About Duane Morris
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Pro Bono Program
- Pro Bono Attorney Profiles
- Pro Bono History
- Senior Duane Morris Attorneys Demonstrate Leadership in Pro Bono
[ Pro Bono Program ]
Introduction
Duane Morris' Pro Bono Program provides free legal services to those in our communities least able to afford them. The importance of pro bono work and volunteerism has been an integral part of Duane Morris' culture since the firm's inception more than 100 years ago. Featured below are examples of recent projects. For more information about our program, please contact Duane Morris' Pro Bono Counsel, Nicole Friant.
Pro Bono Attorney Profiles
In early 2007, Duane Morris attorney Rachael Pontikes, with the assistance of Linda Stolz and John Schriver, all of the firm's Chicago office, secured asylum for a Ghanaian woman who had endured years of brutality and persecution at the hands of her common-law husband.
Prior to fleeing Ghana, the woman, both an entrepreneur and a mother, was raped, beaten and subjected to severe verbal abuse on a daily basis. Much of the violence stemmed from her partner's objection to her practice of Catholicism. Her husband also abused her four children, whom she was forced to leave in her sister's care. Even after she sustained near-paralyzing back injuries, the Ghanaian government refused to protect her from her abuser.
The woman's case involved a number of legal issues. In order to obtain asylum, Pontikes had to establish, among other things, that the woman was persecuted due to her religious beliefs and could not relocate to another place in Ghana and remain safe.
During the hearing, the woman was so impressed with Pontikes' advocacy that she said that she felt she was able to muster the courage to testify about her ordeal. Finally, at the trial's conclusion, the woman was granted asylum on religious grounds and is now eligible for U.S. citizenship.
She can now look forward to being reunited with her children, whom she has not seen in more than six years, and to finding a permanent job.
For the past eight years, Michelle Gervais' pro bono work at the firm has centered on issues involving children. In addition to her trial practice in Duane Morris' Miami office, Gervais is frequently appointed by the court and through Miami-Dade County's "Put Something Back" Program as Guardian Ad Litem in matters involving domestic violence allegations against or in the presence of minor children. Serving as a "friend of the court," Gervais makes recommendations based on home studies and interviews of witnesses and involved parties. Gervais also recommends to the court when psychologists and psychiatrists need to be appointed to interview and test the parties and the minor children involved and, where appropriate, she makes treatment recommendations. Additionally, when domestic violence matters turn into divorces with both parties filing for custody of the minor children, Gervais makes recommendations regarding custody determinations. Gervais has been recognized for her dedication to pro bono. Most recently, she was awarded the 2007 Domestic Violence Award by the "Put Something Back" Program.
In 2006, Anthony Gallia, a trial attorney in Duane Morris' Philadelphia office, helped a New Jersey woman find safety – and justice – after years of enduring physical abuse from her husband. The woman, Terry G., was accused by the state of one count of assault against her husband and two counts of criminal contempt.
Gallia quickly found that Ms. G. was not, as the state charged, the "accused," but was herself the victim. Her husband had beaten her regularly over the course of seven years. Typically, after the 6'3" man abused his 5'3" wife, he would wait until her wounds healed and then call the police to report that he was being abused.
At trial, Ms. G.'s now-estranged husband testified that he had been severely attacked by Ms. G. without provocation. But the evidence and cross examination told a different story—one that did not support his claims. Following a mid-trial motion, Judge LeWinn dismissed the assault charge and one count of criminal contempt. Ms. G. courageously testified on her own behalf and was ultimately found not guilty of the final remaining charge of criminal contempt.
"To say that my client was pleased – facing more than a year in jail plus fines and costs if found guilty – is an understatement," says Gallia. "She even hugged me after the trial. It was truly a case of justice being served."
Washington, D.C.-based employment and immigration partner Celeste Wasielewski has represented the Mercy Home for Children in labor and employment matters for 15 years. Wasielewski has handled a wide range of matters for this care provider for developmentally disabled children and young adults. Her representation has included arbitration hearings concerning matters of contract interpretation, as well as the discipline and discharge of the union-represented Direct Care Workers and unfair labor practice cases. Other matters have included general employment counseling and representation of the agency before the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and New York Commission on Human Rights in discrimination cases. Recently, Mercy Home recognized Wasielewski as a"2006 Woman of Mercy" for her extensive pro bono service on the agency's behalf.
John Weiss, a partner in the firm's Business Reorganization and Financial Restructuring Practice, has been a staff member of the Chicago Legal Services Organization for the past 22 years. In that role, Weiss provides free legal advice to small business owners facing financial difficulties. He has advised approximately 20 business owners on strategies for working out their difficulties with lenders. In addition, Weiss has represented business owners in bankruptcy reorganization matters.
Robert Byer, a trial partner in Duane Morris' Pittsburgh office, has handled several pro bono appeals before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. In one instance, Byer obtained a hearing on a habeas petition for his incarcerated client, after which a district judge concluded that Byer's client had been convicted on the basis of perjured testimony. Most recently, Byer has been providing pro bono services to KidsVoice, an advocacy organization that serves abused and neglected children. Byer has worked with Duane Morris attorneys David Miller and Julia Tedjeske, also in the Pittsburgh office, in successfully representing two KidsVoice clients in appeals in the Superior Court of Pennsylvania.
Trial partner Paul Killion has handled a number of pro bono appellate matters over the years. These issues have ranged from immigration appeals before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit to state court appeals regarding driver's license suspensions and family law rulings. Many of Killion's past pro bono clients have been either indigent or incarcerated. Presently, Killion assists pro se indigents with civil appeals in a pro bono assistance project under the auspices of the California Court of Appeal, First District. Additionally, Killion, a resident of the firm's San Francisco office, provides advice on a wide range of legal issues to indigent clients at the Marin County Legal Aid Clinic in San Rafael, California.
Kenneth Argentieri, a trial partner in the Pittsburgh office, has been involved in numerous pro bono representations over the past decade. At his prior firm, he was the head of his office's pro bono effort. In addition, Argentieri was president of the Neighborhood Legal Services Association from 2002 to 2004 and a member of its board for eight years. As treasurer of the Allegheny County Bar Foundation, Argentieri helped raise in excess of $1 million dollars to help fund pro bono efforts. Presently, he serves on the Allegheny County Bar Association's Public Service Committee.
Just before joining Duane Morris in early 2007, energy attorney Daniel Malabonga, together with two former colleagues, represented Washington, D.C.'s Mary's Center for Maternal and Child Care, a full-service health center for the area's underserved, before the U.S. Department of Labor in an employee's claim involving Sarbanes-Oxley and the False Claims Act. In addition, Malabonga was involved in the Mary's Center defense of the former employee's subsequent wage claims before the District of Columbia Superior Court. Malabonga's team resolved both matters in a way that Mary's Center considered favorable. Prior to the Mary's Center matter, Malabonga participated in the pro bono legal-aid intake process of Washington, D.C.'s Catholic Charities.
Sometimes, just helping pro bono clients obtain basic documents such as a driver's license can help a family deal with a much larger challenge. Recently, a young, hardworking Honduran couple in Washington, D.C. found themselves struggling to care for their infant son, who was born with serious heart defects requiring a heart transplant. As undocumented immigrants, and due to changes in laws restricting driver's licenses, neither of them could apply for a driver's license. Getting their son to and from the hospital for urgent medical care and visiting him there were almost impossible. On a referral, the couple found help in immigration attorneys Denyse Sabagh and Michelle Funk in Duane Morris' Washington, D.C. office.
Sabagh and Funk worked with the Immigration Service to help the couple obtain permission to stay and work permits, a process that brought with it great risk. Because the couple was undocumented, bringing them to the attention of the Immigration Service could have led to deportation. Fortunately, Sabagh and Funk successfully obtained a grant of deferred action from the Immigration Service as well as the work permits, which are not typically granted. The clients then were able to apply for and receive Social Security numbers and driver's licenses. They can now travel to and from the hospital and be with their child while he obtains the medical care he needs. The couple also made arrangements with the state to obtain medical insurance.
Says Sabagh, "This was a miraculous result for a family in dire need."
Before joining Duane Morris' Pittsburgh office in 2003, Julia Tedjeske, a trial attorney, logged more than 400 hours in a pro bono representation of an Amish community in Pennsylvania's Cambria County. Tedjeske represented the community in its objection, on religious grounds, to displaying a "Slow Moving Vehicle" sign on Amish non-motorized vehicles. Tedjeske's representation involved hearings on individual traffic citations, a consolidated trial in the court of common pleas and appellate work.
Prior to joining Duane Morris, Harold Levy, now a real estate attorney in Duane Morris' Miami office, successfully represented a victim of domestic violence in multiple matters, in both family and New York state supreme court, over the course of two and a half years. Levy succeeded in obtaining custody of the child for the client, as well as judicial approval for the client's family to relocate from New York to Florida. For his efforts, Levy and his co-counsel were presented with the Associate Award by InMotion, a legal service provider serving disadvantaged New York women and children.
Rick Darke, an attorney in the firm's Chicago office, recently represented an immigrant through The ARK, a Chicago-based philanthropic organization that assists Jewish individuals in times of need. After a bitter divorce and custody battle, Darke's client lost her life savings and was targeted in a bogus lawsuit for alleged property damage and failing to pay rent.
Darke appeared in court approximately one year after the suit was originally filed, asking the court to set the matter for trial and order the parties to comply with Illinois Supreme Court Rule 222. The rule requires that all parties make specific disclosures, such as the theory of the case, the computation and measure of damages, and the names of witnesses. The plaintiff failed to comply with Rule 222. The court granted Darke's motion in its entirety and dismissed the plaintiff's complaint with prejudice. The dismissal of plaintiff's case has enabled the client to recover a semblance of her former life, and she is now teaching at a local school.
Art Momjian, chair of the firm's Affordable Housing, Community Development and Syndication Practice Group, recently provided pro bono representation to a nonprofit organization that provides transitional housing for homeless pregnant women. He assisted the organization in closing a loan with the New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency under the agency's new loan program for special needs projects and helped the organization with its shelter care support financing.
Atlanta-based Antony Sanacory recently conducted a seminar for nonprofits that provide counseling and financing to microentrepreneurs. As low-income individuals with few opportunities for upward mobility in the workforce, microentrepreneurs seek to improve their financial situation and improve their communities by operating small businesses. The Pro Bono Partnership of Atlanta provided a one-day clinic in partnership with the Association for Enterprise Opportunity (AEO) to address a variety of legal issues. Sanacory taught contracts, bankruptcy, collections and secured lending law at the clinic. The AEO will now be well armed to assist microentrepreneurs in starting successful businesses that will help improve struggling communities.