Building a Brighter Future Together

Transcription

Building a Brighter
Future Together
2015 PRO BONO AND
COMMUNITY SERVICE REPORT
2015 Capital Litigation Project
client William Ziegler with
his mother after his release
from Alabama’s death row.
2
Fostering Global Change Together
Our leaders discuss how we make an impact through our pro bono efforts.
8
Collaborating Around the World
Read about our four cornerstone pro bono programs, including pivotal
cases and perspectives from the program leaders.
CAPITAL LITIGATION PROJECT
POLITICAL ASYLUM AND IMMIGRANTS’ RIGHTS PROJECT
VETERANS BENEFITS PROJECT
AFRICA-ASIA AGRICULTURAL ENTERPRISE PROGRAM
38
Protecting Individual and Public Rights
iscover how we are serving as a voice for those who need
D
legal representation.
46
Serving Our Neighbors in Need
ind out how we work together to support individuals and organizations in
F
our neighborhoods.
56
Empowering Our Communities
Learn how our services extend beyond the courtroom to impact the lives
of those in the communities in which we live and work.
62
Honoring Our Own
Recognizing our lawyers and staff for their dedication to serving our clients.
64
Harnessing the Talents of Future Leaders
Meet the next generation of pro bono advocates.
Fostering Global
Change Together
Larry Barden, chair of Sidley’s Management
Committee, and Carter Phillips, chair of the
Executive Committee, reflect on the achievements
that made 2015 a particularly successful year for our
pro bono program and highlight the importance
of our enduring commitment as the firm celebrates
its 150th anniversary.
This past year, Sidley lawyers and staff devoted over 100,000 hours to pro bono
service in this country and around the world. This report describes the wideranging impact of just some of these efforts, and demonstrates that our pro bono
program is helping bridge the access to justice gap for thousands of people and
organizations. These efforts reflect the passion of our lawyers who commit to
pro bono matters, as well as the firm’s commitment to direct its resources where
the need is greatest.
This year was a special one for Sidley’s pro bono program on many levels. The
cover of this year’s report shows Willie Ziegler, one of Sidley’s clients in our Capital
Litigation Project, after his release in April from an Alabama prison where he
had spent 15 years on death row. A team of Sidley lawyers worked for ten years
to achieve that moment. Just a month later, a court reduced the sentence of
another Sidley client on Alabama’s death row to life in prison, citing his lawyer’s
failure at trial to present the compelling evidence that would justify mitigation of
his sentence. Two Alabama men who did not deserve to die were saved, and we
could not be prouder of the role Sidley played in ensuring justice was served
in their cases.
Larry A. Barden
Chair, Management Committee
While it is difficult to outshine a victory in a capital case (let alone two in one
year), Sidley’s other pro bono work in 2015 also resulted in life-changing victories
for thousands of other clients, including long-detained immigrants in California
denied habeas hearings, individuals in asylum cases persecuted in their native
countries because of their political beliefs or their sexual orientation, people
with disabilities denied benefits, tenants facing eviction, and veterans denied
compensation for service-related injuries and conditions. Our work with farmers
and small agriculture-related clients in Africa and Asia is helping even the playing
field, allowing our clients (many of which are women-operated enterprises) access
to markets in the United States and Europe and addressing the root causes of
poverty in the developing world.
This year also marks the tenth anniversary of Sidley’s Supreme Court Clinic at
Northwestern University’s Pritzker School of Law. Through the Clinic, Sidley
lawyers nurture the development of future appellate advocates while providing
expert Supreme Court representation to scores of criminal defendants. In 2015
alone, the Clinic represented criminal defendants in seven cases on the merits and
filed ten petitions for a writ of certiorari. Through Sidley’s work with the Clinic, we
demonstrate to aspiring lawyers that pro bono can be integral to the culture of a
large firm, and instill in them the recognition of their professional responsibility to
help narrow the justice gap.
We hope you find the stories of our work in 2015 both interesting and inspiring.
We are moved every day by accounts of our colleagues’ successes on behalf of
our pro bono clients. These stories strengthen our commitment to do even more
in the coming year as we celebrate the firm’s 150th anniversary, recognizing the
prominent role that pro bono has played in the life of the firm since its founding.
Carter G. Phillips
Chair, Executive Committee
A conversation with
JEFFREY GREEN
AND BECKY TROTH
Q
We recently asked Jeffrey Green, partner in Washington, D.C.
and firmwide Chair of Sidley’s Pro Bono and Public
Interest Law Committee, and Becky Troth, Pro Bono
Counsel for Sidley’s Washington, D.C. office, to share
their thoughts on the impressive growth of the firm’s pro
bono program and how young associates can benefit
from making pro bono a significant part of their practice.
4
SIDLEY AUSTIN LLP
Q
How would you describe the pro
bono culture at Sidley?
Jeffrey Green (JG): Pro bono is
something our firm’s management
cares deeply about and takes
personally. We have a long history
of doing it, and even through
dark economic times, we haven’t
let up on our commitment to
serving the broader community
and legal profession. Also, our pro
bono clients are assured that they
will receive the very same high
standards of representation and
quality of service as all of our clients.
Becky Troth (BT): As an original
signatory of the Pro Bono Institute’s
Law Firm Pro Bono Challenge®,
Sidley committed to contribute at
least 3% of its billable time to pro
bono work. We’ve met this challenge
for the last nine years, and most of
the years before that, so the firm
takes its commitment to pro bono
very seriously. There are no specific
limits on pro bono matters, and we
dedicate the time needed to handle
the project the way Sidley serves all
of its clients.
What are some of the regular facets
of the program—the nuts and bolts
that make it successful?
BT: In addition to working on
firmwide pro bono matters,
I spend a lot of my time putting
together the firm’s annual pro
bono reports and helping with
recruiting efforts. It’s extremely
Fostering Global Change Together
important for people to know how
much work we do and the sort of
opportunities that Sidley offers in
terms of our pro bono projects.
I also field the different inquiries
from legal services providers and
try to match our attorneys with
those project requests. We have the
philosophy that if you are going to
do a pro bono project, it should be
something that really appeals to you
on a personal level.
JG: I ensure our young lawyers and
partners have the opportunities to
do the kind of high-quality pro bono
work that they like to do, as well as
answer any policy questions that
might come up. Administering the
program also requires me to keep an
eye on our various offices, keeping
track of how much pro bono work
they are doing, whether they have
adequate resources and whether we
can help them build new programs.
What do you tell associates who
express interest in the program?
BT: We encourage all of our
associates to get started on pro
bono projects right away, as they
can acquire many of the skills that
will help them become successful
lawyers. By making pro bono an
important part of their practice,
our associates will get to know the
community organizations that need
their services, and quickly learn
how a lawyer can make all the
difference to a person unable to
afford legal representation.
JG: New associates will gain
a tremendous amount of selfconfidence in addition to the onyour-feet courtroom or deal-making
knowledge that everyone seeks
after joining the firm. They will also
learn to handle a variety of clients
and look at issues from a client’s
perspective. I’m very proud to say
that a lot of lawyers have told us that
the most rewarding work they’ve
done was in connection with their
pro bono practice.
Describe a recent noteworthy
pro bono project.
BT: They are all important, but
the one that stands out the most
involved a social security client
from Ethiopia who had a lot of
health problems. Just the fact that
we invited her to our office and
listened to her, doing whatever we
could to help her, was more than
enough to make her feel like she
had a voice. Even in cases where
we don’t succeed or are not able
to get the results we wanted, our
clients are grateful that they had
a chance to be heard and given
proper representation.
A
2015 PRO BONO AND COMMUNITY SERVICE REPORT
5
SIDLEY HONORED BY THE PRO BONO INSTITUTE
WASHINGTON, Aug. 20, 2015 – Pro Bono Institute (PBI) announced today that it will present Sidley
Austin LLP with its 2015 John H. Pickering Award at its Annual Dinner on November 5 in New
York. The Pickering Award is presented annually to a law firm that has demonstrated outstanding
commitment to pro bono service. Sidley’s longstanding commitment to pro bono and public
service is underscored by its robust and innovative pro bono program. A Signatory to PBI’s Law
Firm Pro Bono Challenge® and a Founding Member of PBI’s Law Firm Pro Bono Project, Sidley
continually demonstrates its core values by working on behalf of pro bono clients around the world
to enhance their clients’ quality of life and improve their communities.
“Sidley’s dedication to making this world a better place by committing to challenging, creative
projects advances pro bono and access to justice in notable ways,” PBI Board of Directors Chair
James W. Jones said. “The firm’s attorneys and staff work tirelessly to create lasting change in the
lives of their clients, and for that, they are to be commended.”
Sidley’s attorneys have worked on a wide variety of issues, ranging from Supreme Court work on
behalf of indigent defendants to helping families avoid eviction in local landlord/tenant courts.
Recognizing the opportunity for its lawyers to maximize their impact by combining years of
expertise and experience, Sidley administers four firm-wide projects: the Capital Litigation Project;
the Political Asylum and Immigrants’ Rights Project; the Veterans Benefits Project; and the
Africa & Asia Agricultural Enterprise Program. In 2014, Sidley lawyers and staff dedicated more
than 100,000 hours to pro bono projects.
“Pro bono at Sidley starts with our senior leadership,” Sidley Pro Bono Counsel Rebecca Troth
said. “It is deeply imbedded in the firm’s traditions and values, and our management team ensures
that we treat our pro bono cases with the same level of dedication as all of our cases. We are truly
honored to receive this award from PBI.” Presented annually by PBI and Wilmer Cutler Pickering
Hale and Dorr (now WilmerHale) and the Pickering family, the award honors the memory of John
H. Pickering, a founding partner and distinguished appellate lawyer known for his extraordinary
commitment to pro bono and public interest law.
Bill Perlstein from BNY Mellon presenting the
Pickering Award to Carter Phillips.
Seated: Rebecca Levenson, Jim Arden, Becky Troth, Jeff Green,
Nick Lagemann
Standing: Kelly Huggins, John Lavelle, Andy Hart, Carter Phillips,
Ron Flagg*
*Indicates lawyers who have retired or left the firm.
6
SIDLEY AUSTIN LLP
Collaborating
Around the World
This year, our lawyers and staff worked together
on cases to free clients from death row, help
individuals escape persecution, obtain benefits for
service men and women and guide farmers as they
launch small businesses in developing regions.
Capital Litigation Project
Providing hope to inmates incarcerated on Alabama’s death row.
Sidley established the Capital Litigation Project in response to an appeal
from the ABA Death Penalty Representation Project in December 2004.
Through the Project, spearheaded by John Gallo and managed by Kelly
Huggins, the firm represents inmates on Alabama’s death row in their postconviction proceedings. Since the Project’s inception, more than 180 Sidley
partners, counsel and associates, along with legal assistants and project
assistants, have volunteered more than 137,000 hours to these cases.
Our partnership with the ABA Death Penalty Representation Project and
the Equal Justice Initiative of Alabama (EJI) has been critical to our ability to
represent Alabama’s death row inmates effectively. EJI, a nonprofit organization
based in Montgomery, Alabama, has achieved national prominence from its
advocacy on death penalty issues and provides ongoing expert guidance to
Sidley’s lawyers on Alabama post-conviction practice and procedure.
YEAR STARTED: 2005
LAWYERS IN 2015:
65+
HOURS IN 2015: 10,015
22
CLIENTS REPRESENTED
10
SIDLEY AUSTIN LLP
Sidley helps secure
freedom for a pro bono client
on Alabama’s death row
The life of William Ziegler, a 24-year-old roofer, was upended in 2000 when he
was arrested for a murder in Mobile, Alabama. Ziegler found himself labeled
as the “ringleader” when authorities determined that the victim had quarreled
with someone at a party in Ziegler’s home. After a brief trial in 2001, Ziegler was
convicted and sentenced to death.
Yet the facts didn’t add up. A herculean battle ensued
to free him, and on April 16, 2015, Ziegler, now 39,
was freed due to the talent of lawyers at Sidley who
dedicated more than a decade to his case. Mr. Ziegler is
one of many clients in Sidley’s Capital Litigation Project,
which provides hope to inmates incarcerated
on Alabama’s death row.
“We really had the perfect storm of a compelling case of
innocence, grave violations by the state and ineffective
assistance of counsel,” said Ben Nagin, a lawyer in the
firm’s New York office, and member of the firm’s Antitrust/
Competition and Complex Commercial Litigation teams.
Nagin, together with John Lavelle, Nick Lagemann
and Andrew Hart, along with many current and former
associates of the firm, had been championing Ziegler
since 2005 in a post-conviction challenge. They, together
with local counsel Henry Callaway, conducted an
evidentiary hearing in 2010, at which Sidley presented
25 witnesses and introduced 690 exhibits that supported
Ziegler’s claims that: his court-appointed defense
This year, Sidley received the Norman
Redlich Pro Bono Award from the New
York City Bar Association. The award
honors a law firm, individual or team of
individuals who have made a “substantial
contribution to representing one or more
death row inmates or to the abolition
of the death penalty within our criminal
justice system on a pro bono basis.”
Sidley was recognized for the length and
depth of its commitment to representation
of Alabama death row inmates.
William Ziegler is reunited with his family and Sidley
attorneys Tim Hargadon and Nick Lagemann.
William Ziegler is reunited with his family.
12
SIDLEY AUSTIN LLP
counsel had failed to investigate the case and ignored
contradictions in the evidence; certain witnesses testified
falsely at trial; state prosecutors failed to disclose
exculpatory evidence; and two jurors provided false
information during jury selection.
The team and Ziegler ultimately scored a victory in 2012
when the Honorable Sarah H. Stewart of the Mobile
County Circuit Court overturned Ziegler’s conviction
and sentence on 25 separate grounds of violations of his
rights to due process, effective assistance of counsel and
an impartial jury. The ruling was unanimously affirmed
by the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals in May 2014,
which entered judgment ordering that Ziegler was
entitled to a new trial.
After that decision, the State sought to retry him for
capital murder, which, if convicted, carries only two
possible sentences: death or life in prison without the
possibility of parole. However, after the court granted
Sidley’s motion for discovery, the State was forced to
acknowledge that crucial evidence from the case had
been lost or destroyed, prompting Sidley to file a motion
to dismiss. That motion was pending when Ziegler
accepted the plea bargain that allowed him to walk free.
So why did Willie Ziegler, who had throughout the years
maintained his innocence, plead guilty?
“I firmly believe that at trial the facts would have been
overwhelmingly on our side,” Lagemann said. “But at
the end of the day, you are left in the hands of 12 jurors.
There is always a risk,” he added.
Both Nagin and Lagemann had gotten to know Ziegler,
whom they affectionately call “Willie,” well over the years
in their many visits to Alabama to help with his case.
Ziegler, accompanied by his mother and Sidley lawyer
Nick Lagemann, leaves prison after nearly 15 years on
death row.
“It was so important to him from the first day we met him
that we believed in his innocence,” Nagin recalled. “He
struggled with having to agree to the deal—to anything
that implicated him in the murder. But he weighed that
against the opportunity to go home.”
After Ziegler accepted his plea, Judge Stewart praised
Sidley’s efforts, stating “[y]our legal analysis throughout
this process has been infallible and your court room
demeanor has been impeccable. I also recognize that
you never allowed this to just be a legal battle. You
always kept your compassion and your focus on the
humanity of your client and I think that’s commendable.”
In addressing all of the lawyers involved in the case, Judge
Stewart also said “[i]t’s really all y’all that are the heroes.
Each of you stand for the very best of our profession…I’m
proud of each of you, and I’m sincerely humbled by your
dedication to the goal of truth and justice.”
Ben Nagin, Nick Lagemann, Andrew Hart, Tim Hargadon,
Rebecca Levenson, Jackie Lu, Michael Mann,
Ashley Pfeiffer
New York/Chicago
13
ANOTHER ALABAMA VICTORY
In May 2015, a judge in Baldwin County,
Alabama, reduced the sentence of our
client, Timothy Flowers, from death to life
imprisonment. A Sidley team led by Chicago
partner Dick O’Brien* had been representing
Mr. Flowers in post-conviction proceedings
on a pro bono basis since early 2006.
Mr. Flowers was convicted of capital murder in
2002 for a murder committed during the course
of a kidnapping and a robbery. Because Mr.
Flowers’ counsel failed to conduct an adequate
investigation before trial, the jury never heard
that Mr. Flowers suffers from permanent
neurological damage due to his mother’s
severe alcohol abuse while she was pregnant.
Our team filed a post-conviction petition for
Mr. Flowers on August 16, 2006, and amended
petitions on May 2, 2011, and October 26,
2012. We engaged in discovery in the circuit
court, including deposing Mr. Flowers’ lead trial
attorney and obtaining a written report from
the State’s neuropsychologist.
Ultimately, thanks to the team’s diligence and
teamwork, the circuit court recognized that Mr.
Flowers had received ineffective assistance
of counsel during sentencing. In reversing
14
SIDLEY AUSTIN LLP
the sentence, it faulted his “[t]rial counsel’s
failure to obtain and present evidence of Mr.
Flowers’ abusive and neglectful childhood, his
pre-natal exposure to alcohol, his childhood
head trauma, and the resulting brain damage
and neurological problems.” Again, the team’s
commitment and collaboration on his behalf
for nearly ten years were extraordinary. Mr.
Flowers’ lawyers at Sidley had devoted more
than 10,000 hours to his case. The State has
appealed the decision to the Alabama Court of
Criminal Appeals, and Chicago partner Scott
Stein is leading Mr. Flowers’ appellate team,
which is due to file its brief in support of the
circuit court’s decision in early 2016.
Numerous Sidley attorneys have worked
on Mr. Flowers’ case since Sidley began its
representation, including Jessica Fishfeld,
David Miles,* Brad Robertson,* Susan
Brehm,* Raphaelle Monty,* Donovan
Borvan,* Caroline Schiff,* Tom Heisler* and
Sean Siekkinen.* The Flowers team has been
assisted by local counsel at Burr & Forman LLP
in Mobile, Alabama.
OTHER PROJECT MATTERS
Also in 2015, partner Eamon Joyce appeared
on behalf of Renard Daniel in the United States
Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.
Eamon argued that the district court and the
Alabama state courts erred in dismissing Mr.
Daniel’s ineffective assistance of counsel claims
because Mr. Daniel’s trial counsel failed to
investigate or present significant mitigating
evidence at sentencing. The jury thus never
heard that Mr. Daniel was repeatedly raped
by his stepfather, who also forced him to
commit incest with Mr. Daniel’s sisters; that he
is borderline intellectually disabled; and, that
when he was a boy, he was present when his
mother shot and killed his father. Nonetheless,
the state and federal courts had dismissed
Mr. Daniel’s ineffective assistance claims
without holding an evidentiary hearing or even
allowing discovery. The Eleventh Circuit has
yet to issue a decision in the case. Sidley
partner Michael Sackheim leads the Daniel
team, with assistance from Mark Brown
and Emily Bronner.
Sidley attorneys argued two death penalty cases
in the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals in
2015, including one case that the court selected
to be heard in a special session at Samford
University as part of a program to educate
students about the judicial system. Sidley
associates Ariella Thal Simonds and Melissa
Evidente argued on behalf of Matthew Reeves
at the Court of Criminal Appeals in Montgomery,
Alabama, in October. Sidley partners Jodi Lopez
and Ryan Sandrock led the Reeves team.
Sidley associates Larry Fogel and Kristen Rau
argued on behalf of John Calhoun at the special
session in Birmingham in November. Sidley partner
Mike Andolina leads the Calhoun team, which
also included associate Kelly Albinak Kribs.*
Kelly Albinak Kribs,* Kelly Huggins, Mike Andolina, Kristen
Rau and Larry Fogel following the oral argument in the
Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals in November.
Sidley has been representing Reprieve, a
human rights nongovernmental organization in
London, advising it on identifying the corporate
structure of a pharma company to establish
whether it is subject to EU rules limiting trade
in drugs used for the death penalty in the U.S.
As a result of this and other pressures, the
company concerned agreed to prevent supplies
of the drug.
Stephen Kinsella
Brussels
15
A conversation with
Q
JOHN GALLO
We recently spoke with John Gallo, partner and head of
Chicago’s litigation practice and leader of the Capital
Litigation Project. He discussed how the Project originated
and the many ways that the firm’s culture of teamwork is
reflected in our pro bono work.
16
SIDLEY AUSTIN LLP
Q
You were the driving force behind
the Capital Litigation Project.
What was involved in getting it
off the ground?
A number of lawyers were invited
by the U.S. District Court judges in
Chicago to an event where Robin
Maher, who was head of the ABA
Death Penalty Representation Project
at the time, made a very compelling
presentation that personalized
the plight of death row inmates.
I met with Robin afterward and we
talked about a strategy for Sidley
to respond. The core element of
the strategy from my perspective
was to identify a universe of people
who were interested in helping and
create teams with substantive legal
support. We then met with Bryan
Stevenson, the Executive Director
of the Equal Justice Initiative, who
gave an incredibly inspiring talk. It
really solidified everyone’s interest in
developing the Project.
In the first year, we took on 12 cases.
As the teams were coming together,
it became apparent to me that
we needed somebody who could
devote their time to developing
expertise in this area as well as
administering the Project. So I spoke
with then-associate Kelly Huggins
(now our Chicago Pro Bono Counsel)
and she agreed to take on that role.
We created the structure of the
Capital Litigation Project as a model,
and it has continued to work for the
other firmwide Projects. If someone
leaves, Kelly is immediately out
looking for someone else in one of
our many offices to join the team.
“The partnerships we have developed
throughout the course of these Projects are
really rich and supportive.”
—John Gallo
How important is pro bono work to
the firm’s culture?
The firm is committed to
dedicating three percent of our time
to pro bono work. Furthermore,
our obligation as lawyers is to
serve those who can’t afford
representation. So independent
of the firm’s commitment, it’s an
obligation that we absolutely must
meet. Additionally, the partnerships
we have developed throughout the
course of these Projects are really
rich and supportive. When you create
a fabric of support around the
lawyer, it makes it easy to do pro
bono work.
On a personal level, some of
the best experiences that have
happened to me in my career
have been in connection with pro
bono work. I have a letter that I
received from a client on death row
in Alabama that is one of my most
treasured possessions. He talks
about how the work of our firm
has given him hope in the face of
complete hopelessness. It’s a pretty
amazing letter.
What types of skills do lawyers gain
from working on these cases?
Pro bono work provides all of the
professionals here, particularly
the younger lawyers, with an
opportunity to gain unique and
important experience that they
wouldn’t necessarily gain on cases
for paying clients. There are a lot
more opportunities in these capital
cases for younger lawyers to be
thrown into the deep end of the
pool and learn how to swim than
would be typical for many of our
other cases. Our young lawyers are
so incredibly talented and smart
that in many circumstances, they
are giving attention to these cases
that has never been paid before.
It’s very affirming for them, because
they see that they can add value
pretty quickly. That’s empowering,
and it causes them to start thinking
strategically about cases in ways that
they may not when they’re lower in
the pecking order of a team.
Can you share some advice for
associates who are just beginning to
take on pro bono work?
These cases enable associates to get
experience faster than they would
in other contexts. They also get the
opportunity to work with lawyers in
the firm who they otherwise wouldn’t
get a chance to work with. Lawyers
from different subject-matter areas
across our offices come together on
these Projects, so it’s a chance to
build connections in that respect.
Even in the cases where there isn’t
the dramatic finding of not guilty,
that doesn’t equate to success. It’s
not just about winning at all. Success
often is having a relationship
with a client who recognizes that
somebody cares about them and is
looking out for their best interests.
A
17
Political Asylum and
Immigrants’ Rights Project
Helping asylum seekers and other indigent immigrants as they seek
legal status in the United States.
In 2006, we established a firmwide pro bono initiative to help indigent asylum
seekers and immigrants fleeing persecution abroad. Mel Washburn of our
Chicago office and Martin Gold of our New York office spearheaded the
initiative. In 2014, Russell Cass became the Project’s supervising partner in
Chicago, where Kelly Huggins serves as the Project Manager. Through the
Project, our lawyers handle asylum cases, Violence Against Women Act (VAWA)
cases, U visa cases, adjustments to lawful permanent residence and representation
of immigrant minors in Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS) cases.
YEAR STARTED: 2006
LAWYERS IN 2015: 90+
HOURS IN 2015: 7,482
CLIENTS IN 2015: 75+
CLIENTS FROM
In October, the Capital Area Immigrants’ Rights Coalition in
Washington, D.C. named Kwaku Akowuah to its Pro Bono
Honor Roll for his work in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the
Fourth Circuit on behalf of a Haitian immigrant.
18
SIDLEY AUSTIN LLP
20
COUNTRIES
We represent a Haitian immigrant
who has been in the United
States since 1984, was in a lawful
immigration status and is married to
a U.S. citizen. In 2013, immigration
authorities alleged that he had been
convicted of an aggravated felony
in 1996, took him into custody and
placed him in expedited removal
proceedings. The Sidley team filed
an emergency motion for a stay of
removal, which was granted one day
before our client’s scheduled removal.
Kwaku Akowuah, Chris Eiswerth,
Fran Faircloth, Quin Sorenson
D.C.
Sidley successfully represented a
young woman from Honduras in
her petition to the Dallas County
Family Court, which declared
that she had been abused or
neglected in her home country. We
obtained termination of her removal
proceedings and petitioned U.S.
Citizenship and Immigration Services
(USCIS) for Special Immigrant
Juvenile Status (SIJS). Our client
has received her work authorization
card and awaits a decision on her
immigration status.
We successfully represented an
immigrant from Honduras who had
been in removal proceedings since
2008. Sidley became involved in
his case in the Seventh Circuit,
after he had been denied relief in
immigration court. Sidley won a
remand for the client and in 2015,
Sidley submitted a merits brief and
other materials to the immigration
judge on remand. Based on those
submissions, the government
offered to close the case, which the
immigration judge approved.
In January, Sidley obtained U.S.
asylum for a gay man who fled his
native Jamaica to escape the violent
attacks and persecution he suffered
because of his sexual orientation.
We received this pro bono case
from Immigration Equality, a U.S.
nonprofit that offers free legal
services to LGBT and HIV-positive
immigrants.
Kendra Stead, Nick Tygesson, Russ
Cass with earlier assistance from
Laura Rottenborn,* Jim Fortosis,*
Mel Washburn, Hille Sheppard,
Catherine Stewart, Dave Gordon,
Liz Austin, Heather Benzmiller,*
Matt Saldaña, Aaron Keker,*
Mónica Rivera*
Chicago
The firm represented a man from
Mauritania who had been arrested,
imprisoned and tortured in
Mauritania because he is gay as he
sought asylum in the United States.
Our client received asylum in March.
Ike Adams, Craig Dukin, Lauren
Freeman, Ava Guo, Robert Keeling
D.C./New York
Maureen Crough, Talia Primor,
Erica Malin, Deborah Sands*
Redwan Saleh*
New York
Our lawyers obtained asylum for
a young man who fled Syria after
he was detained, interrogated and
beaten by the National Students
Union, an organization affiliated with
Syria’s Assad regime.
Cal Butcher, Kelley Conaty
Dallas
After years of motions, hearings
and negotiations with three different
prosecutors, Sidley secured an
agreement to close the removal
proceedings against our client,
who had lived in the U.S. for
16 years, and allow her to apply for
naturalization through one of her
U.S.-citizen children.
Benson Cohen, Sonia Marquez
New York
Pauline Abijaoude,* Dave Gordon,
Kelly Huggins, Kelly Albinak Kribs,*
Cate DeJulio*
Chicago
Ana Maria Velasquez and Marty Gold
Sidley obtained a U visa and
employment authorization for a
woman from Guatemala with whom
we’ve been working since 2013. Our
client suffered physical and mental
abuse by the man with whom she
lived in New York that eventually
led to her hospitalization in 2011, at
which time the abuse was reported
to the police.
We helped the son of a former
asylum client from Togo receive his
permanent residency in January of
this year. The former client’s whole
family has now obtained residency.
Christian Mutone, Kelly Huggins,
Adam McClay*
New York/Chicago
Marty Gold
New York
19
ADJUSTMENT OF
STATUS CLINIC
Since 2007, with the assistance of the National
Immigrant Justice Center (NIJC), Sidley’s
Chicago office has hosted quarterly clinics with
our client Exelon Corporation to help asylees
and refugees obtain lawful permanent resident
status and bring family members to the United
States. Each clinic begins with a training session
that NIJC conducts on how to complete the
applications, and NIJC staff members are
available during the clinic to answer questions.
In its first eight years, the clinic has served more
than 310 clients. In our quarterly clinics in 2015,
we helped 25 asylees and refugees from Sudan,
Rwanda, Colombia, Cameroon, Honduras,
Kyrgyzstan, Congo Brazzaville, Guatemala,
Ethiopia, Togo, Kenya, China and Ghana.
Sarah Losh,* Sarah Bermingham, Ashley Chi, Liv
Kiser, Marisa Young, Alyse Andalman,* Jonah
Roth,* David Weller, Ashley Wexner, Alexandria
Glispie, Michael Gustafson, Elise Addis,
Catherine Laughlin, Alan Bielawski, Amy Timm,
Laura Lyons, Kristen Rau, Sarah Newman,*
Dave Geiger, Andrew Nelson, Meredith Ritchie,
Rewati Bobade, Jeff McIntosh
NATIONAL
IMMIGRANT
JUSTICE CENTER
A
20
SIDLEY AUSTIN LLP
PROGRAM
DEFERRED ACTION FOR
CHILDHOOD ARRIVALS
(DACA) CLINIC
In July of 2015, with the assistance of the NIJC,
Sidley’s Chicago office hosted a clinic with our
client JP Morgan Chase to help young people
request Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals
(DACA) status. The clinic was part of the Pro
Bono Day of Service for JP Morgan Chase’s
legal department. We assisted 19 clients at
the clinic.
Kelly Huggins, David Weller, J.P. Hong,
Alexandria Glispie, Kathryn Sirolly, Rachel
Saunders, and Mike Gustafson and Sidley
paralegals Daniel Ruiz Bucio, Robin Faetz,*
Bethany Wagner, Yasmeen Manjee
Sidley’s pro bono partner Asian Americans
Advancing Justice—Asian Law Caucus named
Sidley its “Pro Bono Law Firm of the Year” at its
annual gala in April 2015. Heidi Larson Howell
accepted the award on the firm’s behalf, which
honored her work on the Ninth Circuit appeal
in Din v. Kerry.
SIGNIFICANT DEVELOPMENTS IN THE PROGRAM
In October, the Ninth Circuit affirmed summary
judgment in favor of a class of thousands of
detainees subject to prolonged detention in
Rodriguez v. Orzco. The decision represents
the third in a series of successful and
groundbreaking appeals on behalf of immigrants
detained in the Central District of California.
Sidley has devoted literally thousands of hours,
alongside the ACLU and Stanford’s Immigration
Rights Clinic, to achieve these victories.
Sean Commons, Wen Shen, Mark Haddad,
Alycia Degen, Geoffrey Deboskey*
Los Angeles
In March 2015, the New York office launched a
new pro bono partnership with the Legal and
Compliance Division of long-standing firm client
Morgan Stanley. This program partners Sidley
and Morgan Stanley lawyers on U visa pro
bono matters, in conjunction with Sanctuary for
Families, a nonprofit legal service provider and
advocate for survivors of domestic violence, sex
trafficking and related forms of gender violence.
Martin Jackson, Kevin Burke, Neil Corcoran,
Maureen Crough, Jonathan Fishner, Andrew
Hart, Daniel Perez
New York
John Skakun was honored by the National Immigrant Justice Center as a “Rising Star” at the NIJC’s
annual Human Rights Awards luncheon in May. John was recognized for his work on a number of
asylum matters through the NIJC. In 2011, John obtained asylum based on domestic violence for
a woman from Nepal. In 2013, John succeeded in obtaining administrative closure for two young
sisters who came to the United States from Honduras to escape abuse. He is currently representing
a young man from Honduras who fled to the safety of the United States to escape the powerful
gangs that were trying to recruit him.
Sidley was honored with the New York Legal Aid Society’s Pro Bono Publico Award on November
9, 2015. Sidley received the award for the work done by Dorothy Spenner, Sonia Marquez and
Kevin Kim* on a petition to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit to review a Board of
Immigration Appeals (BIA) decision ordering our client removed to Grenada. The appeal, which is
pending, focused on whether a particular offense constituted an “aggravated felony” and whether
the BIA properly considered our client’s social group (mentally-ill criminal deportees to Grenada
who have no support system within the country).
21
A conversation with
Q
KELLY HUGGINS
We talked to Kelly Huggins, Pro Bono Counsel in Chicago
and coordinator of the Capital Litigation Project and the
Political Asylum and Immigrants’ Rights Project. She shared
her thoughts on how the Projects have evolved over the years
and the myriad benefits of pro bono work for our lawyers.
22
SIDLEY AUSTIN LLP
Q
What are your main responsibilities
as coordinator of the Capital
Litigation and Political Asylum and
Immigrants’ Rights Projects?
I serve as a liaison to the Equal
Justice Initiative (EJI), the organization
that we partner with on our Capital
Litigation Project cases in Alabama.
The asylum cases come from several
referral sources, so I work with
organizations across the country
as part of that project. I’ve been
working on these cases for ten
years, so people come to me with all
types of substantive and procedural
questions. In addition, Emily Wexler
(attorney and leader of the Veterans
Benefits Project) and I host pro bono
recruitment sessions at Chicago’s new
associate orientation and meet with
laterals individually when they join the
firm. We get in early!
What led you to focus your practice
on pro bono work?
I joined the firm as a healthcare
associate in 2001 and began doing
pro bono work in addition to my
billable practice. Eventually, I
decided that my healthcare practice,
which involved a lot of travel, was
not conducive to my family life.
At the time, John Gallo (partner
and head of the Litigation group
in Chicago) and I were working
together on a death penalty case,
and he asked me if I would like to
take over coordination of the Capital
Litigation Project. It was a great
transition and perfect timing for me.
It has been very rewarding to serve
in a role where I can help our lawyers
get the best answer for the client
and provide reassurance that they’re
not alone in their pro bono cases.
“It has been very rewarding to serve in a role where
I can help our lawyers get the best answer for the
client and provide reassurance that they’re not alone
in their pro bono cases.”
—Kelly Huggins
How does the Capital Litigation
Project caseload today compare with
2005, when the Project was founded?
We took twelve death penalty
cases in Alabama in 2005. We have
taken ten more cases since then,
including one new case in 2015.
We currently represent eighteen
clients in Alabama post-conviction
proceedings. Alabama continues to
have a high death sentencing rate,
and EJI has recently reported that
they are having difficulty recruiting
pro bono counsel for cases that are
coming through the system now. But
the national trend is that the death
penalty is on the decline in other
states. Hopefully, there won’t be as
much of a need in the future.
What skills do associates gain from
working on pro bono cases?
Associates get great experience
with fact development on death
penalty cases, because they have
to thoroughly investigate the
facts before they can draft a postconviction petition. The associates
interview witnesses and work directly
with experts, which they may not be
able to do on a billable matter. They
also help strategize claims, and they
are typically responsible for the first
drafts of pleadings.
Political asylum cases offer
opportunities for transactional
attorneys to work directly with
clients and learn a new area of law.
Immigration court cases are also great
for young litigators, because they take
place in a trial-like setting, but the rules
of evidence don’t apply. It’s a good
way to get experience in front of a
judge and opposing counsel in a more
relaxed environment.
We also have a new pro bono
initiative in Chicago, the Municipal
Court Trial Program, which was
developed last year by the litigation
group leaders to help associates
gain more in-court experience. We
send volunteers to the Cook County
Municipal Court to assist clients
who need representation in small
claims cases. The associates love it,
because it allows them to get
in-court experience without a
lengthy time commitment.
Can you think of a recent case that had
a particularly rewarding outcome?
We have seen a surge of children
who are escaping gang violence in
Central America coming through
our Political Asylum Program. In one
case, two brothers were detained
at the United States border, and
we ultimately helped them apply
for asylum. When I was helping
them prepare for their asylum
interviews, the older brother broke
down and started crying because
he was so afraid of returning to
his home country. It was horrible!
On Christmas Eve 2014, they were
granted asylum. Since then, the
older brother has enrolled in school
and decided that he wants to be
a doctor. Their lives are already
so different from a year ago. It is
wonderful to see that progress and
be part of their lives as they move on.
A
23
Veterans Benefits Project
Helping disabled veterans gain access to fair and timely military
and VA benefits.
The Project, spearheaded by former partner (and now General Counsel of
the Legal Services Corporation) Ron Flagg, is managed by Emily Wexler
in Chicago. Many cases come from the National Veterans Legal Services
Program (NVLSP), which operates the nationwide referral network of
“Lawyers Serving Warriors.” The Project also helps veterans referred by:
Veterans Legal Support Center & Clinic at The John Marshall Law School,
the Veterans Consortium Pro Bono Program, Swords to Plowshares, the
Veterans Assistance Project of the New York City Bar Justice Center, the
American Bar Association’s Veterans’ Claims Assistance Network and
Metroplex Veterans Legal Services. We are proud to work on behalf of the
servicemen and servicewomen who have given so much to our country.
VETERANS CLINICS IN
HOUSTON AND DALLAS
In the fall of 2015, with the assistance of Dallas-based Metroplex Veterans
Legal Services, Sidley hosted clinics to help identify and screen veterans for
claims for Combat-Related Special Compensation. Each clinic began with
a training on the law of Combat-Related Special Compensation and how
to interview veterans to determine if they may have a claim. The lawyers
participating in the two clinics interviewed more than 60 veterans. We took
the claims of 28 veterans for further review and research to confirm the
merits of their cases.
Houston: Conrad Coutinho, Mary Isensee, Tom Leslie, Sarah Valenti
Dallas: Jamil Bata, Caitlin Bubar,* Kelley Conaty, Sacha Jamal, Fahad Juneja,
Kris Leftwich, Christa Powers, Ben Thomas
Chicago: Joshua Fogarty, Paige Levitt, Laura Lyons, Zach Paterick,
Lisa Schwartz, Emily Wexler (coordinator)
24
SIDLEY AUSTIN LLP
YEAR STARTED: 2007
VETERANS REPRESENTED: 200+
LAWYERS IN 2015: 132
LAWYER HOURS IN 2015: 4,900
We obtained a victory on behalf of a U.S. Air
Force veteran whose initial disability rating
that the VA assigned for his service-connected
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) was too
low. The VA increased our client’s disability
rating from 30 percent to 50 percent, entitling
him to additional payments, both retroactively
and prospectively.
The firm obtained a 100 percent disability
rating for a Vietnam War veteran with PTSD
for whom news of the wars in Iraq and
Afghanistan triggered his distressing memories
of Vietnam. The ruling entitled the veteran
to approximately $3,000/month in disability
compensation, and approximately $125,000
in retroactive payments.
Rick Artwick, Linton Childs, Joe Larson,*
Simon Saddleton
Chicago
Bob Watson, Steve Carlson, Sarah Newman*
Chicago
The firm secured Social Security disability
benefits for a U.S. Army veteran with PTSD
attributed to the 1983 Beirut barracks bombing
and the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center.
The ruling entitles the veteran to approximately
$2,500/month in disability compensation,
$49,100 in retroactive payments and $2,000/
month in insurance coverage for his spouse.
John Levi, Nadan Sehic
Chicago
Sidley obtained VA service-connected disability
benefits for a U.S. Army veteran who suffers
from PTSD after repeated sexual assaults
while in the military. The veteran’s 70 percent
disability rating entitles her to roughly $1,400/
month in disability income and a sizeable
retroactive award. She will also retroactively
receive a medical retirement from the Army,
which brings additional benefits.
The firm helped a veteran, who served in
peacetime and suffered from a knee injury
due to his service, obtain VA service-connected
benefits. The veteran had to fight for nine
years for benefits because his records had
been destroyed in a military fire, yet the
absence of those records was the basis for
the repeated denials.
Mark Blocker, Jennifer Foster,* Louani Bascara*
Chicago
The firm obtained a victory in the United States
Court of Federal Claims for an Army veteran
who had won an award of Combat-Related
Special Compensation, but a miscommunication
between government agencies delayed
the distribution of his award for more than
15 months. The veteran received his full payment
from the military after the complaint was filed.
Guy Neal, Kirsten Braun, Emily Wexler
D.C./Chicago
Arsen Ablaev,* Linton Childs, Adam Murad*
Chicago
25
In a number of cases before the United States
Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, an
Article I court authorized to review VA disability
decisions, Sidley attorneys obtained remand
orders for veterans whose VA disability claims
had been previously denied, thus requiring the
VA to re-assess their cases:
• A peacetime veteran for whom the VA
would not pay certain medical bills.
• A Navy veteran of the Vietnam War whose
claim for unemployability had been
assigned an improper effective date.
• An Army veteran of the Vietnam War
whose claim for glaucoma had been
erroneously denied.
• The widow of a Filipino soldier who had
been denied a death benefit pension despite
her husband’s service for the U.S. military.
• An Air Force veteran with multiple
disabilities who had been given an
inadequate medical opinion.
Raymond Atkins, Heather Benzmiller,*
David Diorio, Teague Donahey,* Robert Olian,
Timothy Payne
Chicago/Los Angeles/San Francisco/D.C.
Sidley prevailed before the United States Court
of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in a case
for a veteran whose appeal had been denied
because the lower court failed to adequately
notify him of submission deadlines.
Eugene Elrod, John Hebden
D.C.
Sidley teams in multiple offices obtained
Combat-Related Special Compensation (CRSC)
awards for 10 veterans in 2015. These veterans
served in various conflicts, including Iraq and
Afghanistan. These awards provide military
retirees with service-connected disabilities
an additional monthly disability income if
they can establish that their disabilities were
“combat-related.” For example, Oliver Liao
and Frank Bruno obtained CRSC benefits for
a retired Army Staff Sergeant who served in
Iraq and suffers from PTSD. The veteran had
previously applied and had his claim denied.
Thanks to the award, he received about
$30,000 in a retroactive award and will receive
approximately $700/month going forward.
Other attorneys who successfully handled CRSC
matters for their clients in 2015 are: Erik Carlson,
Theodore Chandler, Max Fischer, David
Giardina, Aimee Mackay, Todd Marcus, Chris
McAdam,* Sarah Newman,* William Nissen,
Cynthia Okechukwu, Ellen Robbins, Andrew
Talai,* Rachel Townsend, Lawrence Walders,
Tracy Williams
Chicago/Los Angeles/New York/D.C.
This year, the National Veterans Legal Services
Program’s annual celebration included
recognition of Sidley as NVLSP’s “Pro Bono
Partner of the Year”—an award in recognition
of the more than 30 years of support Sidley
has provided the organization. The event was
held on November 19 and Emily Wexler, who
manages the firmwide Veterans Benefits Project,
accepted the award on Sidley’s behalf.
On behalf of a U.S. Army veteran who suffers
from sleep apnea, we obtained an award of
service-connection and a disability rating of
50 percent from the VA, entitling him to roughly
$900/month in disability income, as well as a
retroactive award.
John Levi, Nadan Sehic, Emily Wexler
Chicago
Emily Wexler accepting the NVLSP Pro Bono Partner of the
Year Award on behalf of the firm, presented by journalist
and former CNN correspondent Jeanne Meserve on
November 19, 2015.
26
SIDLEY AUSTIN LLP
A conversation with
Q
EMILY WEXLER
We asked Emily Wexler, attorney in Chicago and coordinator
of the Veterans Benefits Project, to share her thoughts
on how the Project has evolved in recent years and the
opportunities that she sees for it to continue to grow
in the future.
28
SIDLEY AUSTIN LLP
Q
How did you become involved with
the Veterans Benefits Project?
I had been an associate at Sidley for
seven years when the opportunity
arose in 2007 to manage the Project.
What I like about this role is that I still
get to work on cases in addition to
running the program. We work with
different pro bono groups who screen
the cases for merit and then refer
them to us. I select the cases based
on how much time the lawyers have
and what skills they are looking to
utilize and grow. I enjoy serving as the
in-house mentor for the volunteers.
Has the caseload increased since the
Project was founded?
Yes, and it is due in large part to
some exciting developments in the
last few years. In 2014, we were
asked by Metroplex Veterans Legal
Services in Dallas to host a clinic to
identify potential veteran clients in
the area. The timing was perfect,
because I was looking for more
cases to meet the internal demand.
In 2015, we held another intake clinic
in Dallas and expanded to Houston.
The 2015 clinics alone resulted in
the firm investigating the claims of
approximately 30 veterans.
In addition to our Department
of Veterans Affairs (VA) benefits
and combat-related special
compensation cases, we have started
taking on discharge upgrade cases.
“We have a very good representation of lawyers
from across practice areas, so the interest level is
there to expand the Project further.”
—Emily Wexler
There are different gradients of
discharge status, honorable being
the best and dishonorable being
the worst, with points in between.
If the discharge status is sufficiently
low, the veteran is ineligible for VA
disability compensation, and they
might even be barred from going to
a VA hospital. These cases require a
lot of fact development, which is a
task for which our associates are wellsuited. They also learn how to tell
a compelling story about why their
client deserves a fresh start on life.
Can you describe a recent case that
was particularly successful?
We have had a couple of recent
cases that were completely life
changing for the clients. Last year,
we represented an Army veteran
who had been sexually assaulted
numerous times during her service
and had been diagnosed with posttraumatic stress disorder based
upon the attacks. Our team did an
amazing job of interviewing the
client and tracking down people
from earlier points in her life who
could corroborate changes in her
behavior over the years. The team
produced a heartbreaking but
extremely thorough submission, and
the client was awarded a disability
claim at 70 percent, which is about
$1,400 a month for the rest of her life
plus some back pay.
We also took a case last year from
the veterans clinic at John Marshall
Law School here in Chicago for a
veteran who served in Vietnam.
I think it is often a surprise to
people that many clients are older
veterans from prior wars. Our client
essentially went on with his life
after Vietnam and dealt with his
unhappiness until the wars in Iraq
and Afghanistan brought back a lot
of painful memories. The team was
able to find an expert to evaluate
the client, and he was awarded 100
percent disability, which amounts
to $3,000 a month, and almost
$100,000 in retroactive pay. These
are both wonderful examples of the
Sidley teams’ work and what we can
offer our clients.
A
How do you see the Project evolving
in the future?
I hope that we can continue to find
ways to grow the Project. A great area
of growth for us would be to host
screening and intake clinics in more
cities. I would also like to take on more
discharge upgrade clients. We have a
very good representation of lawyers
from across practice areas, so the
interest level is there to expand the
Project further.
29
Sidley partners with
San Francisco nonprofit to
help veterans heal
Veterans returning to civilian life in the San Francisco Bay Area have benefited from the
guidance of Swords to Plowshares for more than 40 years. The nonprofit provides housing,
health and social services, and job training to local veterans from all backgrounds. The
organization also refers those seeking help obtaining disability benefits to lawyers at Sidley,
which began working with Swords to Plowshares in 2013.
“A lot of other organizations wait until a veteran has been
denied or perhaps has not gotten as high of an award
as they had expected,” said Jennifer Gaspar, an associate
in Sidley’s San Francisco Litigation group. “Swords to
Plowshares takes a slightly different approach: They focus
on helping veterans with the entire preparation of
their disability benefits application from the beginning,”
she explained.
30
SIDLEY AUSTIN LLP
Sidley has long been committed to providing pro bono
legal assistance to servicemen and servicewomen. The
firm’s Veterans Benefits Project, established in 2007,
gives volunteer lawyers the opportunity to take on
cases from several veterans groups, including Swords to
Plowshares, where Gaspar began her pro bono work with
veterans last year.
Gaspar’s first case for the organization involved helping a
Navy veteran with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
submit a disability benefits claim to the Department of
Veterans Affairs (VA). Veterans seeking benefits from the
VA must prove that they currently have a disability that
can be linked to an illness or injury during service. The
criteria for eligibility can be difficult to decipher.
“The disability ratings are given on a particular scale,
so depending on the injury, there is a very complicated
set of criteria where they match your type of injury
or symptoms with a percentage rating,” Gaspar said.
The VA’s rating scale ranges from as little as zero to
100 percent.
Gaspar pointed out that the VA had changed that
criteria in the aftermath of the recent wars in Iraq and
Afghanistan and that it is therefore now a bit easier to
prove a claim for PTSD that was incurred in combat.
“But our client was not in combat, so even though he
witnessed a series of gruesome accidents and other
events during his time in the service, he still had to meet
a pretty high bar,” she recalled.
After meeting with the client, who had served in several
roles while in the Navy, Gaspar, a member of the Pro
Bono Advisory Board of Swords to Plowshares, and
former partner Teague Donahey compiled the client’s
military and medical records and interviewed several of
his colleagues, who provided witness statements. This
evidence collection process can be challenging in cases
involving vets with PTSD, which is often associated with
memory problems.
A just result
Despite the obstacles, Gaspar and Donahey obtained
a 70 percent disability rating for their client. He is now
receiving benefits worth more than $1,400 every month,
where previously he had none, as well as a retroactive
award worth approximately $17,000.
“It was a big deal, because the VA is very slow, so it was a
surprise when we found out,” said Gaspar. They are still
working to obtain a 100 percent disability rating, which
would almost double the client’s benefits.
Building on our pro bono commitment
In the last year, Sidley’s lawyers in San Francisco have
taken on four additional matters from Swords to
Plowshares, including another matter that Gaspar is
currently working on. “I have certain knowledge about
the VA disability process from my first case that has
already benefited me in my second veteran’s case,” she
said. “I would like to continue working on veterans cases
because every case builds your depth of knowledge.”
Kate Richardson, Staff Attorney and Pro Bono Manager
for Swords to Plowshares, expressed her gratitude for
the results Sidley has achieved on behalf of those who
serve our country. “Sidley Austin’s attorneys have made
significant contributions to Swords to Plowshares’ Pro
Bono Program and the lives of our veteran clients,”
she said. “We look forward to continuing to grow our
relationship with Sidley in the months and years ahead.”
“You really have to do a lot of work that maybe is pretty
basic for us, but for someone who has never dealt with
regulations and administrative processes, it can be pretty
intimidating and overwhelming,” Gaspar said. “He really
needed someone to help him navigate the process.”
31
Africa-Asia Agricultural
Enterprise Program
Giving innovative agricultural-related enterprises the tools to succeed.
In 2012, we launched our first firmwide international pro bono initiative.
Harnessing the experience of our lawyers around the world, we provide
strategic and technical know-how for the benefit of the poorest people in
rural communities in sub-Saharan Africa and less-developed countries in Asia.
The Program, led by Scott Andersen in Sidley’s Geneva office, allows
lawyers to engage with a range of entities working toward agricultural and
economic growth in Africa and Asia. These include producer and trade
associations, cooperatives, not-for-profit organizations, foundations, funds,
banks, microfinance and insurance providers, private sector advisory services,
intergovernmental organizations, universities and individuals. We also partner
with a range of NGOs, government and private sector entities, including the
International Fund for Agricultural Development, the World Bank, Ernst
& Young, PriceWaterhouseCoopers, Technoserve, CNFA, ACDI/VOCA,
FairTrade International, Trustlaw and Self Help Africa. Vanessa Fox, also in
Geneva, is the Program Director.
YEAR STARTED: 2012
LAWYERS IN 2015: 139
worldwide
HOURS SINCE THE
PROGRAM’S INCEPTION: 21,790
COUNTRIES REPRESENTED: 29
CLIENTS: 84
The major components of the Program are:
• Trade advice
• Market access through
advice on compliance with
regulatory measures
• Intellectual property, trademark
and plant variety protection
• Investment and finance advice
• Franchising and dealer networks
Sidley’s Africa-Asia Agricultural Enterprise Pro Bono Program was recognized in the “Pro Bono/Public Service”
category at The American Lawyer Transatlantic Legal Awards. The awards recognize “noteworthy lawyers and firms
in transatlantic matters.” In its September edition, The American Lawyer published an article on the Africa-Asia
Agricultural Enterprise Pro Bono Program. The article, entitled “At Sidley Austin, A Pro Bono Project Involves
Hundreds,” quoted Scott Andersen (Geneva) and Jung-ui Sul (Brussels), who co-founded the program in 2012,
as well as Colette van der Ven (Geneva), Torrey Cope (D.C.) and Joshua Hofheimer (LA/Palo Alto).
32
SIDLEY AUSTIN LLP
33
Working with local counsel, we helped
Alam Sehat Lestari, an innovative nonprofit
that focuses on environmental and human
health in rural Indonesia, draft and finalize
an agreement with a contractor for the
construction of a hospital.
Greg Salathé, Melati Tobing,
Mohammed Alvi*
Singapore
AKM Glitters Company Ltd. is helping
develop Tanzania’s economy by providing
business and economic assistance to the
country’s chicken farmers and poultry industry.
We help this innovative Tanzanian company
on documentation, contractual and general
IP matters.
Mark Dodd, Daniel Allison,
Tennie Tam, Ronalee Biasca*
Geneva/Dallas/Houston/New York
Medeem LLC is a Ghanaian company with
operations in Ghana and Zambia whose
mission is to provide affordable and accessible
land tenure service to those at the bottom
of the economic pyramid. We are helping
Medeem with a licensing agreement and
trademark protection.
Mark Dodd, David DeZern,
Regina Addo
Geneva/Dallas
United Africa Fruit Company, Ltd.
We are assisting in setting up a U.S. 501(c)(3)
and in the review of investment and
shareholder agreements.
Gary Kaplan,* Jason Griffith*
San Francisco/Palo Alto/Chicago
We are working with Farmerline Limited,
a Ghana-based technology innovator that
develops digital content and mobile apps
for farmers to provide weather forecasts and
other relevant information. The company also
sends voice messages in five different local
languages to users unable to read. Our work
for Farmerline includes reviewing term sheets,
drafting operational agreements and licensing
agreements, and providing intellectual
property advice.
Nancy Corbett, Robert M. Brown, Alexandria
Glispie, Jonathan Babb,*
Wonjoo Suh, Regina Addo
Geneva/London/Chicago
D.C./New York
We continued to represent the Bangladesh
Shrimp and Fish Foundation (BSFF) in 2015.
Sidley team members prepared a presentation
for BSFF leadership to present during
Bangladesh’s National Fisheries Week that
highlighted the new Code of Conduct, on which
Sidley provided advice, and which supports
the growth of the shrimp and fish industry by
setting industry-wide standards for food safety
and environmental responsibility.
Diane McEnroe, Maurits Lugard,
Josefine Sommer, Sarah Panis,
Sarah Goldstein
New York/Brussels
34
SIDLEY AUSTIN LLP
In December 2015, our client, One Acre Fund
(OAF), closed on an $8 million line of credit
provided by a consortium of lenders led by The
Gilson Family Trust. The proceeds will be used
to purchase seeds, fertilizer and other inputs
needed by smallholder farmers in remote
areas of Africa. OAF provides financing for
farm inputs, distribution of seed and fertilizer,
training on agricultural techniques and market
facilitation to maximize profits from harvest
sales. Currently working in Kenya, Rwanda,
Burundi and Tanzania, OAF helps individual
farmers improve their harvests, pull themselves
out of poverty and thus reduce hunger in
their communities. The Sidley team (Frances
Feng—Singapore, with Josue Tinoco and
Pamela Martinson—Palo Alto) also is working
on a $10 million line of credit to be provided by
the Overseas Private Investment Corporation,
expected to close in early 2016. This line
will provide long-term funding for OAF to
buy and finance even more farm inputs for
smallholder farmers.
“I wanted to work with OAF because of my
experience with family farmers in Africa. I spent time
in rural African communities, working side-by-side
with villagers to build schools for their children. I’ve
worked in the fields with the women of the village,
and tried the backbreaking work of farming by hand.
Children may not go to school because they are
needed in the fields, and still barely enough food for
the family is produced. Education is key to breaking
this cycle of poverty, and OAF’s program, which
brings inputs to the farmers and educates them on
agricultural techniques, helps the entire community.
OAF also develops leadership skills among the
farmers, allowing for meaningful career paths, even
for women. I’m glad I can put my skills as a finance
lawyer to work for an organization that is addressing
so directly the problem of poverty in our world.”
—PAMELA MARTINSON
35
“The development experts we collaborate
with recognize that effective legal services can really
grow and make sustainable these businesses.”
—Scott Andersen
A conversation with
SCOTT ANDERSEN
We spoke with Scott Andersen, co-managing partner in Geneva and leader of the
Africa-Asia Agricultural Enterprise Pro Bono Program, who highlighted the important
work that the Program has accomplished in developing economies.
Talk a little about the innovative Africa-Asia Agricultural
Enterprise Pro Bono Program, which you co-founded in
2012 and manage out of Geneva.
There is a huge need for high-quality legal services for
small and mid-sized businesses and NGO organizations
working in the agricultural supply chain in Africa
and poorer parts of Asia. Such services can improve
the incomes and livelihoods of poor rural African,
mostly women, farmers. The development experts we
collaborate with recognize that effective legal services
can really grow and make sustainable these businesses.
I spend about 20–25 percent of my time on managing
the Program. We just hired two coordinators, one from
the Caribbean and one from Ghana, who are helping
with administrative and client development work.
36
SIDLEY AUSTIN LLP
While the epicenter of the management of the pro bono
program is here in Geneva, the lawyers working for our
85 or so clients are all over the world. We have several
lawyers in Geneva working on projects, but there are
450 other lawyers from 18 different offices making
significant contributions to the program. In the long run,
that will definitely help us develop business in Africa
and Asia. We may well become known as one of the
international firms that really understands and can work
in Africa and Asia. Those markets are growing rapidly
and are going to continue to expand in the next 10 to 20
years. By then, we will have cultivated lawyers who know
a lot about the regulatory landscape in Africa because of
the Program. That kind of knowledge will help our clients
and it will also help further the development of that part
of the world.
Ram Burshtine, Jessica Ho,* Kevin Saunders, Assistant GC at ACCION, Mary Chaffin, GC at ACCION, Alyssa Grikscheit, Michael Schlein, CEO of
ACCION, Paulo Markossian Nunes,* Javier Fierro, Octavio Hernandez,* Janet Zagorin, Client Services Officer
OUR INTERNATIONAL IMPACT
Sidley has worked with ACCION International, a nonprofit focused on microfinance and related sectors, for a number
of years. Our most recent work for ACCION includes:
• Advising the organization in connection with the sale
to Access Microfinance Holding AG of ACCION’s
majority stake in Accion Microfinanças SCMEPP S.A.,
a nonprofit microfinance institution in northern Brazil.
Following the Central Bank of Brazil’s authorization, the
transaction closed in early January 2015.
• Advising Early Dawn Microfinance Company Limited’s
purchase of a Myanmar microfinance program owned
by Save the Children International. The microfinance
program currently has almost 30,000 clients and
a gross microfinance loan portfolio in excess of
$2 million.
• Advising, with local counsel, on establishing Early
Dawn Microfinance Company Limited, a Myanmar
entity, and its parent, Dawn Myanmar Microfinance Pte.
Ltd., a Singapore company ACCION helped found.
This transaction was the first microfinance M&A
transaction of its kind in Myanmar.
Alyssa Grikscheit, Ram Burshtine, Jessica Ho,* Octavio
Hernandez,* Lisa Avellini, Bethany Burrow,* Jeremy
Leggate,* Paulo Markossian Nunes,* Christian Brause,
Stefania Salles Bruins,* Brittany Dillman,* Carolina Faria
Lemos,* Michael Greenblatt*
New York/London
37
Protecting
Individual and
Public Rights
In addition to our firmwide projects, our lawyers
have served pro bono clients in virtually every
area of the law, from individual actions to recover
disability benefits and child support to major cases
affecting voting rights, the First Amendment, youth
detention and marriage equality across the country.
Sidley filed an amicus brief on behalf of retired
military officials and veterans groups in the
marriage equality cases in the U.S. Supreme
Court in Obergefell v. Hodges, 135 S. Ct.
2584 (2015). On April 20, The New York Times
published an article on Sidley’s brief in support
of the petitioners in the same-sex marriage
cases, which argued that the patchwork of
marriage laws around the country hurts military
families and threatens national security. The
Court’s opinion in these historic cases reflects
its recognition of the profound dehumanization
that such laws can cause service members
(which we also explained to the Court in
Windsor, the Defense of Marriage Act case).
Carter Phillips, Joe Guerra, John Hebden, Julia
Mirabella, Christopher Eiswerth, Eamon Joyce,
Randy Luce
D.C./New York
Sidley successfully represented the American
College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists
(ACOG) as amicus curiae in the Iowa Supreme
Court on behalf of the plaintiffs in Planned
Parenthood of the Heartland, Inc. v. Iowa
Board of Medicine, which challenged
the constitutionality of the Iowa Board of
Medicine’s rule prohibiting the administration
of medication abortions via telemedicine.
ACOG’s brief argued that the rule actually
increased health risks for Iowa women, that it
had no basis in medicine or science, and that
it unreasonably impinged upon the physicianpatient relationship. The court agreed, holding
that the rule violated the state constitution.
Audrey Austin, Andrew Chinsky, Dan Craig,
Patrick Croke, Lynn Fleisher, Holly Harrison,
Allison Reimann
Chicago
40
SIDLEY AUSTIN LLP
In December, The National Law Journal
published an article on the amicus brief
that Sidley filed on behalf of the Children’s
Defense Fund and its affiliates and other
children’s advocacy groups in support of the
appellees in Evenwel v. Abbott, a high-profile
case that the U.S. Supreme Court heard in
December. The article, entitled “How Children
Emerged as Key Players in ‘One Person, One
Vote’ Case,” quoted David R. Carpenter
(LA), who co-authored the brief with Cam
Kerry (Boston/D.C.), Jose Sanchez (LA), and
Cory Szczepanik and Cal Butcher (both in
Dallas). The brief emphasizes the interests of
children—the largest segment of the nonvoting
population—as a fundamental reason why total
population, rather than voting population, is a
constitutionally proper basis for apportioning
state legislative districts.
A Sidley team partnered with the ACLU in R.J. v.
Jones, 12-cv-07289 (N.D. Ill.), an action against
the Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice
(IDJJ) seeking to improve conditions for young
people confined at the state’s juvenile justice
facilities. The case settled and the ACLU, courtappointed monitors and IDJJ have worked to
craft new Department policies affecting various
aspects of youth confinement. In perhaps the
most significant development in the litigation,
in May, Judge Kennelly approved our proposed
policy effectively banning solitary confinement
of juveniles in Illinois. This is the most progressive
policy in the nation on a practice experts have
long recognized as damaging to young people,
especially those with mental illness.
Kevin Fee, Maja Eaton, Joe Dosch
Chicago
Protecting Individual Rights
On February 23, 2015, Sidley secured an order
dismissing a state court lawsuit against the City
of Glendale, California, challenging a peace
monument dedicated to the victims of war
crimes committed by the Japanese Imperial
Army during World War II. The complaint
alleged that the monument violated the U.S.
and California Constitutions. Sidley moved
to strike under California’s anti-SLAPP statute,
which provides expedited procedures to
challenge lawsuits that target a defendant’s
conduct in furtherance of its speech or petition
rights. At issue were the rights of state and local
governments to speak and educate the public
about matters of historical significance. Sidley
is currently defending the judgment on appeal.
In September 2015, Glendale and Sidley were
awarded over $150,000 in attorney’s fees in
connection with the motion, which Sidley
donated to five public interest organizations
in the LA area. A federal district court had
dismissed an earlier lawsuit making similar
claims, and Sidley is currently defending that
judgment on appeal before the Ninth Circuit.
• A transgender woman who was denied
gender-affirming hormone therapy while
a prisoner at an Illinois Department of
Corrections (IDOC) facility, even though the
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
had previously held that the Constitution
requires such treatment. Hille Sheppard,
Simone Jones, Kelly Albinak Kribs,* Aryn
Evans, Stephanie Stern, Daniel Greenfield
Chris Munsey, Laura Richardson,* Brad Ellis,
Frank Broccolo,* Patrick Kennell,* Matt Light,
Stan Molever,* Rebecca Allemand, Adam
Micale, Debbie Kelly, Claudia Espinoza,
Eva Huber, Laurie Cameron
Los Angeles
In 2015, the following Sidley attorneys also
worked on federal civil rights cases under the
program: Richard O’Malley, Rae Bimmerle,
Audrey Austin, Neil Nandi, Mike Doss,
Allison Reimann, Jessica Rothenberg, Jamie
Gliksberg, Jack Bierig, Veena Gursahani,
John Leahy, Joshua Fogarty, Debra Stanek,
Shelby Feuerbach, Leslie Kuhn-Thayer,
Jessica Beringer, William Baumgartner,
Raquel Rodriguez, Walter Carlson, Menesh
Patel, Andrew Chinsky, Mark Blocker, Maria
Post, Catherine Stewart, John Gallo, William
Bruce, Jessica Fishfeld, Daniel Spira, Linton
Childs, Larry Fogel, Chris Lee, Jim Ducayet,
John Skakun, Scott Lassar, Jaya Gupta, Bruce
Braun, Ashley Martin, Jackie Pruitt, Rachel
Goldberg, Matt Saldaña
In 2015, at the request of judges of the Northern
District of Illinois, 54 Sidley Chicago attorneys
devoted almost 7,000 hours to representing
pre-trial detainees, convicted persons and others
to prosecute federal civil rights claims pursuant
to 42 U.S.C. § 1983. These cases typically are
predicated on allegations that state corrections
personnel violated a clearly-established federal
right. This project, managed by Chicago pro
bono attorney Daniel Greenfield, offers Sidley
attorneys an opportunity to protect important
constitutional rights such as the Eighth
Amendment’s prohibition against cruel and
unusual punishment. Our clients in 2015 included:
• An IDOC inmate who suffers from several
serious congenital disorders and, as a result,
requires several inexpensive medical devices,
which the prison contractor has refused to
provide for years despite their low cost. Bob
Scarborough, Elizabeth Chiarello, Nisha
Chandran, Caitlin Maly, Daniel Greenfield
• A Cook County Jail inmate who was
denied surgery for several years to correct
a dangerous and painful hernia. Melanie
Walker, Kathleen Carlson, Adam Murad,*
Laura Sexton, Daniel Greenfield
Chicago
41
SEEKING JUSTICE
FOR CRIMINAL
DEFENDANTS
Northwestern Pritzker School of
Law Supreme Court Clinic
Since 2006, Sidley has sponsored
the U.S. Supreme Court Clinic with
the Northwestern Pritzker School
of Law. Students who participate
help brief (primarily criminal) cases
on the merits and identify court of
appeals and state supreme court
decisions as potential candidates for
petitions for writs of certiorari, all in
partnership with the firm’s pro bono
program. In 2015, the Clinic filed ten
cert. petitions and three cert. stage
reply briefs. The Clinic also filed
seven briefs on the merits on behalf
of a party, as well as several briefs
as amicus curiae at both the petition
and merits stages. The Law School
also sponsors guest instructors and
in 2015, those instructors included
Justice Elena Kagan, who offered
her perspective on excellence in
advocacy. United States Solicitor
General Donald Verrilli also
explained the workings of his Office
and Jeffrey Minear, Counselor to
the Chief Justice of the United
States, taught a class on the Court’s
42
SIDLEY AUSTIN LLP
original jurisdiction. U.S. District
Judge Gary Feinerman, a Sidley
alumnus and former Illinois Solicitor
General, spoke to the students
about advocacy on behalf of States
in the United States Supreme
Court. Carter Phillips, Executive
Committee Chair, and Jeff Green,
firmwide Chair of the Pro Bono
and Public Interest Law Committee,
direct the Clinic. Additional
members of Sidley’s Appellate
Group who taught in 2015 include
Tacy Flint and Rob Hochman and
Washington Pro Bono Counsel
Becky Troth. Legal assistants Erin
Lyons, Meg Huntington* and
Amanda Blau* supported the
clinic’s activities.
Clinic cases in 2015 included:
Sidley and the Supreme Court
Clinic successfully represented an
excessive force plaintiff in Kingsley
v. Hendrickson, a U.S. Supreme
Court case decided in a 5-4 ruling
that clarified the constitutional
protections for pretrial detainees.
In an incident while awaiting trial
in a Wisconsin county jail, Sidley’s
client was tased by jail officers
while lying face down with his
hands cuffed behind his back. The
detainee sued the officers, claiming
an unconstitutionally excessive use
of force, but lost at trial after the
judge instructed the jury that a
detainee must prove officers acted
with a subjective “reckless disregard”
for his rights. Sidley successfully
petitioned for certiorari, drafted
Supreme Court merits briefs, and
helped trial counsel prepare for oral
argument. The Court agreed with
Sidley’s arguments, holding that,
when a jail officer deliberately uses
force, the Fourteenth Amendment
requires a detainee to prove only
that the force was objectively
unreasonable—the same standard
that applies to police officers’ use
of force against suspects. After the
ruling, Sidley’s client was granted a
new trial.
Jeffrey Green, Adam Hallowell,
Steven Horowitz, Marisa West,*
Jeremy Bylund*
D.C./Chicago
Sidley helped obtain a significant
victory on behalf of Anthony Ray
Hinton, who was freed in 2015
after nearly 30 years on death row.
Working with the Clinic, we had
drafted an amicus brief in 2013
for The Constitution Project in
support of Mr. Hinton. The brief
urged the U.S. Supreme Court to
grant certiorari and hold that the
petitioner had received ineffective
assistance of counsel because his
counsel failed to retain a competent
expert to challenge critical forensic
evidence. In February 2014, the
Supreme Court agreed and
summarily vacated the decision
of the Alabama Court of Criminal
Appeals. On remand, the state court
ruled that Mr. Hinton was entitled
to a new trial. The prosecution
subsequently dropped all charges
against Mr. Hinton, after its experts
concluded that the forensic evidence
was insufficient.
Jeffrey Green, Erika Maley,
Jeremy Bylund*
D.C.
In Jennings v. Stephens, a capital
case that Sidley handled with the
Clinic, the district court had granted
habeas relief to Sidley’s client on
a single ineffective assistance
of counsel claim based on two
allegations of deficient performance.
The state appealed and in the
Fifth Circuit, our client raised the
allegation of deficient performance
that the district court had rejected
in his brief in support of the
judgment. The Fifth Circuit held that
it lacked jurisdiction to consider the
cross-point because our client had
not filed a notice of appeal. The
Supreme Court reversed, citing the
rule that an appellee need not file a
cross appeal if he is defending the
judgment on alternative grounds.
Jeffrey Green, Erika Maley,
Paul Sampson*
D.C.
In Rodriguez v. United States, the
Supreme Court held that our
client’s Fourth Amendment rights
were violated when, after police
completed a stop for a traffic
infraction, they detained him
to conduct a dog sniff, without
probable cause or reasonable
suspicion. In a far-reaching opinion,
the Court held that police officers
executing traffic stops cannot delay
such a stop longer than necessary to
effectuate the purpose of the stop.
Sidley attorneys, working with the
Clinic, represented two capital
defendants before the United
States Supreme Court in Kansas
v. Gleason and Kansas v. Carr. The
team filed two briefs on behalf of
the respondents urging the Court
to uphold Kansas Supreme Court
decisions that had identified two
separate Eighth Amendment flaws
in the defendants’ sentencing
proceedings. The first issue, shared
by Jonathan Carr and Sidney
Gleason, concerned the failure of
the court to instruct the jury that
the mitigating evidence introduced
by defense attorneys during the
sentencing phase need not be
proven beyond a reasonable doubt.
The second brief argued that the
joint sentencing proceedings, which
placed Mr. Carr in the courtroom
alongside his older brother,
prejudiced Mr. Carr in violation of
his right to individualized sentencing.
Jeff Green argued both cases before
the Court in October 2015.
Jeff Green, Virginia Seitz, Tobias
Loss-Eaton, Clayton Northouse,
Brian Corman,* Kelly Rosencrans,
Erin Lyons, Amanda Blau,* Meg
Huntington*
D.C./San Francisco
Jeffrey Green
D.C.
43
A LONG-AWAITED VICTORY
On April 16, 2015, a Sidley team obtained an order requiring the release
of client Freddie Chacon from prison. Chacon had been sentenced to life
without the possibility of parole (LWOP) at the age of 16 for a non-homicide
offense. He served at California’s Pelican Bay maximum security prison for
nearly 22 years, 17 of which were in solitary confinement. The high-profile pro
bono case has attracted substantial media attention, as it raised two major
issues: (1) sentencing juvenile offenders to LWOP and (2) California’s practice
of placing prisoners in indefinite solitary confinement. This victory came after
nearly four years of litigation by Sidley lawyers.
Doug Axel, Jaime Bartlett, Jennifer Gaspar, Matt Light, Chris Munsey,
Thom Berninzoni, Darlene Giusti
Los Angeles/San Francisco
Lawyers in the New York office continued their pro bono criminal defense
work in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York through
their membership in the SDNY’s Criminal Justice Act Panel, a program in
which the court appoints private attorneys to represent federal criminal
defendants unable to afford counsel.
Tim Treanor and Dave Rody (both led the project), Todd Beaton Jr., Michael
Mann, Eamon Joyce, Kenneth Meyer, Michael Morrissey, Mark Taticchi, David
Denton,* Elizabeth Espinosa, Pouneh Aravand, Michael Dorfman-Gonzalez,
Thaddeus Kleckley, Tian Wen, Angela Zhu, Dana Angood, Melanie Berdecia,
Amy Wang
New York
In June 2015, Sidley lawyer Ashley Martin, working with a former assistant
U.S. attorney who is now a criminal defense attorney, won a criminal jury trial
on behalf of our client, who had been charged with unlawful possession of a
weapon by a felon. The two-day jury trial involved four witnesses (two police
officers, our client and our client’s friend). Ashley cross-examined one of the
police officers and helped prepare the examinations of the other witnesses
and the closing argument. At the end of the trial, the jury found the defendant
not guilty on all charges.
Ashley Martin
Chicago
44
SIDLEY AUSTIN LLP
Our client Freddy Chacon arrives in Mexico
to be reunited with his family.
A SECOND CHANCE
A Sidley team recently won a series of pro bono victories on behalf of a
client as part of our work with the East Bay Community Law Center’s Clean
Slate Clinic. Our client ran away from an abusive home when she was 14
years old, became addicted to drugs and was convicted of violating multiple
laws between 1973 and 1999. Soon after her last conviction, she turned
her life around and dedicated herself to helping others in similar situations.
She has been sober for over 15 years, put herself through undergraduate
and graduate school, and is working as a social worker. Her criminal record,
however, prevented her from working as a Licensed Social Worker and
securing gainful employment. Sidley obtained dismissals of all 13 targeted
convictions in five Bay Area counties, thereby helping clear the path for
our client’s licensing.
Sidley received the East Bay
Community Law Center’s Pro Bono
Award at the 10th anniversary of the
Clean Slate Clinic in September.
Ezekiel Rauscher, Christopher Rendall-Jackson, Renée Pesiri
San Francisco
Left: Joshua Hill, San Francisco Chair of Sidley’s Pro Bono and Public Interest Law
Committee, accepting the East Bay Community Law Center’s Pro Bono Award.
Right: Nana Duffuor, Donor Relations Officer for the Center, and Joshua Hill.
Sidley attorneys participated in the IMPACT Second Chances Clinic, along
with Cabrini Green Legal Aid attorneys, in this innovative project that helps
individuals seek relief for a criminal conviction. We helped two clients apply
for a Health Care Waiver with the Department of Public Health that will
allow them to obtain employment in a health care setting, despite their
past misconduct.
Heba Elayan, Kristen Rau, Lisa Southerland, Stephanie Steele
Chicago
45
Serving Our
Neighbors in Need
We recognize our profound responsibility to
provide services to individuals and organizations in
our communities otherwise unable to afford legal
representation. Working together, our lawyers use
their skills and experience to help transform
lives in many ways.
MUNICIPAL COURT
TRIAL PROGRAM
In 2015, Sidley’s Chicago office launched a new program
through which associates volunteer to represent pro
se litigants in the Cook County Circuit Court Municipal
Department in small claims cases. Sidley associates assist
in settlement negotiations and represent parties at trial
in cases that do not settle. Sidley associates successfully
obtained awards for a variety of clients through the
program. Chad Schafer and Chris Meyer spearhead
the program, which is coordinated by Emily Wexler
and Kelly Huggins.
Eric Schmitt,* Gwen Stewart, William Bruce, Dan Craig,
Sara Losh,* Allison Reimann, Joe Dosch, Adam Murad,*
Andrew Chinsky, Natalie Chan, John Leahy, Emily Van
Wyck, Aryn Evans, Alexis Dunton, Karim Basaria, Laura
Sexton, John Thornton,* Rae Bimmerle, Veena Gurshani,
Ryan Phelan, Jessica Rothenberg, Simone Jones, Angie
Weis, Kristen Rau, Liz Austin, Stephen McInerney, Matt
Fogelberg, Tara Amin, Katie Durick,* Jackson Garvey,
Neil Nandi, Chris Lee
Chicago
HELPING CHILDREN
AND FAMILIES
Sidley successfully renegotiated a child visitation
agreement for a mother who has been involved in highly
contentious legal proceedings with her former husband
for over two years and was granted a restraining order
against him. The team worked with the Los Angeles
Center for Law & Justice.
Rachael Rezabek, Ellen Robbins
Los Angeles
D.C. hosted a breakfast with the Children’s Law Center
on June 4, to hear from Dr. Mark McClellan, a senior
fellow and director of the Health Care Innovation and
Value Initiatives at the Brookings Institution, who spoke
about the impact of health care reform on improving
children’s health. Dr. McClellan is a former administrator
of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS)
and former commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug
Administration (FDA).
Dave Wharwood,* Jim Stansel, Dr. Mark McClellan and Becky Troth.
Sidley attorneys successfully represented a client at trial
before an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) of the Illinois
Department of Children and Family Services. Our client
was indicated for child abuse and child neglect as a
result of two incidents last summer: her five-month-old
daughter fell off of a couch, and then, three days later, fell
off of a bed. There have been no other incidents, before
or since, with her daughter or her five-year-old son. Our
client took her daughter to the emergency clinic both
times, even though her daughter had only a small head
abrasion. The second doctor called DCFS. The witnesses
at trial included our client, two of her family members,
the indicating doctor and a DCFS supervisor. The
ALJ issued a written opinion rejecting all charges and
expunging them from the DCFS registry. This important
victory for the client makes it possible for her to obtain
employment again in environments where she interacts
with children.
John Thornton,* Dave Gordon, and Sam Gilbertson
Chicago
48
SIDLEY AUSTIN LLP
SERVING OUR NEIGHBORS WITH DISABILITIES
Sidley represented a sergeant in the U.S. Army who
had served three tours in Iraq and Afghanistan before
sustaining a severe head injury during an on-base
football game. Sidley became involved late in his Social
Security appeal stage and gathered new evidence
and submitted an appeal brief. The Social Security
Administration’s ALJ found our client disabled and
awarded prospective benefits as well as two years of
back benefits.
Working with the Maryland Disability Law Center, Sidley
represented a young father who was denied coverage
for a cochlear implant. Our team prevailed in settlement
negotiations with the Maryland Department of Health
and Mental Hygiene, which agreed to cover our client’s
device, the implantation surgery and follow-up care.
Stephanie Hales, Fitz Collings, Jennifer Haney, Beth
Kolbe, Bill Sarraille
D.C.
J High, Paul Moates
D.C.
Sidley obtained disability benefits for a D.C. resident
with bipolar disorder and significantly impaired cognitive
functioning. The ALJ found that the client has been
disabled since September 2012, resulting in almost
$20,000 in back payments.
Mark Langdon, Beth Kolbe, Becky Troth, Emily Sherman*
D.C.
2015 award recipients: Congressman Steny Hoger, Judy Heumann,
Neil Ellis, MDLC Executive Director Virginia Knowlton Marcus,
Thomas Hicks
The Maryland Disability Law Center (MDLC) honored
Sidley with its Legal Advocacy Award for our dedication
to improving the lives of people with disabilities. Neil
Ellis, who accepted the award on the firm’s behalf,
shared the stage with Congressman Steny Hoyer, a
driving force behind the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Other Sidley lawyers who worked with MDLC in 2015
include Robert Conlan, Bill Sarraille, Stephanie Hales,
Fitz Collings, Kristen Knapp, Amy DeLine, Brendan
Smith and Elizabeth Howe.*
49
Since 2005, we have been representing a client with
schizophrenia, major depressive disorder and anxiety
disorder in his efforts to get SSI/disability benefits.
Because of his conditions, the client was unable to
appear at any hearing before the ALJ, which resulted
in the ALJ twice denying benefits. Ben Correa agreed
to take responsibility for what he knew was a difficult
case in 2012. Ben successfully appealed the ALJ’s latest
denial to the Appeals Council and then submitted a
comprehensive letter brief for the hearing on remand.
The client again failed to appear and Ben had to conduct
the hearing without his client. After the hearing, the ALJ
issued an order to show cause why the client did not
appear. Ben submitted another letter brief attaching our
client’s affidavit, explaining his inability to withstand the
stress of a hearing. The ALJ found Ben’s response to the
order to show cause persuasive, and two months later,
awarded full benefits going back to 2005.
Ben Correa, Paul Kalb, Katie Strong Carner,*
Rachel Gray,* Tom Echikson*
D.C.
We represented The Thresholds, a Chicago-based
nonprofit organization, in the redevelopment of a
historic apartment building into a living facility for
disabled veterans and homeless individuals with severe
mental illnesses. The project involved both Federal
Low Income Affordable Housing Tax Credits as well as
Federal Historic Tax Credits. Sidley also served as tax
counsel in the negotiation and documentation of a
tax credit partnership.
David Hill, John Simon, Karen Hayes, Scott Pollock
Chicago
Sidley obtained a favorable settlement on behalf of
two fair housing organizations in a case against several
Chicago landlords and agents who discriminated against
potential tenants based on disability. Fair housing testers
who mentioned a service animal during the application
process were refused rentals or told that they had to
pay a large pet deposit, in violation of the Fair Housing
Act of 1968, which prohibits discrimination on the basis
of disability and requires reasonable accommodation
of disabled tenants. Sidley filed an administrative
complaint with the Department of Housing and Urban
Development, which referred the matter to the Illinois
Human Rights Department, which investigated the
complaint. The respondents ultimately agreed to a
settlement requiring their employees to take fair housing
training, establish written fair housing policies, add
nondiscrimination language to their websites, and
compensate the fair housing organizations for the cost
of testing and for frustration of purpose.
Linton Childs worked with Jessica Schneider, staff
attorney at the Chicago Lawyers’ Committee for Civil
Rights Under Law, Inc. and Neda Brisport, staff attorney
at Open Communities, with assistance from paralegal
Aaron Keker.* Donovan Borvan* and Rae Bimmerle
also assisted.
Chicago
Since December 2012, Sidley has been advising Small
Steps, a school that helps parents help their own
children with cerebral palsy or other forms of motor
and sensory impairment. Sidley has been helping Small
Steps with their occupational rights at their premises, the
negotiation of a lease of their current premises and the
transition to potential new premises.
Jade Williams-Adedeji, Andrea Reeve, Tom Caster
London
50
SIDLEY AUSTIN LLP
Members of Wesley Theological Seminary’s Heal the Sick Program with the Sidley team, lawyers Anna Spencer and Jennifer Haney, and Sidley
paralegal (and WTS student) Beryl Dennis.
Sidley has been working with the Wesley Theological
Seminary since 2013 on a variety of issues related to its
Heal the Sick program, an innovative program designed to
address health disparities in underserved communities by
building health ministries. Sidley most recently provided
a detailed assessment of and recommendations for the
continued development of the Heal the Sick program,
which was presented to the Seminary’s President and
executive members.
Anna Spencer, Bill Sarraille, Jennifer Haney, Beryl Dennis
D.C.
June 23, 2015
Anna Spencer
Sidley Austin LLP
1501 K Street, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20005
Dear Anna,
I have been kept informed by my colleagues about
the wonderful work Sidley Austin has done to help
Wesley develop the Heal the Sick initiative. This is
such a new venture, fraught with potential legal issues,
that we knew we needed some expert guidance.
We consider it a great blessing (that’s a word we use
around here) that Beryl would come forward and that
Sidley Austin would be so helpful and so diligent.
Thank you for guiding us so far. I love the Latin for what
you are doing: “pro bono,” for the good. I believe we
are doing something very good here together. And
I am grateful that you are willing, indeed urging us,
to find ways to scale this effort up and sustain it over
time. Comprehensive health care that engages the
community to care for the whole person is clearly one
of the biggest issues our nation faces.
Sincerely,
David McAllister-Wilson
President, Wesley Theological Seminary
51
PROTECTING OUR
NEIGHBORS’ HOMES
In conjunction with the Legal Assistance Foundation
of Metropolitan Chicago (LAF), Sidley filed a federal
lawsuit in 2013 alleging that if the City of Chicago failed
to bring at least 1,800 units of public housing to the
old Cabrini site, it would be perpetuating segregation
by continuing to build public housing units in areas
of extreme poverty. In September, LAF and Sidley
achieved a landmark housing discrimination settlement
by procuring an order ensuring at least 1,800 units of
public housing would be built within the mixed income
developments planned for the old Cabrini site.
“We are very pleased by this outcome, as it
will return at least 1,800 units of public housing
to Cabrini, allowing residents displaced by
the demolition of the high rises and the closure
of the Rowhouses to return to their neighborhood,
and providing more affordable housing in an
area with access to public transportation,
schools, and jobs.”
–Elizabeth Rosenthal of LAF
The LAF team representing the Cabrini-Green LAC
includes Elizabeth Rosenthal, Richard Wheelock,
Lawrence Wood and Lea Weems. The Sidley team
includes Richard O’Malley, Steven Horowitz, Veena
Gursahani, William Bruce and Rachel Goldberg.
52
SIDLEY AUSTIN LLP
Working with the D.C. Bar Pro Bono Center, Sidley
successfully represented a tenant after his landlord sued
to evict him for failure to pay rent in a unit with a number
of long-standing D.C. Housing Code violations. With
Sidley’s intervention, the management company stopped
eviction proceedings, cured the housing violations and
agreed to a rent discount.
David Lewis, Maria Earley, Sana Munasifi,
Christopher Joyce
D.C.
We successfully represented a client in an eviction
proceeding in D.C. Superior Court. The landlord
accused our client of violating her lease by permitting
an unauthorized resident to live with her. After discovery
and mediation, the landlord voluntarily dismissed the
claims.
Jim Bendernagel, Adam Farra, Kang Woo Lee,
Amanda Blau*
D.C.
Matt Dolan accepted a pro bono award on behalf of
Sidley at the Law Foundation Annual General Counsel
Convergence event held at Varian Medical Systems in
Palo Alto. Matt (under the supervision of Norm Blears)
has been working with the Law Foundation on an
impactful case on behalf of about 400 residents of a
Palo Alto mobile home park as the residents seek to
stave off development.
Working with the Rockefeller Foundation on a project
called MyStrongHome, we helped set up a pilot
program to provide wind storm remediation to coastal
homeowners in South Carolina through an insurance
premium financing arrangement and improved
homeowner insurance rates. We helped MyStrongHome
structure the product and receive insurance approvals in
South Carolina.
Jonathan Kelly, Andrew Holland, John Van De Weert,
Ben Kralstein, Crystal Kaldjob, Harini Mekala
New York/D.C.
Our client began withholding rent when his landlord’s
failure to make repairs in his unit caused flooding and
damage to his property. We filed a small-claims action
seeking damages for the destroyed property and
ultimately agreed to a settlement that led to a $6,000 rent
abatement and the return of his $500 security deposit.
Matt Warren, Joel Visser, Anna Weinberg
D.C.
“Thanks so much to Sidley Austin LLP,
and a special thanks to Anna, Joel and Matt.
I couldn’t have asked for a better group to
handle my case. I love you guys and thanks
so much for a job well done.”
A Sidley team, led by partner and D.C. Bar President
Tim Webster, achieved a favorable settlement for a client
in an eviction proceeding in D.C. Superior Court. After
discovering that our client’s housing conditions violated
the D.C. Housing Code, Sidley engaged in settlement
discussions with the landlord and reached a settlement
that substantially reduced the amount our client allegedly
owed and also ensures the landlord’s compliance with
D.C. law. This was one of the first cases we have taken
under the new D.C. Housing Right to Counsel Initiative,
which was launched by D.C. legal services providers
to address the housing crisis in D.C. and the fact that
over 90 percent of defendants in landlord-tenant court
are unrepresented.
Tim Webster, Kang Woo Lee, Spencer Driscoll,*
Erin Lyons
D.C.
In 2009, Sidley lawyers began staffing the Landlord
Tenant Resource Center (LTRC) of the D.C. Superior Court
on a monthly basis. Because unrepresented tenants
and small, pro se landlords face a high risk of having
judgments entered against them, the D.C. Bar launched
the LTRC to improve due process and access to justice
in Landlord Tenant Court. Three Sidley lawyers and one
legal assistant staff the LTRC for five hours one
day each month.
Kyle Fiet, Larry Walders, Marinn Carlson, Hanna Chouest,
Paul Perkins, Ryan Kaat, Keith Matthews, Andrew
Blandford, Andrew Blake, Ben Tannen, Ava Guo, Barbara
Endres, Brian Johnson, Andrew Arnold,* Rishi Chhatwal,*
Jennifer Gordon, Hisham El-Ajluni,* Cathy Qureshi, Erin
Lyons, Bronte Wigen, Amanda Blau,* Meg Huntington,*
Jake Thorn
D.C.
53
CHICAGO VOLUNTEERS
LEGAL SERVICES CLINIC
Sidley continues to sponsor a monthly legal clinic through
Chicago Volunteer Legal Services (CVLS), Chicago’s
oldest provider of free and reduced-cost civil legal
aid. The first Thursday of each month, Sidley volunteers
conduct intake for potential clients who have been
referred by the Salvation Army and/or CVLS. Volunteers
meet with the potential clients, record their information
and discuss their legal needs, primarily family law,
landlord/tenant, tort cases and social security benefits
matters. Sidley took on several clinic visitors as clients
in 2015.
Clinic Chair Kevin Fee, Sarah Bermingham, Kevin Meil,
Justin From, Tara Amin, Kristen Rau, Annie Wallis, Patrick
Croke, Alexis Rollins Dunton, Benjamin Brunner, Daniel
Spira, Kelly Albinak Kribs,* Jacqueline Pruitt, Joshua
Fogarty, Neil Nandi, Stephanie Stern, Stephanie Steele
Chicago
The D.C. Court of Appeals’ Capital Pro Bono Honor
Roll recognizes D.C. Bar members who provide free legal
services to those living in poverty and to disadvantaged
businesses and nonprofits that are critical to the
economic well-being of our community. Lawyers are
eligible for the Honor Roll based on their contribution of
50 or more hours, or for the High Honor Roll by virtue of
contributing 100 or more pro bono hours. In 2015, 121
Sidley-D.C. lawyers qualified for the Honor Roll, and 63 of
those made the High Honor Roll.
Lawyers United for the Homeless and our pro bono
client Franciscan Outreach Association honored Sidley
for its outstanding pro bono support of the Association
at LUH’s annual Membership Appreciation Reception in
November. LUH recognized the efforts of Patrick Croke
and Scott Saef in allowing a large Franciscan Outreach
homeless shelter on the west side of Chicago to remain
open. The City of Chicago had filed a lawsuit against
the Association seeking the remediation of building
code violations.
SUPPORTING NONPROFIT
ORGANIZATIONS
Sidley helped the International Fair Play Committee, a
nonprofit organization within the family of International
Olympic Committee organizations that is dedicated to
promoting fair play and sportsmanship, to establish a
new 501(c)(3) organization that will focus on North and
South America.
Lorrie Marcil, Courtney Hikawa
D.C.
The New York Supreme Court denied defendants’
motions to dismiss and upheld all claims brought by
our client Children’s Magical Garden, Inc. in its lawsuit
claiming title to land in Manhattan under the doctrine of
adverse possession. CMG came into existence nearly
30 years ago as the result of community efforts to
improve their neighborhood by transforming the land
into a vibrant community garden where generations of
children have thrived.
Nick Crowell, Benjamin Burry, Lauren Treadaway
New York
54
SIDLEY AUSTIN LLP
Sidley’s lawyers in Dallas (Dusan Clark, Julia Chester
and Stephanie Boughnou) represented a number of
nonprofit organizations in intellectual property matters
in 2015, including:
• The National Center for Missing and
Exploited Children (NCMEC)
• The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library Foundation
• PLAN!T Now (PIN)
The chief judges of the D.C. federal courts honored
Sidley’s D.C. office at the “40 at 50” Judicial Pro Bono
Recognition Breakfast this year. Established by the
D.C. Circuit Judicial Conference Standing Committee
on Pro Bono Legal Services, “40 at 50” recognizes law
firms reporting that at least 40 percent of their lawyers
devoted 50 or more hours to pro bono work in the
previous year. Jeff Green and Becky Troth represented
Sidley at the event.
• Citizens United for Research in Epilepsy (CURE)
• Hillsides (private center providing services for children
living in group homes under foster care or referred by
the Department of Mental Health)
• Girl Scouts of Greater Chicago and NW Indiana
(the largest Girl Scout council in the country)
• Our Time (supports business created by
youthful entrepreneurs)
• Facing Addiction
• Scale Africa, Inc. (designs and builds green school
infrastructure in sub-Saharan Africa)
• The Bronx Charter School for Excellence
• L.A. Society for the Prevention and Cruelty to Animals
• Sail Martha’s Vineyard (connects the Island’s school
children and the community with the traditions and
experiences of the Island’s maritime heritage)
• Mercy Home for Boys and Girls
• One Acre Fund (nonprofit organization that supplies
smallholder farmers in East Africa with asset-based
financing and agriculture training services to reduce
hunger and poverty)
• Park West Cooperative Nursery School
55
Empowering Our
Communities
The spirit that drives our lawyers to spend thousands of hours providing pro bono services extends
beyond the courtroom. Our lawyers and staff have maintained a long-standing commitment to
volunteering our time and resources to many causes that assist those in need.
Our efforts in 2015 included working in local public schools, colleges and law schools, helping
individuals and families who are homeless, supporting all types of nonprofit and legal services
organizations, raising money for medical research and treatment, serving veterans and their
families, and providing gifts to needy children over the holidays.
56
SIDLEY AUSTIN LLP
CHICAGO SERVICE ACTIVITIES
The office collected about 100 used cell phones and
accessories for the Call to Protect Program, which
serves victims of domestic violence. Mark Kaufmann
sponsors the annual program.
The office donated 30 boxes of clothing to the annual
clothing drive for the Cara Program, a nonprofit
organization that provides training and job placement
services to individuals who are homeless.
Partnering with Chicago Cares, Inc., Sidley volunteers
spent a day at James N. Thorp Elementary School
cleaning, painting and decorating the school and
playground. Richard Astle is the partner sponsor for
this program.
Sidley staff and lawyers raised over $4,000 for the
Greater Chicago Food Depository’s “Lunch Time To
End Hunger” campaign in May. Larry Barden sponsors
this program.
In February, a Sidley team participated in the annual
Hustle up the Hancock, a fundraising event for the
Respiratory Health Association. Bradley Howard
sponsored this program.
For more than 20 years, the office has held an annual
drive for the United Way. In 2015, the Sidley Foundation
and Sidley associates and staff contributed $150,000.
Jonathan Lotsoff sponsors this program.
Thirty years ago, at the urging of Newt Minow,
Sidley adopted the Gerald Delgado Kanoon Magnet
Elementary School. Under the leadership of John Levi
and Michele Ilene Ruiz, Sidley lawyers and staff were
involved in the following activities at Kanoon in 2015:
• At our annual back-to-school drive for Kanoon in
August, Sidley lawyers and staff contributed $11,777.
Sidley also donated used computers, furniture and
office supplies to the school.
• From January to May, Sidley lawyers participated in
the Lawyers in the Classroom program, conducting
Constitutional Rights Foundation Chicago (CRFC)
training. In 2015, Scott Berliant* and Teresa Reuter
sponsored the effort.
• For eight weeks, staff and lawyers engaged in the
2015 Book Chat with the Kanoon 5th graders. We read
“Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” emailed questions
and answers with the students, and then visited the
school to discuss the book.
• In May, Sidley lawyers participated in the annual mock
trial simulation with the school.
• The office held its annual Thanksgiving Food Drive
for Kanoon and raised over $9,000 to provide meals for
250 families.
• We collected $4,330 for Kanoon from our Jeans Day.
In September, the Chicago office participated in the
Annual Walk to Cure Diabetes. Sidley personnel raised
over $11,000 for the event. Greg Oguss and Mike
Prapuolenis chaired this program.
In September, about 50 Sidley lawyers and staff
participated in the annual Heart Walk to benefit
the American Heart Association.
57
DALLAS ACTIVITIES
Aaron Rigby and Scott Parel continue to support Sidley
pro bono client, Carry The Load, a nonprofit organization
whose mission is to restore the meaning of Memorial Day
by remembering, honoring and celebrating the sacrifices
made by America’s military, law enforcement, fire and
rescue personnel and their families. Carry The Load
organizes interactive events for communities to honor
those who serve, as well as providing annual monetary
gifts to local and national nonprofits who provide direct
support services in areas such as rehabilitative care
(mental and physical), direct familial support to fallen
service men and women and post-service community and
employment integration support. In 2015, Sidley helped
Carry The Load expand its presence into a nationwide
organization, including helping it secure national
sponsorship and operational support, in which Carry The
Load hosted events in more than a dozen cities and a
national walking relay to raise awareness of the sacrifices
of military and first responder personnel.
D.C. ACTIVITIES
Since its founding in 1991 (Sidley’s Alan Raul was a
co-founder), Lawyers Have Heart has raised more than
$7.5 million to benefit the American Heart Association/
American Stroke Association, whose mission is to build
healthier lives, free of cardiovascular disease and stroke.
In June, Team Sidley finished second in the “Large Law
Firm” division in the Lawyers Have Heart 10K road race,
and Sidley donated $25,000 to the organization.
Sidley’s D.C. team for the Lawyers Have Heart event:
Mike Franzinger, Alan Raul, Brenna Newman, Keisha Brown,
Karen Blackstone, Jeff Bosh, Eloise Repeczky, Mieko Rechka,
Lauren Dayton (Summer Associate), Jenna Olson (seasonal intern)
and Rebecca Newberger.
During Sidley Service Week in July, more than
30 people attended the documentary “Last Chance
for Freedom” with introductions from Becky Troth
and Danielle Carter,* who described the firm’s
pro bono death penalty work. Volunteers stuffed
30 backpacks with school supplies for the Children’s
Law Center. Seventeen employees donated blood
to Inova Hospital. We made sandwiches and assembled
lunches for 150 homeless men and women as part of
the Salvation Army’s Grate Patrol. We wrote 30 letters
to our military service members thanking them for
their service to our country. And finally, we donated
over 1,100 toiletry items and $1,420 to Miriam’s Kitchen,
a long-time Sidley community partner that provides
meals, case management and other services to D.C.’s
homeless population.
58
SIDLEY AUSTIN LLP
For the sixth year in a row, Sidley participated in the
Salvation Army’s Angel Tree Program, which provides
gifts of new clothing, shoes and toys for children
from needy families. As a result of Sidley employees’
generosity and volunteer efforts, more than 190 “Angels”
received gifts during the holiday season. The gifts were
organized for pick up and distribution by the Salvation
Army and given a festive sendoff.
NEW YORK SERVICE ACTIVITIES
Sidley is a corporate sponsor of New York Cares, a
premier nonprofit organization that brings volunteer
support services to nonprofit agencies, public schools
and other organizations. Our ongoing volunteer work
with New York Cares is part of the firm’s Corporate
Responsibility Program, which is led by Corporate
Responsibility Director Stacy Rotner. Sidley’s New York
office participated in the following New York Cares
events this year:
• We hosted, with firm client PricewaterhouseCoopers,
a volunteer event to benefit the Fresh Air Fund,
a not-for-profit agency that provides free summer
experiences in the country to more than 1.8 million
New York City children from low-income communities;
• Over 100 lawyers and staff volunteered to assemble
summer reading kits for 1,200 underserved school
children in Brooklyn;
Members of the D.C. Angel Tree Committee: Anna Boadwee,*
Maritza Rachal, Marchelle Lincer, Barbara Lampich, Annette Brown,
Kelli Pryor, Maria Riley, Latasha Senior and Irvie Ozier.
In October, during Pro Bono Week, the D.C. office
participated in the D.C. Bar Foundation’s Go Casual for
Justice fundraiser to support loan repayment assistance
for legal services lawyers. Sidley lawyers and staff
contributed $5 to wear jeans and another $5 to wear
sneakers on Go Casual for Justice Friday. Sidley raised
over $10,000 for the Foundation, more than any other
firm in D.C.
• More than 60 volunteers participated in the office’s
fifth annual Sidley Service Day, donating and helping to
construct a garden shed, organizing storage facilities and
painting at PS 373 K (the Brooklyn Transition Center);
• We co-sponsored an event with client Morgan Stanley
at which volunteers filled 1,600 backpacks with school
supplies to be donated to school children living in
shelters in New York City;
• We volunteered in a project to commemorate Veterans
Day and assembled over 1,400 care kits, wrote over
300 thank-you cards and shipped 72 gift boxes to U.S.
service members;
• We co-sponsored an event with firm client KPMG
to benefit the New York City shelter system at which
volunteers assembled 1,000 transitional housing kits and
donated them to two shelters; and
Front row: Kelli Pryor, Justin Becker, Nick Mendez, Patrick O’Leary,
Nate Wright
Back row: Kyle Deighan, Karen Blackstone, Paula Sampsell, Becky Troth,
Mark Hopson, Jeff Beelaert* (and Jeff’s son and daughter)
• We donated over 150 gifts for underserved children as
part of the organization’s annual Winter Wishes “Dear
Santa” program, and we participated in the New York
Cares Annual Coat Drive, which provides thousands of
warm winter coats to those in need.
59
Other New York activities
Sidley is a corporate sponsor of Read Ahead, a nonprofit
organization devoted to promoting children’s literacy in
the New York metropolitan area. Lawyers volunteer each
week, devoting their lunch hours to helping elementary
school students master literacy. Ted Kamman is a board
member of Read Ahead.
More than 30 lawyers participated in Memorial Sloan
Kettering Cancer Center’s annual Cycle for Survival. All
funds raised by this nationwide event go directly toward
cancer research. The initiative was led by Rob Robinson.
The team raised over $55,000. Sidley teams in Dallas
and Los Angeles also participated in this event, bringing
Sidley’s fundraising total to over $70,000. Jason Jones
led the initiative in Dallas, and Michael Mallow and
Jeremy Rosenthal led the initiative in Los Angeles.
We volunteered at New York Common Pantry (NYCP), a
nonprofit whose mission is to reduce hunger throughout
New York. Sidley volunteers organized donations,
assembled food packages, stocked shelves and assisted
in processing and fulfilling food requests.
In October, Sidley lawyers participated in “Her Justice’s
Story by Story,” a fundraising event in which participants
climbed 43 flights of stairs of a New York City skyscraper.
The event was organized by Sidley pro bono client Her
Justice, Inc., a New York City nonprofit that provides free
legal assistance to women and children who are victims
of domestic violence.
Lee Attanasio, Luke Frankson, Melanie Berdecia,
Toi Carrion, Alexander Cohen, Seulbee Lee, Jackie Lu,
Taylor Napolitano, Melissa Quartner, Jennifer Spiegel,
Jennifer Wong
Lawyers and staff, joining with firm clients Credit Suisse
and Ernst & Young, participated in “City Harvest Repack
to Give Back,” an annual event where hundreds of
volunteers come together to repack bulk food donations
into family-sized packages. This year, volunteers repacked
over 400,000 pounds of food, enough to feed 6,500
families during the holiday season.
Benson Cohen was selected as chair of the New York
City Bar Association’s Nominating Committee for the City
Bar’s Diversity & Inclusion Award. The Award recognizes
extraordinary individuals whose actions and activities
within the legal profession, particularly in New York
City, embody the Statement of Diversity Principles by
facilitating “diversity in the hiring, retention and promotion
of attorneys and in the elevation of attorneys to leadership
positions within our respective organizations.”
60
SIDLEY AUSTIN LLP
GLOBAL ACTIVITIES
We are a member of PRIME, a commitment the UK legal
profession has made to ensure fair access to quality work
experience for school-age students across the UK. Under
the program, we provide work placements for students
from less advantaged backgrounds to allow them to learn
about all aspects of the legal profession. We partner
with two schools—Holloway School in Islington and
Capital City Academy in Brent. In October, we invited
24 students in years 10 and 11 from the schools to a
workshop at the firm where they met with lawyers and
staff to discuss career options. Six of the most impressive
students were then invited to spend a week in the
London office shadowing lawyers and staff.
Sidley has been a longtime sponsor of the European Law
Student Association’s (ELSA) moot court on WTO law.
This year, the final round took place in June at the seat
of the WTO in Geneva. Sidley sponsored the opening
ceremony, which was attended by a wide range of WTO
member countries (including many Sidley clients in WTO
dispute settlements), along with members of the WTO
secretariat and the WTO legal academy. Several Sidley
lawyers were also involved in judging the competition.
Jan Yves Remy, Todd Friedbacher, Iain Sandford,
Stephanie Cunningham, Christian Lau, Andy Shoyer,
Eric Solovy, Judah Ariel
Geneva/D.C.
On November 16, at its 27th Annual Awards Gala, the
Thurgood Marshall College Fund honored Tom Cole
with its inaugural Thurgood Marshall Legacy Award.
The award honors an outstanding member of the legal
profession who exemplifies a commitment to equal
opportunity and education. Tom was recognized for
his many achievements as a lawyer, his distinguished
leadership of the firm’s Executive Committee for 15 years
and his never-ending commitment to diversity in the
legal profession. Tom was instrumental in establishing
the firm’s signature pipeline initiative, the Sidley Prelaw
Scholars Program, which provides economicallychallenged, racially-diverse students seeking to attend
law school with financial assistance to offset costs for
LSAT preparation courses and law school application
fees. He has worked with the Thurgood Marshall
College Fund over the past nine years to ensure the
program’s success.
2015 VOLUNTEER HIGHLIGHTS
1,200
SUMMER READING KITS
ASSEMBLED IN NEW YORK
FOR UNDERSERVED
SCHOOL CHILDREN
1,400
Tom Cole and his family at the Thurgood Marshall College Fund
Awards Gala.
Client Services Officer Janet Zagorin was recently
honored by The International Alliance for Women (TIAW),
who named her one of “100 Women in the World Who
Make a Difference” for 2015. Janet was recognized for
her service to New York Cares, New York City’s largest
volunteer management organization, where she is a vice
president of the board, and for her service as a board
member and co-chair of the Global Agenda Committee
of the Financial Women’s Association.
CARE KITS ASSEMBLED IN
NEW YORK FOR
U.S. SERVICE MEMBERS
$25,000
DONATED TO LAWYERS
HAVE HEART IN D.C.
61
HONORING OUR OWN
CHICAGO
Each year, Sidley’s Chicago Pro Bono Committee hosts
its Pro Bono Reception to recognize Sidley lawyers who
have worked on pro bono matters during the past year.
The Thomas H. Morsch Award is presented to Chicago
associates who exemplify the spirit and principles of pro
bono service that Tom Morsch has demonstrated by his own
work and leadership for many years. The award includes a
$1,000 contribution that the recipients can designate to a
Chicago nonprofit organization of their choice.
Dick O’Malley, David Weller, Russ Cass, Barbara Barreno,*
Newt Minow, Honorable Abner Mikva, John Levi, Kelly Kribs,*
David Gordon, Kevin Fee and Justin From
Chicago’s Pro Bono Reception was held on February
26, 2015. Newt Minow introduced retired United States
Court of Appeals Judge Abner Mikva, the keynote
speaker. Attendees included our partners from local
legal service agencies and nonprofit organizations
with whom the firm has a strong relationship.
For their pro bono work in 2014, the firm honored
five Chicago attorneys.
Kelly Albinak Kribs* was honored for her work on two
asylum cases for Syrian refugees. From the summer of
2013 through early 2014, Kelly led a team (including Jina
Yun* and Jason James*) seeking political asylum for a
dissident Syrian artist who had been persecuted for her
beliefs. Kelly and her team submitted a persuasive asylum
application and guided the client through her interview,
resulting in a grant of asylum. Kelly (together with Cate
DeJulio*) next represented a medical student from Syria
in his asylum proceedings. The student’s family includes
a Syrian political opposition leader, and the client was
threatened and beaten by the National Students Union,
forcing him to leave Syria in fear for his life. He also was
granted asylum.
D.C.
Paul Zidlicky, Jana Singer, Becky Troth, Mark Hopson, Ron Flagg* and Jeff Green
This year marked the ninth annual Vincent F. Prada Pro
Bono Awards, commemorating Sidley’s late partner Vince
Prada, who devoted 14 years of his life to representing
an inmate on death row in Georgia. We were honored to
have Ron Flagg, Vice President for Legal Affairs, General
62
SIDLEY AUSTIN LLP
Counsel and Corporate Secretary of the Legal Services
Corporation (LSC), as our keynote speaker. Before moving
to LSC, Ron practiced commercial and administrative law
at Sidley for 31 years and was firmwide chair of Sidley’s
Pro Bono Committee. Ron’s speech focused on the
David Weller with his clients.
Barbara Barreno,* Greg Oguss and David Weller
were honored for representing two brothers who fled
their native Honduras to escape forced recruitment
by local criminal gangs and entered the United States
as unaccompanied children. Sidley filed affirmative
asylum applications on their behalf with U.S. Citizenship
& Immigration Services (USCIS). On Dec. 23, 2014,
USCIS granted asylum to both brothers.
Justin From received the award for his work in a Social
Security Administration (SSA) benefits case through our
partnership with the CVLS Salvation Army Legal Clinic.
After a car accident left the client a quadriplegic, she
enrolled in graduate school and received a Ph.D. in
clinical psychology. Since 2010, she has treated patients
with spinal-cord injuries. Despite the extreme physical
toll of working, the client continues to help patients cope
with the emotional devastation that can accompany their
injuries. Two years after the client notified SSA that her
salary had increased, SSA claimed she had to pay back all
of the disability benefits she had received since starting
her job. Justin submitted a memorandum of law and
voluminous documentation showing that she qualified for
more than a dozen significant deductions from her salary
due to the severity of her disability. The ALJ agreed and
granted the client a “fully favorable” decision, meaning
that the client did not have to pay back any benefits and
also received back benefits and benefits going forward,
which totaled more than $140,000.
Winners of the 2014 Vincent Prada Pro Bono Award.
access to justice gap and the important role of pro bono
attorneys in narrowing that gap. At the ceremony, 97
people received awards for at least 60 hours of pro bono
service in 2014, including 30 partners, senior counsel
and counsel, 60 associates and attorneys and 7 legal
assistants and staff. Attorneys in D.C. had devoted 25,895
hours to pro bono in 2014. Recipients of the Vincent F.
Prada Pro Bono Awards are allowed to designate a legal
services organization to which the firm contributes $100
in the recipient’s name.
63
Harnessing
the Talents of
Future Leaders
Introducing associates to pro bono work is an
essential part of the firm’s mission. We offer
many opportunities for young lawyers to work
with nonprofit organizations in their communities,
allowing them to develop skills and relationships
that will last throughout their careers.
2015 Fellowship
and Loaned Associate
Participants
Our Fellowship program allows associates to work at nonprofit organizations in the community
either before they begin working at the firm or after they have been with the firm for some time.
Through the program, Sidley provides a stipend or pays the salary of the Fellows. Fellowships
with the nonprofit organizations allow associates to learn about the organizations, their staffs
and their work.
Sidley also sponsored two Equal Justice Works Fellows in 2015. With client KPMG in New York
City, we are sponsoring Alaina Varvaloucas, who is working with Lawyers for Children as their
Advocate for Children in Manhattan Family Court in domestic violence cases. Alaina proposed the
project in light of the clear need for a domestic violence specialist in the court who could focus on
the unique needs of children in cases in which there are allegations of domestic violence.
In addition, for the last few years, Sidley and Microsoft Corporation have co-sponsored an
Equal Justice Works fellow who works at Kids In Need of Defense (KIND), which is an
organization that helps provide pro bono legal representation to unaccompanied immigrant
children in the United States. The 2015 Microsoft-Sidley Equal Justice Works Fellow, Pilar
Ferguson, began working at KIND’s Los Angeles office in September 2015. In addition to
directly representing unaccompanied children in immigration proceedings, Pilar will create a
social services directory that will connect legal and non-legal service providers to better address
obstacles that face child migrants.
In April 2012, the D.C. office inaugurated a loaned associate program with the District of
Columbia Legal Aid Society. Under the program, an associate spends approximately four months
working with the Barbara McDowell Appellate Advocacy Project and is able to argue one of the
cases on which he/she worked in the D.C. Court of Appeals either while at the Legal Aid Society
or after returning to the firm. Kyle Fiet was the inaugural Loaned Associate and had his first
argument in the D.C. Court of Appeals on November 21, 2012. In 2015, three associates,
Blair Greenwald, Paul Perkins and Becket Marum served as Legal Aid Loaned Associates.
66
SIDLEY AUSTIN LLP
ANDREW ADAIR
Mandel Legal
Aid Clinic, Abrams
Environmental
Law Clinic
Chicago
KARLA ALBITE
Cabrini Green’s
Housing Department
Chicago
UJJAYINI
(CHINI) BOSE
American Civil
Liberties Union
(ACLU)
Chicago
“In my role as a PILI Fellow, I was given opportunities to advocate
for stricter pollution limits for the Chicago River, analyze the potential
impacts and implementation of the Clean Power Plan and investigate
environmental toxin issues in low-income communities.”
ANDREW ADAIR
MORGAN
BRANCH
Legal Aid Society
Housing Project
D.C.
LOGAN BROWN
Public Counsel
Los Angeles
CONNOR BURKE
Lawyers’ Committee
for Better Housing
Chicago
67
NISHA CHANDRAN
NIDHI CHAPPIDI
PAIGE LEVITT
Sargent Shriver
National Center on
Poverty Law
Chicago
The Law Project
Chicago
Chicago Lawyers’
Committee for Civil
Rights Under Law
Chicago
“During my fellowship, I helped with litigation and researched
issues related to the Voting Rights Act. I worked to eliminate barriers
to voting and civic participation, especially in underrepresented minority
and low-income communities, to ensure that each eligible citizen is
able to make his or her voice heard.”
PAIGE LEVITT
BLAIR WARNER
SSI Homeless Outreach
Project
Chicago
68
SIDLEY AUSTIN LLP
STEWART
INMAN
D.C. Law Students
in Court
D.C.
RARA KANG
ACLU of
Southern California
Los Angeles
CHRISTOPHER
KENDIG
Loyola Federal
Tax Clinic
Chicago
LISA LANSIO
JOSHUA LEWIS
Alliance for
Children’s Rights
Los Angeles
Lawyers’ Committee
for Better Housing
Chicago
“During this experience, I gained exposure to the need for
affordable legal assistance to achieve social and economic justice
for low-income people. It was rewarding to work on projects that
included advocacy at the national level, community justice
issues and individual housing-related litigation.”
LAURA LYONS
LAURA LYONS
BECKET MARUM
SONIA VUCETIC
Sargent Shriver
National Center on
Poverty Law
Chicago
Legal Aid Society
(Loaned Associate)
D.C.
ACLU of Southern
California
Los Angeles
69
JEFFREY
MCINTOSH
AMANDA
MONCADA
MARISOL
RAMIREZ
Loyola Business Clinic
Chicago
Business and
Professional People
for the Public Interest
Chicago
ACLU of Southern
California
Los Angeles
“The opportunity to have direct client contact was a valuable learning
experience directly applicable to my practice here at Sidley. I’m looking
forward to continuing to support the Alliance in their efforts to provide
children with much needed stability in their lives.”
CODY SCHVANEVELDT
70
SIDLEY AUSTIN LLP
CODY
SCHVANEVELDT
STEPHANIE
STERN
ANNA
TUTUNDJIAN
Alliance for
Children’s Rights
Los Angeles
John Howard
Association
Chicago
Public Counsel
Los Angeles
JACQUELYN
FRADETTE
STEPHEN
MCINERNEY
BLAIR
GREENWALD
PAUL
PERKINS
Constitution Project
D.C.
Chicago Appleseed
Fund for Justice
Chicago
Legal Aid Society
(Loaned Associate)
D.C.
Legal Aid Society
(Loaned Associate)
D.C.
“The Constitution Project gave me the opportunity to take
ownership over a report detailing key differences and similarities in
state criminal procedure laws. I gained valuable skills in synthesizing
widely diverse data to provide one cohesive analysis.”
JACQUELYN FRADETTE
“I worked on a number of research and advocacy
projects that explored current trends in public policy.
Most notably, I researched and drafted a proposal
to allow attorneys in Illinois to receive up to five hours
of CLE credit for pro bono legal work.”
STEPHEN MCINERNEY
71
PRO BONO AND PUBLIC INTEREST LAW COMMITTEE MEMBERS
HONG KONG
FIRMWIDE CHAIR
Jeffrey Green (Washington, D.C.)
+1 202 736 8291
+1 617 223 0304
Tim Langenkamp, Houston Chair
+32 2 504 6439
Struan Oliver +44 20 7360 2063
Jason Richardson
+44 20 7360 3666
Stephen Ross
+44 20 7360 2080
John Woodhall +44 20 7360 3722
CHICAGO
Richard O’Malley, Chicago Chair
+1 312 853 7112
Susan Bart
+1 312 853 2075
Russell Cass
+1 312 853 2202
LOS ANGELES
Linton Childs
+1 312 853 2211
Sean Commons, Los Angeles Chair
+1 213 896 6010
Michael Clark
+1 312 853 2173
Bradley Ellis
+1 213 896 6632
Maja Eaton
+1 312 853 7123
Adam Micale
+1 213 896 6636
Kevin Fee
+1 312 853 7919
Rachael Rezabek
+1 213 896 6663
John Gallo +1 312 853 7494
David Gordon +1 312 853 7159
NEW YORK
Courtney Hoffmann
+1 312 853 7669
James Arden, New York Chair
+1 212 839 5889
Scott Lassar
+1 312 853 7668
Maureen Crough +1 212 839 7323
David Siegel
+1 312 853 7246
Martin Gold +1 212 839 5481
David Zampa
+1 312 853 4573
John Lavelle
+1 212 839 5396
Kelly Huggins, Pro Bono Counsel
+1 312 853 3206
Ben Nagin +1 212 839 5911
Emily Wexler,
Veterans Benefits Project Manager
+1 312 853 7074
James O’Connor +1 212 839 8613
Michael Sackheim
+1 212 839 5503
Daniel Greenfield, Pro Bono Staff Attorney
+1 312 853 7666
Edna Basquill, Pro Bono Coordinator +1 212 839 5529
SAN FRANCISCO & PALO ALTO
DALLAS
Kristoffer Leftwich, Dallas Co-Chair
+1 214 981 3429
Rob Velevis, Dallas Co-Chair
+1 214 981 3501
Kelley Conaty, Dallas Co-Chair
+1 214 981 3477
Joshua Hill,
San Francisco and Palo Alto Chair
+1 415 772 1248
WASHINGTON, D.C.
Paul Zidlicky, D.C. Chair
+1 202 736 8013
GENEVA
Nathan Sheers
+1 202 736 8085
Scott Andersen,
+41 22 308 0035
Africa & Asia Agricultural Enterprise
Program Managing Partner
Rebecca K. Troth, Pro Bono Counsel +1 202 736 8339
Vanessa Fox,
+41 22 308 0020
Africa & Asia Agricultural Enterprise
Pro Bono Director
72
+1 713 495 4512
LONDON
BRUSSELS
Ken Daly
+852 2509 7818
HOUSTON
BOSTON
Jack Pirozzolo
Charles Allen, China Chair
SIDLEY AUSTIN LLP
OFFICES
BEIJING
GENEVA
SAN FRANCISCO
Suite 608, Tower C2
Oriental Plaza
No. 1 East Chang An Avenue
Dong Cheng District
Beijing 100738
China
+86 10 5905 5588
Rue du Pré-de-la-Bichette 1
1202 Geneva
Switzerland
+41 22 308 00 00
555 California Street
Suite 2000
San Francisco, California 94104
+1 415 772 1200
HONG KONG
SHANGHAI
39/F, Two Int’l Finance Centre
Central, Hong Kong
+852 2509 7888
Suite 2009
5 Corporate Avenue
150 Hubin Road
Shanghai 200021
China
+86 21 2322 9322
BOSTON
60 State Street
36th Floor
Boston, Massachusetts 02109
+1 617 223 0300
BRUSSELS
NEO Building
Rue Montoyer 51
Montoyerstraat
B-1000 Brussels
Belgium
+32 2 504 6400
CENTURY CITY
1999 Avenue of the Stars
17th Floor
Los Angeles, California 90067
+1 310 595 9500
CHICAGO
One South Dearborn
Chicago, Illinois 60603
+1 312 853 7000
DALLAS
2001 Ross Avenue
Suite 3600
Dallas, Texas 75201
+1 214 981 3300
HOUSTON
1000 Louisiana Street
Suite 6000
Houston, Texas 77002
+1 713 495 4500
LONDON
Woolgate Exchange
25 Basinghall Street
London, EC2V 5HA
United Kingdom
+44 20 7360 3600
LOS ANGELES
555 West Fifth Street
Los Angeles, California 90013
+1 213 896 6000
NEW YORK
787 Seventh Avenue
New York, New York 10019
+1 212 839 5300
PALO ALTO
1001 Page Mill Road
Building 1
Palo Alto, California 94304
+1 650 565 7000
SINGAPORE
Level 31
Six Battery Road
Singapore 049909
+65 6230 3900
SYDNEY
Level 10, 7 Macquarie Place
Sydney NSW 2000
Australia
+61 2 8214 2200
TOKYO
Sidley Austin Nishikawa
Foreign Law Joint Enterprise
Marunouchi Building 23F
4-1, Marunouchi 2-chome
Chiyoda-Ku, Tokyo 100-6323
Japan
+81 3 3218 5900
WASHINGTON, D.C.
1501 K Street N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20005
+1 202 736 8000
sidley.com
Sidley Austin provides this information as a service to clients and other friends for educational purposes only. It should not be construed or relied on as legal advice or to create a lawyer-client
relationship. Prior results described herein do not guarantee a similar outcome. Attorney Advertising - For purposes of compliance with New York State Bar rules, our headquarters are Sidley
Austin LLP, 787 Seventh Avenue, New York, NY 10019, 212 839 5300; One South Dearborn, Chicago, IL 60603, 312 853 7000; and 1501 K Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20005, 202 736 8000.
Sidley and Sidley Austin refer to Sidley Austin LLP and affiliated partnerships as explained at www.sidley.com/disclaimer.
Today’s highly connected global business
environment offers more opportunities than ever for enterprising businesses—
and also more challenges. At Sidley, we understand that increasingly complex
legal needs require a deeply integrated, deeply collaborative approach. That
understanding forms the basis of our commitment: an uncompromising dedication
to top tier talent, seamlessly connected by teamwork, focused on delivering
powerful results when and where our clients need them most.
TALENT. TEAMWORK. RESULTS.
MN-2639 04/16

Building a Brighter Future Together

Transcription

Similar documents

to read more about Sidley`s Corporate Social

Invasion to Green Territory War Room Strategy

Ampeg SVT-CL Schematics

What, No Oscar?

Kristeena Logan

Introduction - Iglesia El Candelero de Oro

Holz Bemalen, Kerb Schnitzen, by Christian Rubi. 135 pages, pro

omnipresence 3d pro design

Pro-SuITe™ TeST LIKe A Pro! DoCuMeNT LIKe A Pro! LoAD DATA