EXPERIENCE COMMUNITY - Home
EXPERIENCE COMMUNITY - Home
EXPERIENCE COMMUNITY - Home
Create successful ePaper yourself
Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.
2004–2005 Pro Bono Report<br />
<strong>EXPERIENCE</strong> <strong>COMMUNITY</strong><br />
Pro Bono
“<br />
Through our pro bono work, we have tried to<br />
make significant improvements in the lives of<br />
those in need. Part of the success of this program<br />
has been our strong pro bono partnerships<br />
with outstanding organizations in Washington,<br />
DC, New York, and Los Angeles, and the<br />
opportunities they offer us to give back to<br />
our communities. From our work helping<br />
the victims of the September 11, 2001 attacks to<br />
our representation of children living in foster care,<br />
the pro bono projects in which we participate are<br />
as diverse as our people. Pro bono has been, and<br />
will continue to be, a cornerstone of Dickstein<br />
Shapiro’s culture.<br />
”<br />
—Michael Nannes, Managing Partner<br />
Washington, DC<br />
(202) 785-9700<br />
New York<br />
(212) 835-1400<br />
Los Angeles<br />
(310) 441-8460<br />
www.DicksteinShapiro.com
A LETTER FROM<br />
THE P RO B ONO C OMMITTEE<br />
Barry Fleishman<br />
Chair<br />
Experience Community, both as a title for this pro bono<br />
annual report and as a call to arms for attorneys everywhere,<br />
reflects the theme, goal, and reality of the Dickstein<br />
Shapiro Morin & Oshinsky LLP pro bono program.<br />
Our Firm’s pro bono program strives to provide opportunities for attorneys<br />
to experience both the essential responsibility of performing community<br />
service for those outside our doors, and the uplifting camaraderie of doing<br />
good deeds alongside a team of our colleagues. We seek to build bridges with<br />
those in our communities who need our help by expanding our partnerships<br />
with local organizations that are committed to improving the lives of others.<br />
Katherine Henry<br />
Committee Member<br />
Ed Tessler<br />
Committee Member<br />
As the pages of this report attest, our pro bono program seeks to deliver<br />
services as a “first-responder.” We answer the call to Experience Community<br />
by becoming an active and impassioned force in its development and<br />
enhancement. We are in landlord-tenant court. We write wills for the elderly.<br />
We assist women and children in need of immediate protection. We mentor<br />
students. We seek to provide personal service to individual clients who need<br />
our help. Through close relationships with pro bono service organization<br />
partners in our communities, we extend our help and relief where they are<br />
most needed.<br />
As a description of our pro bono program, as a goal for our Firm, and as an<br />
encouragement to all in our profession, we offer the following stories of how<br />
Dickstein Shapiro and its clients Experience Community.<br />
Elaine Arabatzis<br />
Diversity/Pro Bono<br />
Counsel<br />
Experience Community 1
Experience Community<br />
>><br />
TABLE OF CONTENTS<br />
Experience Community 3<br />
Community Development 5<br />
Human Rights 9<br />
Children 13<br />
Elder Law 17<br />
Additional Contributions 19<br />
Pro Bono Participants 21
E XPERIENCE C OMMUNITY<br />
At Dickstein Shapiro, we are part of many communities—<br />
professional, social, political, and personal—which define our<br />
experiences with each other on a daily basis. We also are part<br />
of a larger, more encompassing community. This community is<br />
built of friends and family, people we pass on the street, and<br />
people we have never met before. Some live close to us, and<br />
others may live far away, but we all share commonalities regardless<br />
of the diversity of our backgrounds. When the people who<br />
comprise this larger human community have needs that they cannot<br />
meet independently, we feel a responsibility to support them<br />
in the best way we can, be it legal, charitable, or through other<br />
means. It is these people and our experiences with them that<br />
spark within us the spirit of giving—the spirit of pro bono —<br />
on a daily basis.<br />
In 2004, close to half of the people at Dickstein Shapiro—from staff and summer<br />
associates to associates and partners— participated in pro bono work. We were one of<br />
just 12 law firms in Washington, DC honored in 2004 at the prestigious “40 at 50”<br />
Judicial Pro Bono Recognition Breakfast, which recognizes law firms in which at least<br />
40 percent of all attorneys perform a minimum of 50 hours per year of pro bono legal<br />
service. In 2004, we also created the full-time position of Diversity/Pro Bono Counsel,<br />
which was assumed by Firm attorney Elaine Arabatzis, to focus specifically on the<br />
Firm’s growing number of pro bono initiatives. In this new role, Elaine ensures that<br />
our pro bono efforts continue to remain a top priority, by expanding our involvement<br />
with existing community organizations and establishing new and varied opportunities<br />
for our attorneys to participate in valuable volunteer and pro bono programs.<br />
Dickstein Shapiro’s pro bono program strives for both immediate impact and enduring<br />
change. We have forged long-term partnerships with some of the most effective nonprofit<br />
organizations in Washington, DC, New York City, and Los Angeles to improve<br />
community conditions at a structural level. At the same time, our focus is primarily on<br />
individuals rather than on large, general causes. For example, Firm attorneys represented<br />
victims and families of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, ultimately<br />
recovering more than $30 million on behalf of those clients. We take on pro bono<br />
cases that help individual community members improve their lives today.<br />
Experience Community 3
Community Development<br />
>><br />
“<br />
Bread for the City considers Dickstein Shapiro to be one of our great<br />
corporate partners. The Firm consistently has stepped in to assist<br />
in a variety of ways, all of which have furthered the ability of Bread for<br />
the City to fulfill its mission. Dickstein Shapiro also has been the most<br />
continuously generous corporate supporter of Bread for the City<br />
for the last several years. We are immensely grateful to Dickstein Shapiro<br />
for being such a critical part of our past, present, and exciting future.<br />
”<br />
— George Jones, Executive Director<br />
Bread for the City
C OMMUNITY D EVELOPMENT<br />
We are Washingtonians, New Yorkers, and Californians, and it<br />
matters to us that our communities be fair, healthy, and humane<br />
places in which to live and work. Our Firm donates time,<br />
money, and legal services to individuals in need, and to the<br />
nonprofit organizations that often serve as the last safety net for<br />
many in our communities. We have forged long-term partnerships<br />
with many organizations in our communities to ensure that our<br />
efforts have a consistent and lasting impact.<br />
F EEDING PEOPLE AND ENRICHING SOULS<br />
Each month, more than 10,000 people come to Bread for the City for food, and<br />
thousands more receive clothing, medical assistance, and legal services every year.<br />
Since 1997, Dickstein Shapiro has partnered with Bread for the City to provide<br />
legal assistance and services to low-income residents of Washington, DC. The partnership<br />
began when the Firm was looking to expand its pro bono involvement and<br />
opportunities. As Firm partner Joe Kolick, who was chair of the Pro Bono Committee<br />
at that time, commented, “We wanted to help people on a more intimate level,<br />
and a partnership with Bread for the City seemed a way to fit that bill because of<br />
the people who came to the organization.”<br />
Today, Dickstein Shapiro attorneys volunteer at Bread for the City’s two legal clinics<br />
and represent clients in landlord-tenant disputes, Social Security disability benefits<br />
disputes, family law matters, and more.<br />
“Innumerable Bread for the City clients have been helped by Dickstein Shapiro attorneys<br />
over the years,” said Bread for the City’s Executive Director George Jones. Bread<br />
for the City’s diverse clients and cases have dovetailed well with our attorneys’ wide<br />
range of interests, and provide many opportunities for both service and learning.<br />
In addition, Dickstein Shapiro is one of the leading corporate supporters of Bread for<br />
the City. In 2004, our partners, attorneys, staff, and the Firm as a whole contributed<br />
approximately $85,000 to Bread for the City’s Holiday Helpings campaign—about<br />
$10,000 more than we contributed in 2003. Such outstanding generosity from our<br />
attorneys and staff allowed Bread for the City to purchase Thanksgiving dinners for<br />
more than 3,200 families. Earlier in the year, our Clothes for the City Drive filled an<br />
entire truck with clothing that Bread for the City is making available to its clients at<br />
no cost. We are proud to use our corporate resources to assist our local neighbors in<br />
the day-to-day business of life.<br />
Community Development 5
S TRENGTHENING NONPROFITS<br />
We recognize that the pro bono efforts of the legal<br />
field meet only a fraction of the resources needed to<br />
keep our nonprofit and volunteer organizations running.<br />
But through our experiences with these organizations<br />
and with those they serve, we hope to use<br />
our specific legal knowledge to enable them to feed<br />
more children; save more lives; touch more spirits.<br />
Since 1990, Imani House, Inc. has worked to help<br />
low-income youth, immigrants, and families in<br />
Brooklyn, NY and Liberia, West Africa. As a community<br />
support organization, its many efforts<br />
encompass youth development, adult literacy classes,<br />
a food pantry and nutrition program, HIV/AIDS<br />
awareness, and bias awareness and prevention workshops.<br />
Dickstein Shapiro was asked to advise Imani<br />
House on intellectual property matters including<br />
trademarks, service marks, domain names, copyrights,<br />
and the general protection of Imani House’s<br />
well-regarded reputation. In 2004, the Firm initiated<br />
efforts to address Imani House’s trademark and<br />
service mark protection on a federal basis. Attorneys<br />
also rendered advice on protecting the organization’s<br />
cookbook, “Brooklyn Cooks! A Celebration of<br />
Diversity.” Many nonprofits, such as Imani House,<br />
can benefit from pro bono legal counsel in order to<br />
help them operate more effectively, and in turn,<br />
more effectively carry out their missions. Dickstein<br />
Shapiro is proud to help these organizations continue<br />
their important work in our communities.<br />
B ROADENING ACCESS TO LEGAL<br />
SERVICES IN WASHINGTON,DC<br />
Because many in our community do not have access<br />
to legal advice and services, Dickstein Shapiro is an<br />
active participant in the DC Bar’s numerous pro<br />
bono projects. The DC Bar’s Pro Bono Program<br />
mobilizes the private bar to make legal advice and<br />
representation available to low-income residents of<br />
the District of Columbia—essentially, connecting<br />
the need with the appropriate relief.<br />
Some of the most challenging circumstances relate to<br />
divorce, child custody battles, and other family law<br />
matters. Every member of our community deserves<br />
the help of legal aid in these important 0personal situations.<br />
Our attorneys and paralegals staff the DC<br />
Bar’s Family Court Self Help Center one day per<br />
month to assist low-income individuals and others in<br />
need with family law proceedings. We also help staff<br />
the DC Bar’s Child Custody Clinic, presenting a<br />
monthly two-session workshop to help individuals<br />
file for child custody without an attorney. The clinic<br />
provides information about how District of Columbia<br />
law addresses child custody, visitation, and childsupport<br />
arrangements. Our attorneys try to make the<br />
often overwhelming complexities of the legal system<br />
more understandable and effective for those whom it<br />
is intended to aid.<br />
In June 2004, Dickstein Shapiro was awarded the<br />
DC Bar’s annual Frederick B. Abramson Award in<br />
recognition of the Firm’s work in launching the DC<br />
Bar Landlord Tenant Resource Center. This pilot<br />
program of the DC Bar provides free legal information<br />
to unrepresented tenants and landlords in<br />
the District of Columbia. The number of landlordtenant<br />
cases filed each year is growing, and volunteer<br />
attorneys help self-represented persons understand<br />
court proceedings and prepare pleadings.<br />
They also coach self-represented persons on how to<br />
present cases in court, provide information on<br />
obtaining continuances and retaining counsel, make<br />
referrals to legal service providers in appropriate<br />
cases, and inform low-income litigants of financial<br />
and other social service resources that might be<br />
available to them.<br />
6 2004–2005 Pro Bono Report Dickstein Shapiro Morin & Oshinsky LLP
Case Study Wrongful Arrest<br />
Omer Gilliam never expected to be arrested. After<br />
all, he had been a Special Police Officer for 10<br />
years, serving at the Tyler House apartment complex<br />
in Washington, DC. One day, in the course of his<br />
duties, Mr. Gilliam attempted to arrest a trespasser<br />
for assault and unlawful entry. The trespasser<br />
violently resisted arrest, helped by two accomplices.<br />
Then, for reasons that are unclear, Mr. Gilliam was<br />
himself arrested at the scene, his badge and gun<br />
were taken away, and he was handcuffed.<br />
After a three-day trial, Mr. Gilliam was found not<br />
guilty of all charges. Representing himself, Mr.<br />
Gilliam sought to remedy his unlawful arrest by<br />
bringing a civil action against the city. Judge Walton<br />
of the U.S. District Court for the District of<br />
Columbia asked the Firm to represent Mr. Gilliam<br />
in a court-ordered mediation session as part of<br />
Dickstein Shapiro’s commitment to the Mediation<br />
Program. Dickstein Shapiro attorneys prepared<br />
and submitted a pre-mediation statement and<br />
successfully settled the civil suit. The Firm then<br />
agreed to seek the expungement of Mr. Gilliam’s<br />
arrest record, which the DC Superior Court<br />
granted, restoring his reputation as a committed<br />
public servant, and giving him a head start at a<br />
return to normalcy.<br />
“Mr. Gilliam is exactly the type of person the<br />
Dickstein Shapiro Pro Bono Program was<br />
designed to help. Even though he was clearly<br />
wronged, he couldn’t afford to pay an attorney on<br />
an hourly basis, and because of the modest size of<br />
his damages, he didn’t have an attractive contingency<br />
case either. He was left to go through the<br />
system alone,” said David Greenberg, one of the<br />
attorneys for Mr. Gilliam. “Thanks to the Firm’s<br />
commitment to providing pro bono legal services,<br />
Mr. Gilliam was able to obtain the recovery that<br />
he rightfully deserved.”<br />
“We are so grateful for the extraordinary partnership that we have with<br />
Dickstein Shapiro. Their lawyers, paralegals, and staff play important roles in virtually<br />
every aspect of our program—from staffing our Landlord Tenant Resource Center and<br />
the Family Court Self Help Center to training volunteers to help small businesses<br />
through our CED Project and sponsoring our new custody clinic six times a year.<br />
The relationship just keeps growing. Whenever we ask, and whatever<br />
help we need—the Firm has been there for us. When we started a Five-Five Campaign<br />
to raise more funds for our CED Project, Dickstein Shapiro was the first firm to say<br />
yes. The Firm just keeps doing more and doing it very well!”<br />
— Maureen Thornton Syracuse, Director<br />
DC Bar Pro Bono Program<br />
Dickstein Shapiro Morin & Oshinsky LLP Community Development 7
Human Rights<br />
>><br />
“<br />
The NAACP greatly values its working relationships with pro bono<br />
partners, including Dickstein Shapiro Morin & Oshinsky. The Firm’s<br />
attorneys stepped up to the plate in 2004 and assisted<br />
the NAACP with important election protection efforts and with the filing<br />
of amicus briefs.<br />
”<br />
— Angela Ciccolo, Interim General Counsel<br />
NAACP
H UMAN R IGHTS<br />
Identifying discrimination. Supporting political freedoms.<br />
Preventing abuses of power. Dickstein Shapiro attorneys<br />
volunteer to protect human rights through numerous channels.<br />
We have worked closely with the NAACP and other human<br />
rights organizations for several years on a variety of antidiscrimination,<br />
civil rights, and immigration issues. By<br />
collaborating with several human rights programs and other<br />
pro bono partners, our attorneys have the opportunity to use<br />
their professional skills to help ensure that the law affords<br />
equal protections and freedoms to those in need.<br />
P ROTECTING VOTERS’ RIGHTS<br />
After the problems of the 2000 presidential election, many political and civic<br />
organizations decided that in 2004, every registered voter who sought to vote<br />
would be able, and that every proper vote cast would be counted. To this end, the<br />
NAACP and People for the American Way, along with the support of hundreds of<br />
other organizations, formed “Election Protection.” Election Protection mobilized<br />
tens of thousands of volunteers across the country to provide voters with information<br />
about their voting rights, as well as strong legal back-up to help protect those<br />
rights. Dickstein Shapiro attorneys volunteered at command centers in Baltimore,<br />
DC, New York City, and across the nation, manning phone lines, offering legal<br />
advice, and answering voters’ questions and complaints. As a result of this massive<br />
effort, voters had a resource available to them if they encountered problems at<br />
polling places—and citizens were better able to express their voices.<br />
Dickstein Shapiro also championed democracy abroad in 2004 when Firm attorney<br />
and former Senator Joe Tydings served as a monitor in the November and December<br />
Ukraine Presidential Elections. In November, Senator Tydings was part of a delegation<br />
which volunteered to observe and report on the preparations for voting in<br />
Ukraine’s November 21 presidential election. The delegation’s report of corrupt and<br />
fraudulent voting practices eventually led to the Ukrainian parliament and supreme<br />
court declaring the election invalid and scheduling a new election for December 26.<br />
Senator Tydings then served as Chairman of a 31-member delegation which returned<br />
to the country to prepare for the new election with a series of briefings and to meet<br />
with judges and other election officials in their assigned districts. On the day of the<br />
election, the delegation monitored the voting, watched the counting of ballots, and<br />
traveled with the ballots as they made their way to the territorial election headquarters.<br />
Human Rights 9
Senator Tydings devoted significant time to help<br />
achieve a democratic government and true market<br />
economy in the Ukraine. His volunteer efforts also<br />
represent Dickstein Shapiro’s commitment to support<br />
freedom for everyone, both at home and<br />
abroad.<br />
W ORKING TO END DISCRIMINATION<br />
Dickstein Shapiro has a strong partnership with the<br />
NAACP, working on a variety of anti-discrimination<br />
efforts. In 2004, we examined how the Environmental<br />
Protection Agency (EPA) received environmental<br />
complaints and whether there was evidence of discrimination<br />
in its responsiveness. Dickstein Shapiro<br />
is developing a report to analyze how complaints<br />
were handled, including suggestions for improvement,<br />
and how citizens and citizens’ groups can<br />
ensure appropriate responses to their complaints.<br />
In another case referred to Dickstein Shapiro by<br />
the NAACP, and in partnership with Human<br />
Rights First, we are examining whether the city of<br />
Port Wentworth, Georgia, has discriminated<br />
against two African-American communities by<br />
providing inferior municipal services. Ultimately,<br />
our goal with this project is to help the NAACP in<br />
its efforts to promote equitable treatment for all<br />
people, regardless of race.<br />
C OUNTERING RACIAL INJUSTICE<br />
While it is remarkable that our society has made<br />
vast improvements in supporting and celebrating<br />
diversity in our communities, the fact remains that<br />
racial profiling continues to persist in the United<br />
States, particularly in the aftermath of September<br />
11, 2001. One Dickstein Shapiro attorney and<br />
paralegal team drafted a white paper for the American<br />
Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) regarding the<br />
nature and extent of racial profiling practices used<br />
by federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies.<br />
The paper is to be submitted by the ACLU to<br />
the United Nations Commission on Human<br />
Rights in an effort to encourage the Commission<br />
to hold hearings on the issue in 2005. It discusses<br />
how the continued use of racial profiling in the<br />
nation conflicts with U.S. obligations under international<br />
human rights treaties, and advocates passage<br />
of the End Racial Profiling Act of 2004. This<br />
pending legislation would ban racial profiling by<br />
law enforcement agencies and establish a host of<br />
data collection and reporting requirements, training<br />
opportunities, and financial incentives to<br />
ensure compliance.<br />
P RESERVING IMMIGRANTS’ RIGHTS<br />
The United States long has been a haven for<br />
people seeking asylum from persecution. As innocent<br />
refugees continue to flee troubled homelands,<br />
organizations such as the Capital Area Immigrants’<br />
Rights Coalition (CAIR) provide much-needed<br />
support. Dickstein Shapiro is a pro bono partner<br />
with CAIR, a nonprofit that coordinates the interests<br />
and activities of 75 local community-based<br />
organizations active in the immigration rights<br />
field. In 2004, one Dickstein Shapiro attorney<br />
worked with the CAIR Coalition to represent<br />
Gloria Guzman, a 59-year-old woman facing<br />
deportation to Colombia. Ms. Guzman was seeking<br />
asylum because members of her family had<br />
been threatened and killed by Colombian guerrillas.<br />
Dickstein Shapiro remains committed to helping<br />
immigrant members of our communities, particularly<br />
in the Washington, DC area, where one out<br />
of every nine immigrants is a war refugee or person<br />
seeking political asylum.<br />
10 2004–2005 Pro Bono Report Dickstein Shapiro Morin & Oshinsky LLP
F IGHTING FOR OTHERS<br />
A measure of our society is how we help those<br />
who are powerless to help themselves. The DC<br />
Prisoners’ Legal Services Project advocates for the<br />
humane treatment and dignity of persons convicted<br />
or charged with a criminal offense and works<br />
to help their families with prison-related issues. In<br />
2004, Dickstein Shapiro attorneys worked with<br />
the DC Prisoners’ Legal Services Project to represent<br />
the mother of Clifton Conner, a mentally ill<br />
individual who committed suicide in his prison<br />
cell. An investigation found that Mr. Conner had<br />
not received the mental health treatment to which<br />
he was entitled, and that this lack of treatment<br />
contributed to or caused his death. Dickstein<br />
Shapiro attorneys brought federal civil rights and<br />
state wrongful death claims against the Virginia<br />
Department of Corrections (VDOC), Prison<br />
Health Services, and several prison employees on<br />
behalf of Mr. Conner’s estate.<br />
The case faced several serious hurdles. VDOC<br />
moved to dismiss on the grounds that it, as an<br />
agent of the state, enjoyed sovereign immunity<br />
under the Eleventh Amendment and could not be<br />
sued. In addition, the standard for proving a civil<br />
rights case is high, and prisoner civil rights cases in<br />
federal court in Virginia rarely favor the plaintiff.<br />
On top of all that, because Mr. Conner was not<br />
able to tell his own story, it had to be recreated<br />
through the testimony of the defendants. But, our<br />
attorneys’ perseverance paid off. The judge denied<br />
VDOC’s motion to dismiss the summary judgment<br />
motion of Prisoner Health Services, and settlements<br />
ultimately were reached with all of the<br />
defendants.<br />
Case Study Political Asylum<br />
“Alex” lost his entire family in 1994 when political<br />
and ethnic tensions erupted in his home country of<br />
Rwanda, leading to the orchestrated genocide of<br />
nearly one million ethnic Tutsis by ethnic Hutus.<br />
Alex, a Tutsi, survived by sheer luck and channeled<br />
his grief and anger into peace activism and advocacy<br />
for the rights of genocide survivors. But, he was<br />
continually threatened by agents of the government<br />
and eventually imprisoned and tortured. With the<br />
help of an international aid organization, Alex was<br />
released from prison and continued to speak out<br />
against government abuses and injustice. When<br />
three of his fellow activists were imprisoned, Alex<br />
fled Rwanda and came to the United States to seek<br />
political asylum. His case came to Dickstein Shapiro<br />
through Human Rights First.<br />
Human Rights First is a nonprofit organization that<br />
works in the United States and abroad to create a<br />
secure and humane world by advancing justice,<br />
human dignity, and respect for the rule of law. The<br />
organization supports human rights activists who<br />
fight for basic freedoms and peaceful change at the<br />
local level, protects refugees in flight from persecution<br />
and repression, helps build a strong international<br />
system of justice and accountability, and ensures<br />
that human rights laws and principles are enforced.<br />
An attorney at Dickstein Shapiro drafted the legal<br />
brief and collected more than 55 exhibits corroborating<br />
Alex’s story. The attorney also represented<br />
Alex at a hearing before an immigration officer.<br />
Dickstein Shapiro provided translation services at<br />
the hearing and exhaustive fact-finding to support<br />
the brief. On November 30, 2004, Alex was granted<br />
asylum in the United States, which also extends to<br />
his wife and children who are still in Rwanda. He<br />
plans to bring his family here and continue his crusade<br />
for justice and protection for genocide survivors.<br />
Through Human Rights First, Dickstein Shapiro<br />
helps refugees like Alex, and their families, pursue a<br />
life of security and liberty in the United States.<br />
Dickstein Shapiro Morin & Oshinsky LLP Human Rights 11
Children<br />
>><br />
“<br />
The Dickstein Shapiro team helped Lawyers for Children<br />
immensely with preparing an appellate brief on a complicated child<br />
custody case. It was a pleasure to work with each attorney, and it was<br />
invaluable to have their expertise in litigation and appellate practice. I<br />
truly appreciate the great amount of time and effort<br />
that each member of the team committed to this matter.<br />
”<br />
— Molly Murphy, Attorney<br />
Lawyers for Children
C HILDREN<br />
A community’s children are today’s treasure and tomorrow’s hope.<br />
From the beginning, our pro bono work has had a strong focus on<br />
children. From tackling complicated child custody cases to our<br />
partnerships with The Alliance for Children’s Rights, Duke<br />
Ellington School of the Arts, and The Mentoring Tree Foundation,<br />
Dickstein Shapiro attorneys and staff devote hundreds of<br />
hours every year to children and the issues that govern their lives.<br />
H ELPING STUDENTS ACHIEVE THEIR GOALS<br />
It is difficult to be a serious student when one also is underprivileged. Dickstein<br />
Shapiro is committed to helping students in our communities realize their full potential.<br />
In 2004, several Firm attorneys represented The Mentoring Tree Foundation in<br />
its incorporation in New York State and recognition by the IRS as a 501(c)(3) public<br />
charity. The Mentoring Tree Foundation plans to match underprivileged youth in the<br />
New York City area with mentors and to provide scholarships and financial support<br />
for mentees’ educational endeavors. As a result of the favorable IRS determination<br />
letter the organization received on<br />
October 30, it now can operate<br />
as a public charity and better<br />
serve underprivileged children.<br />
“We are thrilled to now have tax-exempt<br />
status,” said Mentoring Tree Foundation<br />
Founder Florence Dupont. “This is going to<br />
make a major difference in our fundraising<br />
efforts. We are very appreciative of your<br />
invaluable responsiveness and dedication.”<br />
Dickstein Shapiro’s representation<br />
of The Mentoring Tree Foundation<br />
is just one of our many<br />
efforts supporting mentoring in<br />
New York. Firm attorneys have<br />
mentored students at Martin<br />
Luther King Jr. High School’s Justice Resource Center since 2002, and the Firm<br />
also represents Minds Matter of New York City, which matches inner-city high<br />
school students with mentors. In Washington, DC, seven attorneys participated<br />
in discussions with students about educational and career issues as part of the<br />
Banneker Academic High School Career Day in November 2004, and attorneys<br />
also volunteered as judges at Banneker’s annual Science Fair in February 2004.<br />
E NCOURAGING YOUNG ARTISTS<br />
For more than ten years, Dickstein Shapiro has partnered with the District’s<br />
renowned Duke Ellington School of the Arts. Each summer since 2000, we have<br />
sponsored four students and one faculty member to attend the Anderson Ranch Arts<br />
Center in Snowmass Village, Colorado for two weeks of intensive courses in the arts.<br />
Children 13
The award-winning faculty and the Ranch’s lovely<br />
natural surroundings inspire the students to try new<br />
media. Last year, they made arrangements with<br />
Ranch staff to present their new works to the entire<br />
student body in the meeting hall one evening.<br />
This once-in-a-lifetime trip challenges the students<br />
both artistically and socially, taking them to an unfamiliar<br />
environment and putting them in classes with<br />
skilled adult artists (some of whom are professionals<br />
or teachers). Duke Ellington students always have<br />
measured up to the challenge. Sidney Dickstein,<br />
Firm co-founder who started the program and also<br />
travels to Colorado each year, said, “We know how<br />
bringing these students to the Anderson Ranch Arts<br />
Center can change, and has changed, their lives.”<br />
Dickstein Shapiro is involved with the Duke Ellington<br />
School in other ways, too. 2004 was the sixth year<br />
in which the Firm sponsored its annual contest for<br />
Duke Ellington students to design the Firm’s holiday<br />
card. And, our attorneys spent time nearly every<br />
week during the 2003-2004 school year teaching<br />
Duke Ellington students as part of the Street Law<br />
Program, which aims to empower students to transform<br />
democratic ideals into citizen action and culminates<br />
in a Mock Trial Competition each spring.<br />
P ROTECTING JUVENILES FROM THE<br />
DEATH PENALTY<br />
Until very recently, the United States was one of just<br />
five countries that still executed juvenile offenders.<br />
But on March 3, 2005, the U.S. Supreme Court<br />
declared unconstitutional the application of the<br />
death penalty to criminals who were under the age<br />
of 18 when they committed their capital crimes, and<br />
changed the nation’s constitutional legal landscape<br />
with one controversial ruling. Dickstein Shapiro is<br />
proud to have played an important role in this decision.<br />
From May to July, Dickstein Shapiro attorneys, led<br />
by partner and former Senator Joe Tydings, were<br />
part of a team that wrote and filed an amicus brief<br />
to the Supreme Court in Roper v. Simmons.On<br />
behalf of our client, the Coalition for Juvenile<br />
Justice (CJJ), we argued that such executions violate<br />
the Fifth, Sixth, and Fourteenth Amendments. CJJ<br />
is a voluntary organization made up of governorappointed<br />
members of state juvenile justice<br />
organizations. CJJ serves as a national resource on<br />
delinquency prevention and juvenile justice issues,<br />
and more than 1,500 CJJ volunteers nationwide<br />
participate as members of state advisory groups.<br />
Juveniles facing the death penalty encounter many<br />
hardships. Our brief focused on juveniles’ difficulties<br />
communicating with counsel, managing their<br />
own defense, establishing factors mitigating against<br />
the death penalty, their tendencies to confess (even<br />
falsely) under pressure, and the heightened risk<br />
that they might be wrongly convicted or sentenced<br />
to death when unwarranted. The brief was part of<br />
a campaign by death penalty opponents to persuade<br />
the court to abolish capital punishment for<br />
juveniles. Oral arguments took place in October<br />
2004, and in March, in a 5-4 Opinion written by<br />
Justice Anthony Kennedy, the Supreme Court<br />
agreed with penalty opponents and our brief, and<br />
ruled to abolish the death penalty for juveniles.<br />
G IVING CHILDREN A VOICE IN THE<br />
LEGAL SYSTEM<br />
Children are most affected by custody disputes, yet<br />
they often have no voice in the legal proceedings.<br />
Dickstein Shapiro works closely with Lawyers for<br />
Children in New York City, a nonprofit organization<br />
dedicated to representing children in<br />
foster care, and to providing free legal and social<br />
work services to children who are the subject of<br />
abuse, neglect, termination of parental rights,<br />
adoption, guardianship, paternity, custody, and<br />
visitation proceedings. In 2004, Lawyers for<br />
Children asked Dickstein Shapiro to help with<br />
a complicated custody case. In the midst of ugly<br />
allegations and high-profile media coverage, our<br />
attorneys and paralegals focused on representing<br />
the best interests of the children.<br />
In Los Angeles, The Alliance for Children’s Rights<br />
is the county’s only nonprofit, free legal services<br />
provider, information clearinghouse, and social<br />
services referral organization devoted solely to<br />
helping children living in poverty and foster care.<br />
Dickstein Shapiro participates in The Alliance’s<br />
Volunteer Attorney Network of attorneys who<br />
donate their time and experience to provide critical<br />
14 2004–2005 Pro Bono Report Dickstein Shapiro Morin & Oshinsky LLP
legal assistance to the thousands of children and<br />
families the organization supports each year. Our<br />
attorneys have assisted with more than 250 foster<br />
adoptions through cases referred by The Alliance<br />
and its full-time legal intake program, striving to<br />
secure a safe environment where each child hopefully<br />
can begin to experience the pleasures of a<br />
childhood outside the legal system.<br />
R EUNITING CHILDREN AND PARENTS<br />
It is a parent’s worst nightmare—your children are<br />
taken out of your country and into hiding in<br />
another. In the spring of 2000, Alberto and Nadia<br />
Pardo were taken from their home in Poland and<br />
moved to the United States by their father. Their<br />
mother, Ms. Nowicka, located them the following<br />
year and asked the courts to send them back for a<br />
custody determination under the Hague Convention.<br />
When her request was denied, her case was<br />
referred to Dickstein Shapiro. Despite our attorneys’<br />
initial efforts, a judge awarded full custody to<br />
the father with very limited visitation for Ms.<br />
Nowicka, and also ordered her to pay more than<br />
$40,000 of the father’s attorneys’ fees as well as<br />
monthly child support.<br />
Our team of attorneys did not give up. Over a period<br />
of seven months, we argued numerous motions<br />
on Ms. Nowicka’s behalf. Several of our attorneys<br />
even spent a night in jail with her after the court<br />
sent her there for non-payment of child support. In<br />
March 2004, after a three-day trial, Ms. Nowicka<br />
was awarded joint legal custody of her children<br />
along with fair visitation. We helped her obtain an<br />
immigration visa, and she is now employed fulltime<br />
in the United States. This case is a shining<br />
example of our attorneys’ tenacity, commitment,<br />
and willingness to go the extra mile for a client.<br />
Case Study A Birthday to Remember<br />
When it comes to pro bono projects, sometimes we<br />
partner with clients in our efforts as well. That is<br />
what happened when one Dickstein Shapiro legal<br />
secretary asked if anyone in the Firm could help<br />
her get an autographed baseball for the daughter of<br />
her mother’s elder law attorney. The daughter,<br />
Stacy, is a Down Syndrome child who loves the<br />
Baltimore Orioles (a Firm client) and especially<br />
their catcher, Javy Lopez. Firm partner Jerry<br />
Oshinsky and executive assistant Susan Taylor<br />
contacted the Orioles’ general counsel to see what<br />
could be done—quite a bit, as it turned out.<br />
Stacy and her family had tickets to attend a game<br />
on her birthday. On game day, Stacy and her father<br />
were greeted by an Orioles representative and<br />
promptly ushered down to the field to watch batting<br />
practice and meet players and coaches. Every<br />
single player introduced himself to Stacy and<br />
signed her baseball. They invited her to sit in the<br />
dugout and chat. And —a dream fulfilled—she<br />
had her picture taken with Javy Lopez and got his<br />
autograph. After batting practice, Stacy and her<br />
entire family were escorted to the Camden Club<br />
for a special birthday dinner. As if that were not<br />
enough, birthday wishes were even flashed across<br />
the scoreboard during the game. It is a testament<br />
to the generosity of the Baltimore Orioles that<br />
everyone was able to give Stacy a birthday she’ll<br />
remember forever.<br />
Dickstein Shapiro Morin & Oshinsky LLP Children 15
Elder Law<br />
>><br />
“<br />
The work of Dickstein Shapiro has contributed greatly to the ability of<br />
senior citizens in the District of Columbia to take control of<br />
their lives. Through its sponsorship of Advance Directives workshops<br />
hundreds of elderly residents have executed powers of attorney and<br />
living wills to plan for possible incapacity. AARP and Legal Counsel for<br />
the Elderly are proud to work with such dedicated attorneys.<br />
— Carol Matthews, Money Management Program Coordinator<br />
AARP, Legal Counsel for the Elderly<br />
”
E LDER L AW<br />
Navigating the maze of benefits and planning for long-term<br />
care and guardianship is intimidating for most of us as we grow<br />
older. It is doubly confusing for low-income seniors and their<br />
families who cannot afford legal advice and services. From<br />
sponsoring free workshops to aiding individual families in need,<br />
Dickstein Shapiro continues to strengthen its commitment to<br />
helping low-income elders make sound decisions for their lives.<br />
H ELPING SENIORS OBTAIN THE SERVICES THEY NEED<br />
Many elderly people want to live in the comfort of their own homes as long as they<br />
can, but they need special services to make that possible. Attorneys in our New York<br />
office are working with Legal Services for the Elderly, an organization that supports<br />
legal assistance to senior citizens in New York City, to enable a 98-year-old woman<br />
and her 67-year-old daughter, immigrants from Puerto Rico, to continue living<br />
together in their apartment. Both have serious health problems—the mother has<br />
dementia and the daughter has Parkinson’s disease —but they could continue living<br />
at home with assistance from a home-care service. However, the state is requiring the<br />
mother to move to a nursing home because of the daughter’s disability.<br />
Dickstein Shapiro attorneys have visited the two women and evaluated their situation in<br />
preparation for a prospective fair hearing by the local agency. Currently, the attorneys are<br />
waiting for that hearing to be scheduled.<br />
Izumi Yokoyama, an attorney involved in the case, said, “I am so happy to be able<br />
to help these women. I feel a personal connection with them, because as a nonresident<br />
immigrant, I can relate to their status.” This case is illustrative of our attorneys’<br />
determination to reach out to people in our communities, one life at a time.<br />
P REPARING SENIORS FOR CRITICAL LIFE DECISIONS<br />
For the past 11 years, we have partnered with Legal Counsel for the Elderly to present<br />
free Durable Power of Attorney Workshops in hospitals, churches, and senior<br />
citizen centers throughout Washington, DC. Since the program’s inception in 1993,<br />
the workshops have provided more than 3,000 free financial and health care powers<br />
of attorney to low-income Washington, DC residents.<br />
“Although aging and incapacity are not something that we like to think about, it is<br />
important to prepare for the later stages in life while we still have our faculties,” said<br />
Dickstein Shapiro attorney Darren Long.<br />
Elder Law 17
In 2004, Dickstein Shapiro attorneys presented the<br />
workshops to 10 separate organizations in Washington,<br />
DC. Public notaries at Dickstein Shapiro<br />
notarized the durable power of attorney forms for<br />
the seniors at no charge.<br />
“Preparation of these documents greatly reduces<br />
stress and worry for family members who must<br />
manage financial matters and make difficult medical<br />
decisions during times of critical injury or illness,”<br />
said Ken Trotter, one of the attorneys involved. “It<br />
also empowers seniors with the legally binding tools<br />
to ensure that they have control over their financial<br />
and personal affairs at a decisive point in their lives.”<br />
Thanks to these volunteer efforts, seniors are able<br />
to prepare critical life-planning documents before<br />
they need them and help guarantee that their<br />
wishes will be met in the future.<br />
“Seniors appreciate your efforts and you<br />
walk out of each seminar thinking that<br />
you have made a significant contribution<br />
in someone’s life.”<br />
—Andrés Colón, Attorney<br />
Dickstein Shapiro<br />
Case Study Social Security Benefits<br />
What if poor health prevented you from working —<br />
and you were denied the benefits on which you<br />
expected to rely? That is the situation in which a<br />
lifelong cafeteria worker in Washington, DC found<br />
herself. The 49-year-old, who suffers from peripheral<br />
vascular disease and several other ailments, had<br />
been turned down twice for Supplemental Security<br />
Income (SSI) by the Social Security Administration.<br />
In January 2000, the worker became unable to<br />
work due to the onset of her disease, which<br />
restricts blood flow to the legs and made it difficult<br />
for her to be on her feet for long periods of time.<br />
Despite two surgeries, she remained unable to walk<br />
or stand for longer than 15 minutes. The Administration<br />
initially denied her application for SSI<br />
because of her history of drug and alcohol abuse.<br />
However, at a hearing before Administrative Law<br />
Judge Eugene Bond, in which a Dickstein Shapiro<br />
attorney, who was working on the case, questioned<br />
witnesses and presented oral arguments, the client<br />
testified that she had been drug-free for nearly 20<br />
years. That testimony was corroborated by her<br />
medical records. The judge overturned the Administration’s<br />
two-time denial of her application for<br />
benefits and ruled that she was entitled to retroactive<br />
benefits. Sadly, she later succumbed to her illnesses,<br />
but we were happy to help her win this<br />
final victory.<br />
18 2004–2005 Pro Bono Report Dickstein Shapiro Morin & Oshinsky LLP
Additional Contributions<br />
>><br />
Our pro bono and charitable activities are as diverse as the communities in which<br />
we live. As a result, some projects defy categorization—they are simply projects of<br />
the heart.<br />
P OINTING THE WAY OUT OF<br />
DOMESTIC VIOLENCE<br />
Women Empowered Against Violence (WEAVE)<br />
is an organization that provides legal and social<br />
service resources to victims of domestic violence.<br />
Numerous Firm attorneys are WEAVE-trained<br />
and partner with the organization to help women<br />
obtain civil protection orders and divorces, and<br />
assist with child custody matters.<br />
For some victims of domestic violence, something<br />
as simple as a cell phone can mean the difference<br />
between life and death. Safe Horizon, another Firm<br />
pro bono partner, provides cell phones to victims of<br />
domestic violence, rape, sexual assault, and stalking,<br />
so they can call 911 at any time. Dickstein Shapiro<br />
attorneys and staff collected more than 40 old cell<br />
phones for donation to Safe Horizon last year.<br />
T RANSLATING THE LAW FOR<br />
NON-ENGLISH SPEAKERS<br />
Understanding one’s rights and protections under<br />
the law is difficult when one’s native tongue is not<br />
English. Two Dickstein Shapiro attorneys volunteered<br />
to work with inMotion, a New York-based<br />
nonprofit that provides low-income, underserved,<br />
or abused women with free legal services, on their<br />
Cross-Borough Collaboration Translation Project.<br />
The attorneys reviewed and revised Japanese and<br />
Chinese translations of law basics relating to legal<br />
guardians, child abuse, and child neglect. The complete<br />
translations will be placed on the Internet so<br />
that immigrants and non-immigrant residents can<br />
access this legal information.<br />
R AISING MONEY FOR A CURE<br />
One Firm attorney lost his father to Lou Gehrig’s<br />
Disease when he was 17. Today, he is working to<br />
further research into amyotrophic lateral sclerosis<br />
(ALS). This past year, the attorney and other<br />
Dickstein Shapiro attorneys provided pro bono<br />
legal services for The Inaugural Friends for ALS<br />
Research Celebrity Golf Classic, hosted by PGA<br />
Tour Professional Tom Watson. Our team negotiated<br />
all of the contractual arrangements required<br />
for the event, which was a huge success and raised<br />
more than $450,000 for continued ALS research.<br />
D OING S MALL M IRACLES FOR O THERS<br />
Whether pursuing a spontaneous project or devoting<br />
many hours to a cause, our offices are continually<br />
involved in the pro bono experience. Our communities<br />
inspire a range of contribution—from<br />
associates buying a winter coat for a homeless person<br />
on the street to “Doing Small Miracles for<br />
Others,” the nonprofit organization our employees<br />
formed in 1987 to raise money and donate toys to<br />
local charities and shelters. We have a long history<br />
of commitment to our communities—a commitment<br />
we work to exceed every year.<br />
Dickstein Shapiro Morin & Oshinsky LLP Additional Contributions 19
Case Study Insurance Coverage Victory<br />
When Diana Maddred-Exum was diagnosed with<br />
multiple myeloma, she never dreamed that fighting<br />
cancer would also entail fighting her insurance<br />
company. Her physician at the Greenebaum Cancer<br />
Center in Baltimore recommended a bone marrow<br />
transplant, recognized as the standard of care for<br />
multiple myeloma, and participation in a clinical<br />
trial for a vaccine to enhance her ability to resist<br />
infection after the transplant.<br />
Ms. Maddred-Exum, who had worked for Wendy’s<br />
restaurants for nearly 20 years, had health benefits<br />
through an employee plan governed by the<br />
Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974<br />
(ERISA). She requested coverage for the transplant,<br />
but not for the vaccine, which would be paid<br />
for entirely by the Greenebaum Cancer Center.<br />
Wendy’s and its plan administrator, CoreSource,<br />
first agreed to pay for the transplant, then changed<br />
their decision and denied coverage for the transplant<br />
and everything related to the procedure.<br />
Ms. Maddred-Exum’s physician contacted a Firm<br />
partner who is also a cancer survivor and a member<br />
of the Greenebaum Cancer Center Board of Visitors.<br />
He and a fellow Dickstein Shapiro attorney<br />
tried to resolve the dispute amicably with Wendy’s<br />
and CoreSource. When that did not work, they<br />
filed suit on Diana’s behalf. Wendy’s and Core-<br />
Source admitted that the transplant was a covered<br />
procedure under Diana’s benefit plan, but argued<br />
that the experimental vaccine (for which Diana was<br />
not seeking coverage) rendered the entire course of<br />
treatment experimental and outside of her coverage.<br />
Fearing that delay would jeopardize Diana’s health,<br />
her physician and the Greenebaum Center agreed<br />
to perform the transplant without any guarantee of<br />
payment. The attorneys filed a motion for summary<br />
judgment and an expedited hearing, citing the toll<br />
that litigation was taking on their client. Just nine<br />
days after Wendy’s and CoreSource responded to<br />
the motion, the judge granted their motion for<br />
summary judgment – without a hearing. The judge<br />
held that the defendants’ basis for denying coverage<br />
lacked even “theoretical medical support” and constituted<br />
a “bad faith abuse of their discretion.” He<br />
also ordered the defendants to pay Ms. Maddred-<br />
Exum’s legal fees, even though Dickstein Shapiro<br />
had agreed to handle the case pro bono.<br />
“Placing the call to Diana after the Court granted<br />
our summary judgment motion was one of the<br />
most gratifying experiences of my life,” said Andy<br />
Weiner, one of the attorneys involved. “She felt<br />
relieved that she could focus 100 percent of her<br />
energy on her recovery. Hopefully, our work on<br />
this case has helped not only Diana, but future<br />
patients who will have one less battle to fight.”<br />
Photography Notes<br />
Page 4: Center photo, Dickstein Shapiro paralegal Michael Bradley mulches gardens as part of a May 2004 Greater DC Cares community improvement project.<br />
Page 15: Photo on left, Duke Ellington students and faculty visit the Anderson Ranch Arts Center in Snowmass Village, Colorado, in June 2004, (from left) Gloria Lopez, Howard Soloman,<br />
Cecilie Lindsay, Jarvis Grant, and Christon Bacon.<br />
Page 15: Center photo, Dickstein Shapiro helps Stacy celebrate her birthday with the Baltimore Orioles [pictured here with second baseman Brian Roberts].<br />
20 2004–2005 Pro Bono Report Dickstein Shapiro Morin & Oshinsky LLP
2004 Pro Bono Participants<br />
Andrew Abraham<br />
Pamela Acree<br />
Kenneth Adams<br />
Tarmi Addonizio<br />
O. Joy Ajao<br />
Saminaz Akhter<br />
Dawn Albert<br />
Robert Aldrich<br />
Marisol Alers<br />
DeAnna Allen<br />
Sharon Almagro<br />
Elaine Arabatzis<br />
Angelo Arcadipane<br />
Scott Arnold<br />
Lisa Barbas<br />
Alicia Batts<br />
Jeffrey Becherer<br />
Eric Bensky<br />
Matthew Bergman<br />
Michele Bernard<br />
Ginger BeVard<br />
Dhamian Blue<br />
Ian Blum<br />
George Boggs<br />
Vijay Bondada<br />
Jessica Borriello<br />
Andrew Bourne<br />
Michael Bradley<br />
Anne Brooksher<br />
Kenneth Brothers<br />
Jason Bruno<br />
John Bryant<br />
Karen Bush<br />
Racquel Callender<br />
Henry Cashen<br />
Charmaine Cheung<br />
Justin Chiarodo<br />
Erin Clancy<br />
Billie Clinton<br />
Judith Cohen<br />
Leslie Cohen<br />
Robin Cohen<br />
Derek Cole<br />
Andres Cólón<br />
Kenneth Colson<br />
Gabriela Coman<br />
Andrew Cooper<br />
David Cox<br />
John Criner<br />
Lindsay Crocker<br />
Susan Crowley<br />
Jeremy Cubert<br />
Eli Curi, Jr.<br />
Estelina Dallett<br />
Pamela DeCoteau<br />
Merle DeLancey<br />
Michelle DePass<br />
James Derry<br />
Lynne DeSarbo<br />
Sidney Dickstein<br />
James DiNatale<br />
Erenia Dominguez<br />
Erica Dominitz<br />
Shannon Donnelly<br />
Dipu Doshi<br />
Jacqueline Downs<br />
Stephen Dvorkin<br />
Terry Eaton<br />
Carmela Edmunds<br />
Steven R. Eichel<br />
Jason Eig<br />
Larry Eisenstat<br />
David Engelhardt<br />
Michael Engleman<br />
Janet Fallon<br />
Robert Fallon<br />
Maria Farinella<br />
Margaret Feinstein<br />
Howard Feldman<br />
Robert Felgar<br />
Joseph Fields<br />
Richard Fields<br />
Laurence Fisher<br />
Ryan Flax<br />
Barry Fleishman<br />
Cassandra Franklin<br />
Kenneth Frenchman<br />
Robert Friedman<br />
Helene Gao<br />
Lawrence Garr<br />
Burt Garson<br />
Keisha Gary<br />
John Gibbons<br />
Kara Gleason<br />
Jonathan Goodman<br />
Devon Grant<br />
Carmiece Graves<br />
Abbey Green<br />
David Greenberg<br />
Donald Gregory<br />
Jon Grossman<br />
David Gunn<br />
Jennifer Hackett<br />
Laura Hamilton<br />
Julie Harris<br />
Elaine Hartmann<br />
Kathryn Hartzler<br />
Kim Hassan<br />
Eden Heard<br />
Katherine Henry<br />
Mohammed Hersi<br />
Clyde Hettrick<br />
Victoria Heyliger<br />
Jamila Hoard<br />
Kathryn Holloman<br />
Julia Holt<br />
Asunción Hostin<br />
Allan Hubbard<br />
Joanna Hudson-<br />
Therway<br />
Ian Hummel<br />
Kathryn Hutchinson<br />
Randi Hutchinson<br />
Alicia Insley<br />
Howard Jatlow<br />
Lisa Jefferson<br />
Lynda Jenkins<br />
Jeffrey Johnson<br />
Peter Jost<br />
Lisa Kaas<br />
Peter Kadzik<br />
Leslie Kaplan<br />
Patrick Kealy<br />
Suzanne Kelley<br />
Deborah Kelly<br />
James Kelly<br />
Samuel Kim<br />
Michael Kimberling<br />
Jeremy King<br />
Joseph Kolick<br />
Mark Kolman<br />
Linda Kornfeld<br />
Ira Kotel<br />
John Kotelly<br />
Albert Kramer<br />
Victoria Kummer<br />
Gregory Kwan<br />
Anthony LaBarrie<br />
Richard LaCava<br />
Justin Lamson<br />
Neil Lefkowitz<br />
Chris Leonardo<br />
Rachael Leventhal<br />
Barry Levine<br />
Marc Lewinstein<br />
Selena Linde<br />
Susan Littell<br />
Darren Long<br />
Frederick Lowther<br />
Paul Lucey<br />
Ann-Marie Luciano<br />
Ryan Luft<br />
Marilyn Lynch<br />
Patrick Lynch<br />
Kevin MacLeod<br />
Hanna Madbak<br />
Joseph Magnas<br />
Matthew Maloney<br />
Doreen Manchester<br />
Raymond Marbury<br />
Carla Marcolin<br />
Keith Markel<br />
James Martin<br />
Jack Martins<br />
Johnisha Matthews<br />
Kevin McCarthy<br />
Tammy McCutchen<br />
Andrew McFarland<br />
Peter McGee<br />
Reginald McKnight<br />
Charles Mehler III<br />
Ryan Mehm<br />
Joseph Meringolo<br />
Stacey Mervin<br />
Elaine Metlin<br />
Frances Miller<br />
Helen Mintz<br />
Myron Mintz<br />
Gianni Minutoli<br />
Ira Mitzner<br />
Elizabeth Moore<br />
Peter Morgan<br />
Kenneth Morrow<br />
Robert Moss<br />
Dickstein Shapiro Core Values<br />
Excellence<br />
We value excellence. This high standard enables<br />
us to promise and deliver excellence to our clients.<br />
Loyalty<br />
We value loyalty to our clients, to each<br />
other, and to the Firm.<br />
Respect<br />
We value the law and respect its importance in<br />
society. We respect our clients, our attorneys, and our<br />
staff and believe in an environment that offers equal<br />
opportunity for all.<br />
Initiative<br />
We value innovative problem solving and<br />
entrepreneurial energy to advance the interests of<br />
our clients and the business of the Firm.<br />
Integrity<br />
We value moral and ethical dedication, personal<br />
responsibility, and honorable, principled actions.<br />
Sarah Mudho<br />
Jennifer Mullen<br />
Shannon Mullen<br />
Tressa Munoz<br />
Susan Murphy<br />
Michael Nannes<br />
Sabrina Nelson<br />
Kelly Newsome<br />
Amy Nice<br />
Stephen Nichols<br />
Tim O’Brien<br />
Sharon O’Donnell<br />
Christopher O’Hara<br />
James O’Neill<br />
Jerry Oshinsky<br />
Sulay Ozturk<br />
Victor Padro<br />
Angelica Palacio<br />
Jonathan Palmer<br />
Aaron Pam<br />
Peter Paris<br />
Elizabeth Parsons<br />
Kirk Pasich<br />
Scott Peck<br />
Whitney Pellegrino<br />
Joel Perrell<br />
Richard Perrin<br />
Kim Perry<br />
Woody Peterson<br />
Gloria Pfeiffer<br />
Todd Piczak<br />
Akis Piknis<br />
Amanda Pitcher<br />
George Pitts<br />
Ira Polon<br />
R. Edward Poole<br />
Rodney Pratt<br />
Adam Proujansky<br />
Jill Proulx<br />
Joe Ragusa<br />
Richard Randig<br />
Frank Razzano<br />
Debra Rednik<br />
Tina Reynolds<br />
Jeffrey Rhodes<br />
Seth Richardson<br />
Deborah Ringel<br />
Todd Roberts<br />
Steven Roman<br />
Malcolm Ross<br />
Gabrielle Roth<br />
Rebecca Rottenberg<br />
Michael Rustum<br />
Daniel Rylaarsdam<br />
Lora Saada<br />
Carrie Safford<br />
Stacey Saiontz<br />
Michael Scheer<br />
Elizabeth Scher<br />
Howard Schiffman<br />
Whitney Schmied<br />
Danielle Schonback<br />
David Schur<br />
Corey Schuster<br />
Michael Sharkey<br />
Bernie Sheehan<br />
Harvey Sherzer<br />
Holly Shick<br />
Nanci Ship<br />
Cassandra Shivers<br />
Kenneth Simon<br />
Kristi Singleton<br />
Deborah Skakel<br />
Patricia Slade<br />
Keith Smiley<br />
Divonne Smoyer<br />
John Snodgrass<br />
Kristen Spannagel<br />
Amy Spencer<br />
Kelly St. Hilaire<br />
Mara Strier<br />
Salvatore Tamburo<br />
Paul Taskier<br />
Julia Taylor<br />
Susan Taylor<br />
Lisa Temple<br />
Chad Tepper<br />
Edward Tessler<br />
Dorothy Thomas<br />
Leslie Thornton<br />
Mark Thronson<br />
Sharon Tom<br />
Terry Traynham<br />
Kenneth Trotter<br />
Joseph Tydings<br />
Chad Van Ess<br />
Stuart van Leenen<br />
Cathleen Velke<br />
Peter Veytsman<br />
Laura Vikander<br />
Howard Vine<br />
Miriam Vishio<br />
Siddhartha Vivek<br />
Nicole Vorrasi<br />
Stephanie Wade<br />
Ben Wagner<br />
Jason Wallach<br />
Steven Walter<br />
Katharine Walvick<br />
Tierra Watkins<br />
Erin Webb<br />
Andrew Weiner<br />
Andrew Weinstein<br />
Michael Weinstein<br />
Steven Weinstein<br />
Steven Weisburd<br />
Michael Wentworth<br />
Rebecca Wesolowski<br />
Michelle West<br />
Susan Page White<br />
Bernard Williams<br />
On Yango Williams<br />
Mark Wilson<br />
Bradley Wine<br />
John Winsbro<br />
David Witebsky<br />
Kent Withycombe<br />
Megan Woodworth<br />
Pamela Woods<br />
Efrem Yemane-<br />
Brehan<br />
Izumi Yokoyama<br />
Andrew Zausner<br />
Adam Ziffer<br />
Nicholas Zoogman
2004 Pro Bono Organizations<br />
Alliance for Children’s Rights, The • American Civil Liberties Union • American Intellectual Property Law Association • American<br />
Red Cross • Asian Pacific American Legal Resource Center • Association of the Bar of the City of New York, The • Bel Alton<br />
Volunteer Fire Department, Inc. • Benjamin Banneker Academic High School • Bonobo Conservation Society • Bread for the City<br />
• Bridge, Inc., The • Bright Lights Foundation, The • Capital Area Immigrants’ Rights Coalition (CAIR) • Capital Education Fund •<br />
Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Washington • Celtino Foundation • Center for American Progress • Child Protective<br />
Services • Children’s Law Center, The • City Bar Fund, The • Coalition for Juvenile Justice (CJJ) • Columbia Hospital for Women<br />
• Community Bridges • Concerto Project, The • Conflict Resolution Center of Montgomery County • Conservation International •<br />
Council for Court Excellence, The • DC Appleseed • DC Bar Child Custody Clinic • DC Bar Community Economic Development<br />
• DC Bar Family Court Self Help Center • DC Bar Foundation • DC Bar International Law Section • DC Bar Landlord Tenant<br />
Resource Center • DC Board of Elections and Ethics • DC Prisoners’ Legal Services Project, Inc. • DC Public Defenders Office<br />
• Duke Ellington School of the Arts • Election Protection • Environmental Defense Fund • Every Creek, Inc. • Family Place, The •<br />
Fight Crime: Invest in Kids • Foundation for the Preservation of Historic Georgetown University, The • Frank Foundation Child<br />
Assistance International • Friends for ALS Research • Friends of Open Parkways • Great American Mock Trial Invitational<br />
Tournament • Greater DC Cares • Greater Washington Initiative • HERO Project, The • Hoffa Scholarship Fund • House of Help<br />
• Human Rights First • Humane Society • Imani House, Inc. • Immigrant Legal Resource Center • InMotion • Institute For<br />
Educational Equity and Opportunity, The • International Centre for Women Playwrights • Isaac Foundation • Jamestown<br />
Foundation • Jewish Foundation for Group <strong>Home</strong>s • Justin Simon Patient Advocacy Program • Lambda Legal • Lawyers Alliance<br />
for New York • Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law • Lawyers for Children America • Lawyers for the Elderly • Legal<br />
Aid Society of DC • Legal Counsel for the Elderly • Legal Services for the Elderly • Martin Luther King Jr. High School Mentor<br />
Program • Maryland District Court Mediation Program • Mentoring Tree Foundation, The • Minds Matter of NYC, Inc. • National<br />
Artists Equity Association, DC Chapter • National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) • National<br />
Family Caregivers Association • National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship • National South Asian Bar Association •<br />
PATCH Foundation • Pathways to College Network • Project Reap • Project Sunshine • Redeemer Lutheran Church Lutheran<br />
Endowment for Novosaratovka • September 11th Victims Compensation Fund • Scandrett Disabilities Fund • Safe Horizon •<br />
Sheridan Hill House • Southern District of New York Pro Se Office • Street Law Program • Sundial Theatre Company • Syrian<br />
Political Prisoners Campaign • Smart Matters • Templeton Venture Philanthropy Associates • Thomas W. Reed Family Education<br />
Trust • UNICEF • United Way • University of Maryland • U.S. Courts for the District of Columbia • Veterans Consortium Pro<br />
Bono Program, The • Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts • Volunteer Lawyers Project • Washington Area Lawyers for the Arts •<br />
Washington Hebrew Congregation • Washington, DC Habitat for Humanity • Washington Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights<br />
and Urban Affairs • Washington Literacy Council • Washington Shakespeare Company • Women Empowered Against Violence<br />
(WEAVE) • Westside Club • Whitman-Walker Clinic • 1 in 9: Long Island Breast Cancer Action Coalition<br />
© 2005 Dickstein Shapiro Morin & Oshinsky LLP. All Rights Reserved.