About the Center

Our Volunteers

McDermott, Will & Emery

Firm locations:  Boston, Brussels, Chicago, Dusseldorf, London, Los Angeles, Miami, Munich, New York, Orange County, Rome, San Diego, Silicon Valley, Washington, D.C.

Website:  http://www.mwe.com/

About McDermott Will & Emery

Founded in 1934, McDermott Will & Emery is a premier international law firm with more than 1,000 lawyers practicing in eight legal departments. The firm’s diversified business practice encompasses a wide range of commercial, industrial and financial enterprises, both publicly and privately held. Worldwide, the firm has represented clients from more than 60 countries.

McDermott’s Commitment to Pro Bono

The people of McDermott Will & Emery are committed to giving back to the community.  A major emphasis of McDermott’s pro bono efforts is the Kids First program, which focuses on representing children in need, making an important difference in their lives as well as those of the lawyers who work on their behalf. The American Red Cross named McDermott to the Circle of Humanitarians, and the District of Columbia Bar Association named the Washington, D.C. McDermott office the Pro Bono “Law Firm of the Year.”  The Legal Aid Society of San Mateo County selected the firm’s Silicon Valley office for its “Guardian of Justice”pro bono award.

McDermott and the Center

McDermott attorneys currently represent 17 of the Center's child clients through its Los Angeles, Miami, New York and Washington, DC, offices.  The children are from Ghana, Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador.  Lawyers in the Miami office recently received training to handle cases in South Florida and a number of other attorneys were introduced to the work of the Center last month by way of a video conference available in all of McDermott's US offices.  Fourteen attorneys have devoted time to these pro bono cases, including Chris Amantea, Daphne Burton, Amanda Brown, Bob Hibbert, Ted Howes, Leila Pittaway, Matthew Smith, and April Tabor.

 
Working to Save a Refugee Family from Abuse

Pro Bono Attorneys: Amanda Brown and April Tabor

Marta*, a 15-year-old girl from Honduras, fled her home after years of sexual abuse from her stepfather. Joining Marta on her journey were her three younger stepbrothers, who had also suffered extreme physical abuse.

The children were seeking to be reunited with their mother, Ana, who had entered the U.S. two years earlier with the plan of earning enough money to eventually send for the children, whom she left in the care of her mother.  During their harrowing journey to the U.S., traffickers held the children in a “safe house,” depriving them of food and threatening Marta with violence. The smugglers also threatened to kill Ana if she disclosed their drug smuggling activities.

When the four children finally entered the U.S. in January 2006, the Border Patrol immediately apprehended them and transferred them to a detention facility in Chicago. The facility released them to their mother in New York pending their deportation hearings. The family was again united, but they all faced removal from the U.S., including Ana.  Too scared to see an attorney, Ana missed her court hearings and was ordered removed in absentia.

When Amanda Brown and April Tabor, of McDermott Will & Emery’s New York office, first met with the children and their mother, it was clear they were terrified of having to return to the abuse they suffered in Honduras. “They came to our offices and my heart immediately went out to all of them,” Amanda says.

Amanda’s long background in social services prepared her well for this difficult case and April’s fluency in Spanish was another critical asset. Summer Associate, Christopher Greco, also aided them in preparing the case.

The attorneys began by conducting fact gathering sessions with the family, which in many ways resembled therapy. As with many cases involving refugees, the attorneys’ service went beyond legal work. They helped set up counseling services both for domestic violence and family therapy and are working on getting the children enrolled in summer camp.

Though the family faces a long legal battle, their cases are now moving. Amanda has succeeded in getting the children’s cases consolidated and has appeared on their behalf in immigration proceedings. April has worked primarily with Ana, who has a deportation order against her for her failure to appear in court in 2004. Amanda and April continue to work to keep the mother and her four children together in a safe environment while working to prevent their removal and, ultimately, win asylum.

According to Amanda, “This case presented an opportunity for me to connect with indigent clients in a way that would change their entire life. In the meantime, it’s touched my heart and reminded me of what it really means to be an advocate.”

* The families’ names have been changed to preserve their privacy.