro se petitions they must file for guardianship. In the state of New York, once a child turns 18 years of age, medical requests and Social Security Insurance entitlements often require guardianship letters. Time spent at this monthly workshop is a simple way to perform pro bono service, but can make a big difference in the lives of parents and other family members in the community. The firm takes great pride in having helped over 400 families with this important program over the past seven years. Habitat for Humanity Governance and Infrastructure Matters Representing the Budapest chapter of Habitat for Humanity, a not-for-profit that operates worldwide raising funds and resources to build homes for the poor and those who have lost their homes due to natural disasters, in connection with a public prosecutor’s action against it regarding the legal operation of two entities in Hungary. Honduran national Honduras Weil Gotshal successfully challenged the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in connection with its alleged unlawful treatment of a Honduran national who had immigrated to the US in 1988 to escape persecution by the Honduran military. Back in 1996, following a two-day trial on the merits, our client was granted asylum by a US immigration judge based on our client’s fear of persecution in Honduras; however, in 2005, when he applied for an adjustment in his status from asylee to permanent resident, DHS not only denied his application to become a permanent resident, but issued an order that included factual findings contrary to those of the immigration judge, recasting our client as a persecutor, not a victim. more Human Rights Watch Human Rights Watch In order to provide Human Rights Watch with the information it needs on a timely basis, a Weil Gotshal team of over 70 volunteer lawyers prepares daily summaries of ICC decisions and analyses of developments in the ICC relating to core human rights issues. The decisions to date have encompassed a wide range of issues, from the appropriate basis for victim participation in trials to the rights of defendants to a fair trial – some of which are being considered for the first time at this level. Human Rights Watch Human Rights Watch - Amicus Brief WGM represented Human Rights Watch (HRW), a leading international human rights organization, as an amicus curiae before the Special Court for Sierra Leone. We argued that the activities of human rights workers are so vital to the ravaged communities that they serve and the public interest generally that their relationships with their informants must be subject to an absolute privilege as long as the worker is not testifying to the guilt or innocence of the particular defendant. more Imprisoned Texas man The Innocence Project Provided comprehensive research assistance on claims involving actual innocence, witness perjury, and the suppression of evidence under Texas law in the case of a man who has been in prison for 21 years for a rape and murder he has always maintained he did not commit. Recently obtained DNA evidence pointed to another man who had testified against our client at trial and who was subsequently arrested and convicted of the crime. Weil Gotshal’s research helped lead a post-conviction court to recommend that our client is entitled to a new trial. InfoDev E-Government for Developing Countries Involved in a pioneering e-government pro bono project for InfoDev, a group of non-governmental organizations led by Internews and the Center for Democracy and Technology. Innocence Project Parole Application Working with the Innocence Project representing a client in his application for parole stemming from a rape conviction in 1985. Innocence Project client The Innocence Project Wrote an amicus brief in support of an Innocence Project client who has been fighting for DNA testing for 11 years. The Louisiana Supreme Court ruled in his favor and testing is underway. He has been in prison for 26 years. Innocence Project client II The Innocence Project Drafted an appeal brief leading to consent for DNA testing for an Innocence Project client. Iranian woman Iran Weil Gotshal represented a lesbian Iranian woman in her attempt to secure asylum in the US after enduring persecution related to her sexual orientation and her work on behalf of an exiled Persian singer who supported women’s rights. The client had suffered torture on multiple occasions and heard her gay and lesbian friends being hanged and stoned to death after she and her friends were arrested at a gay party. The University of Tehran expelled her after the Basij, an underground paramilitary organization, alleged that she was a lesbian. Ultimately, the government sentenced her to lashings. She feared she would be killed if she returned as she had an outstanding court hearing in a country where lesbian women can be sentenced to death. The Weil Gotshal asylum unit went into action, knitting together a legal team to advocate for our client’s welfare. Our efforts were rewarded when our client received a grant of asylum, allowing her to stay in the United States. Ivorian Asylum Case Cote d'Ivoire Weil Gotshal secured legal immigration status for a young Ivorian woman whose parents had planned to return her to Cote d’Ivoire to be circumcised and to take part in an arranged marriage. Despite abundant US government documentation characterizing such circumcisions as instances of female genitalia mutilation, as well as documents detailing the practice of arranged marriages in Cote d’Ivoire, counsel for the Department of Homeland Security objected to our client’s application for relief. more Kent/Charlestown Community School Council Building the Foundations of Community Strength Weil Gotshal established a general corporate counsel relationship with the Kent/Charlestown Community School Council, a non-profit organization serving residents of diverse backgrounds and experiences in the Charlestown neighborhood of Boston. In collaboration with the Boston Centers for Youth and Families, our client provides a wide array of services, including much needed recreational, educational, and social services and programs to residents in the Bunker Hill Housing Project – a federally funded housing development operated by the Boston Housing Authority (BHA). more Legal Aid Immigrant Disability Benefit Project Legal Aid Immigrant Disability Benefit Project Represented an elderly, blind and disabled immigrants lawfully residing in New York, being wrongfully denied necessary public assistance by New York State. more Legal Aid Shelter Allowance Litigation Legal Aid Shelter Allowance Litigation WGM in conjunction with The Legal Aid Society worked to obtain a preliminary injunction preventing the evictions of families who are unable to afford their rent due to the inadequacy of the current shelter allowances under New York State’s Safety Net Assistance (SNA) program. Plaintiffs argued that New York Social Services Law Section 350, which the New York Court of Appeals held to require the State to provide adequate shelter allowances for families with children under the state’s FA program, extends to families with minor children receiving allowances under the state’s SNA program. Justice Moskowitz concluded that Section 350 was enacted so that all families with minor children, whether on FA or SNA, receive adequate allowance. Legal Aid Society Defending Prisoners' Rights Weil Gotshal obtained a complete plaintiff’s verdict on behalf of a client who was physically assaulted by five corrections officers while incarcerated at Fishkill Correctional Facility in upstate New York. The beating, which lasted almost three minutes and took place while our client was still handcuffed, resulted in at least 12 documented injuries to his face, jaw, abdomen, and back. The jury awarded $200,000 in compensatory damages and $550,000 in punitive damages, for a total damages award of $750,000. more Mediation Advisory Services Restructuring Advised Mediation Advisory Services on a number of insolvency, property, corporate and employment issues that were crucial to its immediate survival and, subsequently, to its orderly restructuring. Medical Legal Partnership Improving Health through Preventive Law In 2008, Weil Gotshal began a relationship with Medical--Legal Partnership (MLP) \| Boston, the founding site of a unique national program that partners medical clinicians with lawyers to ensure that low-income patients have access to all of the tools necessary to address the social determinants of health. The firm has provided services to MLP \| Boston’s clients in a number of areas, including (i) assessing eligibility for application and navigating the appeal process for income supports including public benefits and health insurance and (ii) ensuring access to appropriate education and childcare. The partnership between Weil Gotshal and MLP \| Boston continues to help low-income patients in the Boston area navigate complex regulatory and legal requirements to obtain much-needed medical and educational resources for vulnerable families in a preventive posture, before their challenges become crises. Megan Z. New York Lawyers for the Public Interest/Megan Z. Represented a 15-year- old who suffers from spastic quadriplegia and cerebral palsy, in connection with her Medicaid request for a motorized wheelchair. Mexican father Upholding the Lawful Custody of Children In a matter referred to the firm by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, Weil Gotshal represented a citizen of Mexico whose two minor children were abducted by their mother and illegally transported to the United States. After Weil Gotshal attorneys obtained a federal court order requiring the mother to return the two children to their father, the mother fled and hid the children in an unknown location in Texas. Once the mother’s location was discovered, the firm sought an emergency motion to enforce judgment and for the mother to be held in contempt. The court granted Weil Gotshal’s motion and issued a bench warrant for the arrest of the mother. Shortly thereafter, Weil Gotshal facilitated the return of the two minor children to the client. The client, who had not seen his children in six years, was then able to reunite the children with their ailing grandfather, who passed away a mere two days later. Mexican mother Battling for Parental Rights Across Borders Weil Gotshal represents a mother whose spouse wrong-fully took their child to another country without her permission. Our client’s predicament is one of a growing number of such cases, in which, often, the “left behind” spouse’s only option is to plead for assistance in navigating the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction and the maze of international governmental agencies that support it. Mexican woman Protecting Children from Illegal Abduction Weil Gotshal represented a Mexican woman whose two minor children – both American citizens – were being detained in Mexico by the family of the children’s abusive father. After securing an order of protection against the man, the Weil Gotshal team began its effort to secure custody of the children and their safe return to the United States. After the father failed to produce the children as mutually agreed upon pursuant to an interim custody order, the Bronx Family Court issued an order for their return and gave sole custody to the mother. Over the following weekend, Weil Gotshal, with the invaluable assistance of Sanctuary for Families, facilitated the return of the two minor children to their mother after a year-and-a-half absence. Minority Clients Preserving Human Rights Amid Calamity In conjunction with the law firm Koob & Magoolaghan, Weil Gotshal represents one of hundreds of Arab and South Asian Muslim men from the New York area who were held by the US government after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks solely for reason of race, religion, and national origin. Our client had no connection to the events of September 11, 2001, or any other terrorist activity, but was nonetheless detained in a maximum security facility in Brooklyn and subjected to brutal abuse and mistreatment. more Movement for the Budapest Olympics Bringing Global Resources to Local Communities Weil Gotshal advised Movement for the Budapest Olympics, or BOM, on the creation of legislation that will help provide political, economic, professional, and social guarantees for a possible Budapest application for the Summer Olympic Games of 2020. The legislation has already received unanimous approval at the municipal level and will now be sent to the Hungarian Parliament for its approval. BOM believes the application process and prospective hosting of the Games can act as a unifying agent around which Hungary’s various political and social groups can rally, as well as offer to the city of Budapest an opportunity to market its cosmopolitan air and regional strengths to the rest of the world. Multiple Sclerosis Society of Poland Multiple Sclerosis Society of Poland Weil Gotshal advises the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Poland on tax matters, in particular, the taxation of donations intended for the treatment and rehabilitation of members of the society. The tax opinions prepared for the society will be made available to other organi-zations seeking and raising funds for the sick. National Center for Missing and Exploited Children Mexican Parental Abduction Represented a Mexican citizen and resident whose six-year-old daughter and four-year-old son were abducted by their mother and brought to the US. National Center for Refugee and Immigrant Children Asylum for El Salvadorian Refugees Secured asylum for two young girls from El Salvador who were the victims of gang violence in El Salvador. National Wildlife Federation and the Wyoming Wildlife Federation Ranch Dispute Represented, as amici curiae, the National Wildlife Federation (NWF), a private not-for-profit organization dedicated to the conservation of natural resources, and the Wyoming Wildlife Federation (WWF), which works to protect and enhance wildlife habitat, to protect citizens’ rights to use public lands and waters and to promote ethical hunting and fishing. New York Lawyers for the Public Interest Holding Public Officials Accountable for Child Safety When the New York City School Construction Authority (SCA) proposed to construct a new school facility in the Mott Haven section of the Bronx on a contaminated former industrial site, New York Lawyers for the Public Interest (NYLPI) looked to Weil Gotshal to carry forward the resulting litigation, which was brought in Bronx County Supreme Court on behalf of a coalition of students, teachers, and members of the local community. more Oxfam Post-Katrina Gulf Recovery Assisted Oxfam with research, advice and drafting assistance to Oxfam in its efforts to ensure that low- and moderate-income households, renters and minorities were not excluded disproportionately from the federal Katrina Recovery Homeowner Grant Program and that the State of Mississippi’s action plan fulfilled the basic tenets of the Fair Housing Act. Oxfam Oxfam International Continuing Weil Gotshal’s commitment to Oxfam, the firm recently advised Oxfam on the reorgani-zation of its operations in India. Historically, Oxfam’s Indian operations have been operated by Oxfam India and five international Oxfam subsidiaries – Oxfam Australia, Oxfam GB, Oxfam Hong Kong, Oxfam Intermon (a Spanish charity), and Oxfam Novib (a Dutch charity). In order to strengthen its Indian operations, Oxfam decided that the Indian operations of these six entities should be integrated into a “Single Integrated Oxfam for India.” more Oxfam Law Firm Consortium Helping Oxfam coordinate a Law Firm Consortium to develop and implement innovative strategies for Oxfam. Oxfam America Making the Business Case for Human Rights Compliance On behalf of pro bono client Oxfam America, Weil Gotshal authored a memorandum in support of a 2008 report issued by John Ruggie, the United Nations Secretary-General’s Special Representative on Human Rights. The Ruggie Report proposed guidelines for improving corporate compliance with human rights obligations both in the US and internationally. more Oxfam America Combating Global Climate Change Weil Gotshal attorneys worked with Oxfam America’s climate change team to address legal issues in connection with Oxfam’s policy proposals to construct and implement an international aviation emissions trading framework and carbon auction. Both of these proposals would provide a consistent funding stream that would give developing countries the resources to combat the impact of climate change. Weil Gotshal attorneys conducted extensive international legal research relating to these proposals and provided counsel directly to Oxfam’s climate change experts. This work was facilitated by Oxfam’s Law Firm Consortium, an initiative co-founded by Weil Gotshal that seeks to bring the resources and strategic thinking of law firms to address the issues of international poverty. Potentially Evicted Client Upholding Tenants’ Rights Weil Gotshal recently extended tenants’ rights in New York, preventing a family from being evicted from its home and setting a valuable precedent for future tenant respondents. In 2005 our client traveled from New York to Jamaica to visit her family, but shortly after her arrival, she endured a series of misfortunes – her son died, she suffered a stroke, and she was diagnosed with severe depression. As a result of these medical issues, doctors recommended that she remain in Jamaica temporarily. more Public Interest Law Institute European Pro Bono Forum Charting New Directions in Pro Bono Weil Gotshal played a leadership role in the planning and execution of the second annual Public Interest Law Institute (PILI) European Pro Bono Forum in Budapest, Hungary. The conference offered participating attorneys the opportunity to share experiences, ideas, and strategies concerning European Union-based pro bono work, which has seen explosive growth in recent years. more Recently released exoneree The Innocence Project Assisted a recently released exoneree and former postal worker in re-establishing his benefits after spending 19 years in prison for a murder he did not commit. This exoneree was wrongly accused of the crime by then New York Police Department detectives Louis Eppolito and Stephen Caracappa, who were themselves later prosecuted for alleged mob-related crimes, including murder, kidnapping, money laundering, and narcotics distribution. Republic of Hungary Advocating for Holocaust Survivors Our firm’s Budapest office assisted Bet Tzedek in Hungary, successfully representing a client in connection with his claim for the loss of his father at the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp. Our client’s father died in April 1945, a few days after the liberation of Bergen-Belsen concentration camp where he was imprisoned. Since case law in Hungary suggests that, indeed, those who died after liberation were not entitled to compensation, the Hungarian government had cited the timing of the victim’s death as justification for withholding compen-sation to his surviving family, but the Compensation Office reversed its earlier decision and approved our client’s claim once our attorneys filed a statement of claim and advocated for our client’s position. Sanctuary for Families Defending the Rights of Same-Sex Domestic Partners In groundbreaking litigation, Weil Gotshal obtained an unprecedented ruling from the New York Appellate Division clarifying the extent to which orders of protection can be extended to protect same-sex domestic partners and other individuals not specifically identified in New York’s Family Court Act. Solar One Enabling Green Alternatives and Lifestyles Weil Gotshal currently represents Solar One, a not-for-profit organization “dedicated to empowering people with the vision, knowledge, and resources to attain a more environmentally sound and sustainable future.” The organization seeks to accomplish its mission through education and outreach that focus on “green energy,” environmental sustainability, and economic development. more Texas client convited of rape The Innocence Project Investigated and prepared a successful parole petition for a man who was convicted of rape in Houston, Texas, in 1985, despite a solid alibi placing him nearly 200 miles away from the crime scene. After Houston police department officials lost the DNA evidence that could have conclusively proven our client’s innocence, Weil Gotshal agreed to help him in his efforts to obtain parole. The comprehensive petition that Weil Gotshal’s Houston office presented to the parole board so power-fully asserted his claim of innocence and the injustice of the loss of his DNA evidence that the board, in an extremely rare move, voted to grant him parole despite the seriousness of the crime for which he was convicted and the length of time remaining on his sentence. Texas exonerees The Innocence Project Worked with The Innocence Project to determine that Texas exonerees can receive financial support from The Innocence Project after their release but prior to the governor’s declaration of innocence – a procedure specific to that state. It was determined that The Innocence Project could, indeed, support the exonerees during this period. Texas State Court exoneree The Innocence Project Successfully represented an exoneree in Texas State Court, where he sought compensation under the state’s statute. The "Tulia Litigations" The "Tulia Litigations" In this Pro Bono matter, working with the NAACP Legal Defense Fund and alongside a number of other law firms, lawyers from Dallas and Houston handled two of the notorious "Tulia" cases, which involved the improper convictions of approximately 10% of the African American population in the small town of Tulia, Texas, on bogus drug charges, all based on the uncorroborated testimony of a rogue undercover agent. The convictions were ultimately overturned after it was determined by the Court that the undercover agent was not credible and that the prosecution had failed to disclose impeachment evidence concerning the agent. The prosecution ultimately acknowledged the errors as well. more The Center for Reproductive Rights Analysis of UN’s Monitor of Women’s Reproductive Rights Assisting the Center for Reproductive Rights, a nonprofit legal advocacy organization dedicated to promoting and defending women’s reproductive rights worldwide, in updating Bringing Rights to Bear: An Analysis of the Work of UN Treaty Monitoring Bodies on Reproductive and Sexual Rights. more The Innocence Project Staff The Innocence Project Worked with The Innocence Project’s paralegal staff to establish an effective filing system and helped to organize hundreds of case files. The Legal Aid Society Guide to Small Businesses Assisted The Legal Aid Society in preparing a presentation to train pro bono attorneys from New York City’s major law firms who provide legal assistance to the Legal Aid’s small business clients. The New York City Department of Education Helping Government Better Serve People’s Needs Weil Gotshal represented The New York City Department of Education in connection with its acquisition of a large, complex computer system to improve the management of special education services provided by the department. The department provides special education services to 191,000 disabled preschool and school-age students with disabilities in New York City. The management of these services had been operated for years by an aging data collection system whose imperfections and limitations were potentially costing the city millions of dollars of federal reimbursement. The new web-based, state-of-the-art system, called SESIS, will improve the department’s management of special education referral, evaluation, and placement process; provide real-time information to schools; and improve data integrity, potentially assisting the city in increasing federal reimbursement. more Tibetan Buddist - Asylum Case Tibetan Buddist - Asylum Case WGM represented Sangay, a Tibetan Buddhist persecuted and imprisoned by the Chinese authorities for his religious and political beliefs, in obtaining political asylum in August of 2002. Post-9/11 immigration policies and the endless bureaucracy of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) quashed our efforts to reunite Sangay with his family. We are happy to report that Sangay's wife and three children were granted permanent visas and arrived in New York last week, more than five years since their separation. The client is obviously overwhelmingly happy and very grateful for the endless efforts of Weil Gotshal and others on his behalf. Tutu Foundation Tutu Foundation Weil Gotshal provides the Tutu Foundation with legal advice on corporate matters, charity law issues, and fundraising. The foundation and its sister organizations in the United States and South Africa have been formed to perpetuate and further develop the work and ideas of Archbishop Desmond Tutu and his wife Leah. The Archbishop is one of the iconic figures in the struggle against apartheid in South Africa and with his wife Leah has been central in the process of reconciliation that has helped South Africa to make the transition to democracy. more Undisclosed Death Penalty Appeal Working with General Electric’s general counsel, Weil Gotshal is pursuing habeas corpus relief from the death penalty sentence of our client who was convicted of capital murder and two additional counts of murder in 1995 in DeSoto County, Mississippi. United Nations World Food Programme UN World Food Programme Represented the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) in creating the world's first weather derivative for humanitarian emergencies. more Vietnam veteran Assisting Disabled Veterans in Need Weil Gotshal recently prevailed before the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in litigation that secured disability benefits for a long-suffering Vietnam veteran and may well change the way disabled veterans are compensated by the US government. Our team represented a veteran diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder in the 1980s. When alerted to our client’s condition, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) asserted that there was no proof that the disorder was related to his military service, this despite our client’s year-long assignment during the war of guarding an ammunition depot that had been “under mortar attack almost every night.” His condition led to severe sleep deprivation, brought on by chronic night-mares and flashbacks, thereby aggravating his headaches and depression that set in after Vietnam. Although he was in and out of VA facilities from 1988 onwards, his disability was not legally connected to his military service in Vietnam until 1999, and even then, he only received a partial disability designation, amounting to $300 per month, despite his inability to hold a job. more Western Shoshone Defense Project Legal Protections for Cultural Resources Prepared analysis of legal protections available for cultural resources for Oxfam partner the Western Shoshone Defense Project. more Widows of Disabled Veterans Safeguarding Veterans’ Survivor Benefits Weil Gotshal successfully represented three widows of disabled veterans in their efforts to secure survivor benefits for themselves after their husbands’ deaths. The case generated a great deal of attention, despite the seemingly low stakes – about $1000 per widow per month – because, as all parties agreed, the case involved a pure issue of statutory interpretation; therefore, the case’s outcome was likely to affect an entire class of veterans’ widows with a total benefit value of approximately $35 million. more World Pro Bono Week Celebrating the Spirit of Pro Bono Weil Gotshal held its inaugural World Pro Bono Week from December 8 to December 12, 2008. Themed “What’s Your Pro Bono?”, the event was an opportunity to celebrate Weil Gotshal’s pro bono legal work, both locally and around the world, as well as to encourage lawyers in each office to explore how they can make a contribution to the pro bono program in the future. Pro Bono Week events were held in the firm’s offices worldwide, and the firm also successfully launched a video clip on YouTube that included attorneys from several offices answering the question, “What’s Your Pro Bono?” Wrongly accused client The Innocence Project Wrote an amicus brief to the United States Supreme Court on behalf of a man who is filing a civil law suit against top officials in the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office. Our client was wrongly convicted of murder and spent 24 years in prison based on the testimony of a snitch, who had received a deal to testify. The fact that the informant had received previous deals was never revealed during the trial, despite the legal requirement to do so. Our client’s conviction rested on the informant’s false testimony, and he is suing for monetary damages.

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Pro Bono Experience