Pro Bono Activities

Conducting business together is one thing, but working together on a project that serves a worthy cause is completely different. In conjunction with TransPerfect Translations, we were the first in the industry to create a program that makes translation services available at no charge to law firms that require translation for their pro bono work.

In an effort to serve the greater good, we have had the distinct honor of working with many of the nation's most dedicated public interest attorneys on a wide array of cases:

• Howrey represents the estate of American human rights activist killed in Gaza:

In March 2003, 24 year-old Rachel Aliene Corrie was killed by an Israeli bulldozer while protesting the demolition of homes in Gaza. The young woman was a human rights activist working with the International Solidarity Movement that adopts direct, non-violent means to protest escalating violence in Gaza and the West Bank. When Howrey's pro bono attorneys represented the family of the deceased, we provided translation services for documents in Hebrew.

• Asylum granted to man persecuted for political views and sexual orientation with help of lawyers at Willkie Farr & Gallagher:

The firm was recently praised for successfully obtaining asylum on behalf of a client in a challenging pro bono case. Litigation associate Sherally Munshi represented Mr. R, a gay man afflicted with AIDS, who fled Chile in 2003 after years of abuse and persecution related to his political opinions and sexual orientation. Mr. R's case was particularly compelling because he suffers from an AIDS-related condition called Toxoplasmosis, which results in severe memory loss. Ms. Munshi was lauded by the Refugee Assistance Program Director of the Association of the Bar of the City of New York for putting together an extremely strong asylum application, including a comprehensive and sympathetic affidavit for Mr. R, as well as a memorandum of law, medical records, country condition research, and various supporting affidavits. With many of the supporting documents in Spanish, Willkie Farr & Gallagher took advantage of our Pro Bono Program to assist with the large volume of case material.

• Foley & Lardner's attorney helps ill Iraqi teenager and mother win asylum case:

An Iraqi teenager who came to the US for medical treatment and her mother sought asylum after threats made against their family were carried out. The family was targeted because insurgents resented the special attention the girl received from the American military doctors who helped arrange for the girl's treatment for cervical cancer. A pro bono case brought by Foley & Lardner on behalf of the 15-year-old Iraqi girl involved large amounts of translated material. "It's been a huge blessing," says Jeff Sullivan, a Foley & Lardner lawyer involved in the case, referring to our Pro Bono Program.