Pro Bono

Perkins Coie has been honored by the American Bar Association with the 2013 John Minor Wisdom Public Service and Professionalism Award. The award, established by the ABA Section of Litigation, recognizes individuals and entities for their outstanding contributions to the quality of justice in their communities, ensuring that the legal system is open and available to all.

Perkins Coie was one of the honorees at the inaugural pro bono reception for Columbia Legal Services (CLS), which celebrated its most significant pro bono partnerships.  CLS' mission is to achieve social and economic justice and systemic change for thousands of low-income people across Washington state. 

Perkins Coie, along with co-counsel Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), are representing a group of gaymers (individuals who self-identify with the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered community who have an active interest in video games) pro bono in a petition filed with the Trademark Office to cancel the “Gaymer” trademark registration. 

Bill Macumber spent 37 years in prison for a crime he did not commit.  On Wednesday, November 7, 2012, Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Bruce R. Cohen ordered Bill resentenced to time served.  He was released from custody later that afternoon.  A team of lawyers from Perkins Coie and The Arizona Justice Project represented Bill in his successful Petition for Post-Conviction Relief.

Perkins Coie recently successfully represented Catherine Jane Fisher, an Australian citizen, pro bono in a significant case in which Judge William S. Pocan of the Milwaukee County Circuit Court granted Ms. Fisher standing to enforce a Japanese civil judgment against a former US Navy sailor, now living in Milwaukee, who raped her in Japan ten years ago.

The Colorado Supreme Court has recognized Perkins Coie for achieving the annual goal of an average of 50 hours of pro bono legal services for Colorado-licensed attorneys. Firms were recognized for valuing such hours for all purposes of attorney evaluation, advancement and compensation just as it does for compensated client representation.

Perkins Coie is pleased to have been named as a recipient of the National Legal Aid & Defender Association's (NLADA) 2011 Beacon of Justice Award

Perkins Coie is pleased to announce that Chicago Partner Vince Maloney received the Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) of Cook County's 2011 Spirit Award for his work as a CASA Volunteer Advocate for the last 15 years.

The Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law at Arizona State University awarded Howard Cabot its 2011 Justice for All Award for Outstanding Commitment to Pro Bono Service.

Perkins Coie is proud to announce that Seattle Litigation partners Joe McMillan, Harry Schneider and Charles Sipos have received the Washington State Bar Association's (WSBA) Award of Merit.

Perkins Coie is pleased to have received a Certificate of Appreciation from the Legal Services Corporation (LSC) for the firm's work with Washington's only LSC grant organization, the Northwest Justice Project (NJP). The firm has been honored for our extraordinary commitment to providing equal access to justice.

Perkins Coie received the first annual Volunteer Law Firm of the Year award from the Eastside Legal Assistance Program (ELAP), a non-profit organization providing free or low-cost, high quality civil legal services to low-income residents of East and Northeast King County, Washington and domestic violence legal aid throughout King County, Washington. The award was given in recognition of our firm's establishment of a pro bono program to represent ELAP clients, specifically domestic violence victims. In particular, after working on one case for more than a year, Seattle associates Ashley Locke and Nicole Sporer successfully represented a domestic violence victim in King County Superior Court through which the court granted the client full and sole custody over her children, limited the abusive ex-husband's contact with the children and required him to pay substantial child support. Joe Silvernale and Sue Bilger assisted Nicole and Ashley with trial preparations. Nicole and Ashley accepted the award on behalf of the firm on May 5, 2011, at the ELAP "Breakfast for Justice" at the Bellevue Hyatt Hotel.

Madison Partner David Harth received the 2010 State Bar of Wisconsin Pro Bono Award for a Private Practitioner at the Wisconsin Equal Justice Conference at Marquette Law School on March 4, 2011. He was also recognized at the State Bar's annual Meeting on June 9th. Having been nominated by Judge Barbara Crabb and the Delivery of Legal Services Committee of the Dane County Bar Association, David was recognized, in part, for the fact that he has spent hundreds of hours each year representing prisoners in section 1983 civil litigation, primarily in the Western District of Wisconsin. For the past 10 years he has represented a Georgia inmate on death row seeking to overturn his conviction on the grounds of inadequate legal representation. (See page 14 of Perkins' 2010 Pro Bono Report for more on this case.) Among all his other activities, David also chaired the Western District Bar Association’s Pro Bono Committee for 15 years from which position he promoted social justice and mentored associates interested in taking on cases.

Perkins Coie is proud to announce the Madison office received the Seventh Circuit Bar Association's 2nd Annual Pro Bono and Public Service Award for outstanding pro bono work in the United States District Courts for the Western and Eastern Districts of Wisconsin.

Congratulations to the Boise office on winning the 2011 Pro Bono 6.1 Challenge Award from the Fourth Judicial District of the Idaho State Bar. This award is given each year to firms for outstanding service in the area of providing legal services to the poor, performing charitable work, and making efforts to improve the legal profession. This marks the fourth year in a row that our Boise office received the award!

Perkins Coie is proud to announce that Lisa Schaures, an associate in the firm's Seattle office, has received the Washington State Bar Association's (WSBA) Thomas Neville Pro Bono Award.

Perkins Coie is pleased to announce that it has been selected as a recipient of the National Legal Aid and Defender Association's 2010 Beacon of Justice Award. The firm was recognized for outstanding pro bono work in the area of immigration law, making certain that all people, regardless of citizenship, receive equal treatment under the law.  Attorneys and legal staff at Perkins Coie have donated considerable time and effort representing pro bono clients seeking asylum, fleeing religious, political and other forms of persecution, applying for visas based on being victims of domestic violence and human trafficking, seeking special status as juveniles and advocating for systemic immigration changes.

Perkins Coie is pleased to announce that Julia Markley has received the annual firmwide Perkins Coie Pro Bono Leadership Award. The award is given to a lawyer who has demonstrated outstanding leadership and commitment in the provision of pro bono services to our clients during the year. Markley was selected as a recipient of this award because of her extraordinary commitment to pro bono work, including her work to bring back to the United States an El Salvadorian national after the Ninth Circuit ruled that he had been wrongfully deported.

Perkins Coie is pleased to announce Perkins Coie Paralegal Jeanenne Rutherford has received the Washington State Paralegal Association's Paralegal Pro Bono Award.

Perkins Coie is proud to announce that it has received the 2010 Pro Bono 6.1 Challenge Award from the Fourth Judicial District of the Idaho State Bar.

Perkins Coie is pleased to announce it has been selected by the Greater Seattle Business Association (GSBA) to receive their first Special Recognition: Advocate for Social Justice Award for its work on the behalf of Washington Families Standing Together (WFST) and the Approve 71 campaign. 

Washington, D.C. attorney Maggie Greenlee successfully obtained a U-visa for her pro bono client on January 6, 2010.

For the first time Perkins Coie earned an honorable mention in The American Lawyer's biannual "Litigation Department of the Year" competition. In its January issue the publication cited the firm's representation of "clients at both ends of the power spectrum.

The San Francisco office was once again awarded the Silver Partner certification for their participation and contributions to the Food from The Bar Program.

Perkins Coie today announced that the Holocaust Survivors Justice Network (HSJN), a legal assistance effort in which the organization’s staff volunteers locally, is a recipient of the 2009 American Bar Association Pro Bono Publico Award, the profession’s highest recognition for pro bono legal work.  Organized by Los Angeles-based nonprofit law firm Bet Tzedek Legal Services, the HSJN is an international initiative established to assist Holocaust survivors in obtaining reparation payments under a program established by the German government.

Perkins Coie Partner Sherilyn Peterson received the President’s Award recognizing her outstanding service to the criminal defense bar for her work in a pro bono case to stop the execution of Darold Stenson by challenging the constitutionality of how lethal injection is carried out in Washington. Peterson is the lead for the Perkins Coie team which has put in over 3000 pro bono hours and, as stated by a colleague, whose commitment has been “phenomenal” and spirit “admirable.”

Perkins Coie Partner Harry Schneider has been selected to receive the American Inns of Court's 2009 Professionalism Award for the Ninth Circuit. The award is presented to honor a senior practicing judge or lawyer whose life and practice display sterling character and unquestioned integrity, coupled with ongoing dedication to the highest standards of the legal profession.

As Founder and Chairman of The Council of Goodness, Perkins Coie Associate Brian Hennessy works tirelessly to provide a better life for underprivileged and at-risk youth throughout the Bay Area. It was during Hennessy’s fight with cancer that he decided to found two non-profit corporations; successfully raising hundreds of thousands of dollars both by fundraising and giving his own personal money. He also spends thousands of hours personally mentoring his at-risk and underprivileged mentees. Hennessy’s extraordinary efforts were recognized in a recent article entitled "Attorney fights the odd to fight for others." "They say that when a desire in a person reaches a certain point, their soul guides them to find out who they are," Hennessy was quoted saying in the The Daily Journal article. "I found that my life was going to be a life of sacrifice."

As has been widely reported in the press, Perkins Coie has been representing Salim Ahmed Hamdan, Osama bin Laden's personal driver, on a pro bono basis since February of 2004.

Chicago office attorneys Debra Bernard and Brandy McMillion successfully persuaded an Immigration Court Judge to grant their client, EK, political asylum.

Seattle Partner Joe McMillan was recently interviewed on a National Public Radio program that discussed the pending criminal trials for detainees held at a naval base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, scheduled for July 2008.

Perkins Coie is proud to announce that it has received the Idaho State Bar's Pro Bono 6.1 Challenge Award for the second consecutive year.

Seattle Of Counsel Nick Gellert was honored as the Volunteer of the Month by the King County Bar Association for his work with the Housing Justice Project.

Seattle Metropolitan magazine recently profiled Perkins Coie's role in defending pro bono client Salim Hamdan along with Navy Lt. Cmdr. Charlie Swift.

A military judge on Monday dismissed criminal charges against Perkins Coie pro bono client Salim Ahmed Hamdan.

Seattle Partner Katie O'Sullivan argued a potentially precedent-setting case before the Washington Supreme Court on May 31.

In its 2006 Legal Year in Review, Thomson West has named Hamdan v. Rumsfeld the most significant U.S. Supreme Court case of 2006.

Perkins Coie's Boise office was recently recognized for its pro bono and public service efforts by being named one of the winners of the Idaho Bar Association's Law Day 6.1 Challenge.

Perkins Coie was named the recipient of the 2006 David W. Soukup Award for its participation in the King County Dependency Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) Program.

The Puget Sound Business Journal recently profiled a team of Perkins Coie lawyers who are representing a client pro bono in a potentially precedent-setting matter regarding an individual's right to counsel in certain civil cases.

The King County Bar Association Board of Trustees announced today that its 2007 "Outstanding Lawyer Award" will be presented to the Seattle lawyers on the Perkins Coie Guantanamo legal defense team who are counsel for Salim Hamdan in the Hamdan v. Rumsfeld case.

Perkins Coie is pleased to announce that pro bono client, Guantanamo detainee Ihlkham Battayav, has been released to his native Kazakhstan and reunited with his family.

Perkins Coie attorneys dedicated more than 140 pro bono hours to assist United Way organizations located in five counties and two states in a reorganization that closed today in Hood River, Ore.

Hamdan pro bono case featured on NPR's "Morning Edition."

Portland partner Tom Johnson was recently interviewed by Willamette Week for his pro bono work with Ihlkham Battayev, a detainee held as an enemy combatant at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Perkins Coie attorneys were part of a defense team that received a favorable ruling in a landmark case that challenged the scope of presidential authority.

Reprinted with permission (Multnomah Lawyer, January 2005, pp 15)

Seattle partner Tom Boeder was quoted by the Seattle P-I in response to a ruling that the federal government's policy of deporting people to Somalia is illegal.

In a victory for low-income people across Washington state and the nation, the U.S. Supreme Court today ruled to protect one of the largest sources of funding for civil legal aid for the poor.