Pro bono success stories are featured regularly in the firm’s pro bono newsletter, Time Well Spent. Here are some recent examples:
Attorneys win benefits for U.S. veterans: Nixon Peabody was successful in getting the Veterans Administration (VA) to reverse its initial denial of benefits to a U.S. Iraq War veteran who suffered injuries to his knees and shoulders after he was involved in a motor vehicle accident while on active duty. In another case, we were able to reverse a prior denial of benefits for a veteran who was granted a 100% rating for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Firm helps unaccompanied minor become legal permanent resident: The firm earned a successful result for a child referred from KIND (Kids in Need of Defense), an organization that refers unaccompanied minors seeking legal status in the U.S. to the firm. The child had lived with his aunt in Southern California since being abandoned by his mother and father as an infant and passed around by other relatives in his native country. Nixon Peabody was able to obtain Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS) for the client and get the removal proceedings against him dismissed. He was granted legal permanent resident status.
Microfinance work brings clean energy products to Ghana: Nixon Peabody has helped Impact Energies (IE) bring clean energy products, such as solar lamps and cookstoves, to indigent people in Ghana. IE’s innovative factory-to-village supply chain brings these products to poor Ghanaians and assists with product financing by making microloans through local microfinance affiliates to enable Ghanaians to purchase the products on an installment basis. We assisted IE in all aspects of U.S. legal representation since its inception, including formation, capital raising, immigration issues, employment concerns, and drafting the documents to execute these mechanisms. We structured the conditional sale and loan that enables the products to reach the end users, and put together the related documentation that addresses cutting-edge concerns, such as hedging the currency risk and documenting ownership of carbon emission reductions from the project.
Pro bono divorce work helps women in abusive relationships: Nixon Peabody has taken on several divorce cases through the Volunteer Legal Services Project of Monroe County (VLSP). While the cases often do not involve significant marital property or child custody issues, they pose challenges and nearly all have involved some allegation of abuse. In one matter, for example, an associate was able to help a woman quickly finalize a divorce from her abusive, alcoholic husband; the client was thrilled to be able to renew her driver’s license with her maiden name. “This is my way of trying to help break the cycle of abuse,” says the associate, who has taken on five divorce cases through VLSP. “The divorces give these women a second chance.”