Alaska Legal Services
Pro bono cases assigned to us by the Alaska Legal Services’ pro bono coordinator in the past year include a hotly contested custody determination which ultimately resulted in an award of shared custody to K&L Gates’ client; child support matters in which the firm’s clients were awarded significant and badly needed increases in support; and a proceeding which resulted in the issuance of a marriage license to a refugee couple who could not otherwise provide the birth certificates and parental consents required to obtain a license.

Allegheny County Bar Association’s Center for Volunteer Legal Resources
The ACBA established the Center for Volunteer Legal Resources to coordinate the pro bono representation of indigents in the fields of divorce, child custody, protection from abuse, mental health commitment, social security disputes, and a full range of civil matters. Our Pittsburgh lawyers helped develop and continue to participate in the Protection From Abuse program. Through this program, we volunteer to represent victims of domestic violence for the specific purpose of obtaining final PFA orders. In addition, K&L Gates sponsors training sessions for handling PFA cases. Since 1992, our Pittsburgh lawyers have represented more than 1300 victims of domestic abuse on a pro bono basis through this program. We also handle a variety of other pro bono cases through the CVLR.

American Bar Association Death Penalty Project
In March 2005, our lawyers filed a petition for habeas corpus on behalf of Larry Bill Elliott, an inmate on death row in Virginia. Elliott had exhausted his direct appeals, and this petition offered an opportunity to reinvestigate the case, uncover new evidence, and, most important, ensure that Elliott’s case receives full scrutiny and an innocent man is not put to death.  K&L Gates’ interest in this case is not related to any particular opinion about the death penalty. The firm answered the call of the American Bar Association’s Death Penalty Project because of our commitment to ensuring fair trials for all and to maintaining a judicial system that lives up to its historic promise.

Anchorage Pro Se Divorce and Custody Clinic
Our attorneys teach at the Anchorage Pro Se Divorce and Custody Clinic, which is designed to teach people how to file their own paperwork in uncontested or default divorce situations. The clinic is sponsored by the Alaska Legal Service Corporation.

Arts Law Clinic
Two K&L Gates lawyers help staff the Arts Law Clinic managed by the Washington Lawyers for the Arts at Seattle University School of Law. Our lawyers advise authors, musicians, illustrators and other artists on a variety of legal issues, particularly intellectual property and contract issues.

Bankruptcy Clinic
The Debtor Creditor Section Bankruptcy Clinic, a program of the Oregon Bar Association’s Debtor-Creditor Section, is staffed completely by volunteer layers who meet with qualifi ed people to assist in fi ling bankruptcy. We have assisted by planning, soliciting volunteers and making the general presentation at the clinic.

Bread of Life Mission
K&L Gates layers made significant contributions to the Bread of Life Mission, helping the Mission identify a problem with its tax-exempt 1023 status, file the new form, and form an LLC charter for Heroes Subs, its new transitional business. The Mission is a 63-year old organization that works to break the cycle of homelessness.

CASA
Several K&L Gates lawyers are involved with the King County Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) program, which matches pro bono lawyers with volunteer advocates who are tasked with protecting the best interests of children involved in dependency and parental rights termination proceedings. Our lawyers assisted their CASAs in settlement negotiations on both dependency and termination matters, represented them in multiple court hearings, took several cases to trial, and are currently working on at least one appellate matter for the program.

Central Pennsylvania Legal Services
K&L Gates' Harrisburg lawyers participate in the Dauphin County Bar Association’s pro bono program, which handles the overflow cases from Central Pennsylvania Legal Services. Our participating lawyers represent indigent clients in housing, domestic relations, bankruptcy, and other civil matters.

Climate Solutions
K&L Gates lawyers provided Climate Solutions, a regional nonprofit based in Olympia, Washington, with pro bono regulatory advice relating to smart energy development and implementation. The mission of Climate Solutions is to stop global warming at the earliest point possible by helping the Pacific Northwest and British Columbia become world leaders in practical and profitable solutions.

Confluence Project
The firm provided pro bono legal assistance on copyright issues arising from the use of published Native American stories to the Confluence Project, which is developing works of art along or near the confluences of major tributaries to the Columbia River.

Conservation Investment Fund
We recently spearheaded the creation of the Conservation Investment Fund, LLC for long-time K&L Gates client Cascade Land Conservancy (CLC). Aimed at land acquisition in the central Puget Sound area for conservation purposes, the fund is structured as a joint venture between the nonprofi t CLC and a group of private accredited investors willing to invest money for a certain number of years. Hopefully, this fund will enable the conservation of thousands of acres of land.

Courtroom Advocates Project
Summer associates in our New York office participate in the Courtroom Advocates Project, a coalition of New York law firms, law schools and legal services agencies that provide legal advocacy for victims of domestic violence in New York City Family Court.

Dade County Bar Association’s "Put Something Back" Program
One hundred percent of our Miami lawyers provide legal service for this program, which is a joint effort by the Dade County Bar Association and the local courts. We have represented children in parental termination matters, advised the elderly on estate and probate matters, represented indigent tenants in disputes with their landlords, provided consumer advocacy counsel to the public at large, and represented child and adult victims in sensitive criminal matters.

Domestic Violence Advocates
Several K&L Gates lawyers donated time to Domestic Violence Advocates, a Seattle program that assists victims to obtain orders of protection against those who abuse or threaten to abuse them. Such victims are often unrepresented in their attempts to obtain orders of protection against their abusers, and having a lawyer to advocate for them is often critical. As one of the program staff wrote, “It makes a huge difference for our petitioners and for the battered women’s movement overall when there are people like yourself who are willing to share your time and expertise to people in need.”

Events of September 11, 2001
Lawyers from our New York office have volunteered their time to assist those affected by the events of September 11, 2001, in New York City.  Among other projects, they assisted in advising victims in the Small Business Administration’s disaster assistance office, counseled individuals and families on applications for death and survivor benefits and assisted in advising victims of discrimination against persons of Middle Eastern or South Asian descent resulting from the reaction to the attacks.

Friends of Children With Special Needs
K&L Gates advises Friends of Children with Special Needs (FCSN) and Peralta Dream, LLC, a related organization in charge of the living quarters for some FCSN members. FCSN was founded in 1996 in Fremont, California, by fi ve Chinese American families who had a child or relative with cerebral palsy, Down syndrome or autism. The organization currently addresses the needs of nearly 200 people.

Housing Justice Project
We regularly assist the Housing Justice Project of the King County Bar Association and others in a variety of landlord-tenant disputes.

Immigration Cases
K&L Gates has represented persons from several countries, including Colombia, El Salvador, Guatemala, Somalia, Peru, Russia, etc., and in a variety of situations in seeking asylum in the United States.

Individual Clients
When K&L Gates took on a recent family law case, the client’s situation was dire: she had no money and no home, her husband had fi led for divorce against her, and a court order prevented her from seeing her 18-month-old baby. We won for her a hefty share of the marital assets and an order permitting her to spend time with the baby.

In Re Marriage of Hughes
In the Hughes case, a Spokane Superior Court judge denied a wife’s divorce petition based in part upon the fact that she was pregnant. The wife sought a divorce because her husband, who was in federal prison for crimes of domestic violence, was about to be released, and she feared for her own safety and the safety of her children. K&L Gates provided pro bono representation to a coalition of civil rights and women’s rights organizations in the appeal of the trial court’s decision, which had sparked widespread public condemnation and was covered extensively by the local, national and international press. While the decision was upheld on appeal on technical grounds, the appellate judges agreed with our client’s legal position that it is improper to deny a divorce to a woman solely on the basis of her pregnancy. In addition, the lawsuit served as the catalyst for the Washington Legislature to enact a new statute clarifying that a wife’s pregnancy can never be the sole grounds for denial of a divorce.

King County Bar Association Neighborhood Legal Clinics
Several K&L Gates lawyers serve at the King County Bar Association’s Neighborhood Legal Clinics. These clinics meet at a number of locations and provide an opportunity to meet individually with a volunteer attorney for 30 minutes of free legal advice and consultation, and are available to all King County residents regardless of income. Issues range from family law to debt and bankruptcy to immigration to public benefits.

Lawyers’ Clearinghouse For Affordable Housing
Real estate and corporate lawyers provide representation to community organizations involved with creating housing opportunities for low income families in a program coordinated by the Boston Bar Association.

Lawyers’ Committee on Human Rights
On behalf of the Lawyers’ Committee on Human Rights, our New York lawyers have represented applicants for asylum in proceedings before the Immigration and Naturalization Service.

Lawyers For The Arts
Washington Lawyers for the Arts is a nonprofit service organization dedicated to supporting the arts in Washington state by creating alliances and making legal resources accessible to artists and arts organizations of all disciplines. K&L Gates lawyers have donated their time to the cause, presenting seminars such as “Protecting Your Artistic Creations in the Digital Age” and “Legal Issues for Web Site Designers,” and have offered legal clinics after the presentations. Washington Lawyers for the Arts also manages the Arts Law Clinic.

League of Women Voters
After four years, two evidentiary hearings before city of Portland hearings officers, two trips to Circuit Court for review of the hearings officers’ decision, and an appeal to the Oregon Court of Appeals, the League of Women Voters reached a settlement on litigation stemming from development credits issued by the city of Portland to a developer. Represented by K&L Gates, the League of Women Voters lawsuit highlighted the problems with a newly enacted city ordinance and led to corrective action by the Portland City Council that greatly tightened the requirements for obtaining development credits in the future.

Legal Services for the Homeless
Through the King County Bar Association Legal Services for the Homeless, two volunteer K&L Gates lawyers meet each month with up to eight residents of the Aloha Inn in Seattle, a residence home for homeless persons in transition. The legal issues raised vary widely from criminal to custody to landlord-tenant matters. Our lawyers are also the volunteer coordinators for the program.

Make-A-Wish Foundation
K&L Gates has advised the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Alaska, Montana, Northern Idaho and Washington on a number of legal issues, including parental consent rights, employment questions, intellectual property issues, lease agreements and a transfer of bequeathed property. The mission of the Make A-Wish Foundation is to grant the wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions to enrich the human experience with hope, strength and joy.

Mountains To Sound Greenway
The Mountains to Sound Greenway is the scenic, historic and recreation corridor along Interstate 90 stretching 100 miles from the Seattle waterfront to the edge of desert grasslands in Central Washington. Recent work for the Mountains to Sound Greenway Trust includes reviewing and commenting on substantial sub-area development plans and providing other land use and litigation representation in support of the Trust’s efforts to protect the Greenway’s landscape.

National Baseball Hall of Fame
Recent work for pro bono client National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum resulted in a successful award from the Labor HHR Appropriations bill. The $450,000 award will fund the organization’s national education outreach program.

New York Board of Education Mentoring Program
K&L Gates' New York lawyers participate in this group’s mentoring program. Our lawyers serve as mentors to students in the New York High School of Graphic Arts and as coaches to the school’s team in the annual Mock Trial Tournament sponsored by the New York State Bar Association.

New York County District Attorney’s Office
Lawyers from our New York office volunteer their time and defend criminal appeals on behalf of the New York County District Attorney’s Office thereby helping that office reduce its backlog of appeals.

NPR Feature “Bird Note”
K&L Gates lawyers worked on content licensing, contributor agreements and broadcast agreements and helped register the trademark for a Seattle Audubon project. “Bird Note” is a daily series of 2-minute radio spots featuring the sounds and stories of birds and conservation efforts, featured on NPR affiliate KPLU-FM.

Outside In
K&L Gates lawyers volunteered at a weekly legal clinic at Outside-In, a Portland independent nonprofi t entity that has operated a youth shelter and many other employment and support programs. The K&L Gates lawyers met with homeless youths and adults to discuss the myriad legal issues that confront persons living on the streets.

PICS V. Seattle School District
K&L Gates lawuers have assisted efforts to preserve diversity as a criteria in high school placement decisions. We represent the ACLU of Washington supporting the Seattle School District’s high school placement guidelines before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. The Ninth Circuit sitting en banc recently upheld the school district’s guidelines.

Pittsburgh Cares
K&L Gates' Pittsburgh office has enjoyed a relationship with Pittsburgh Cares since the organization was founded in 1992. Pittsburgh Cares is one of 26 City Cares of America volunteer organizations that maintains partnerships with volunteers, such as K&L Gates, and various community groups and nonprofit organizations. Our lawyers helped incorporate Pittsburgh Cares as a non-profit organization in 1993 and have assisted it in a number of different matters ranging from employment issues to fund raising. Many of K&L Gates' lawyers, staff and their families volunteer on a regular basis. Projects include helping children, providing respite for the homebound and hospitalized, providing companionship to senior citizens, building civic pride, improving the environment, fighting hunger, and working with people with disabilities.

Plymouth Healing Communities
In the past, K&L Gates has offered pro bono advice and drafting to Plymouth Healing Communities (PHC), which buys, refurbishes and operates single-family houses for those who need a stable and safe home after release from inpatient mental health treatment at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle. This year, the fi rm helped PHC navigate the purchase of a new house — its fourth — on a short turnaround.

Prison Legal News V. Department of Corrections
On behalf of ACLU and ACLU-WA, K&L Gates filed an amicus brief arguing that the Public Records Act requires disclosure of the names of prison doctors, dentists and nurses who have been disciplined for misconduct. The Washington Supreme Court agreed, reversing two lower court rulings.

Public Counsel
K&L Gates' Los Angeles office participates with Public Counsel, the largest private pro bono law firm in the country, in the Los Angeles County Children’s Court’s Adoption Day program.  Attorneys in the office volunteer to assist parents who are adopting children under the jurisdiction of the Children’s Court to file the legal documents necessary to complete an adoption and to obtain state and county financial aid that may be available to assist them.  The work culminates in a day set aside at the Children’s Court where only adoptions are handled, and the lawyers appear with their clients in court where the adoptions are finalized in court proceedings.

Public Law Center
Several of our lawyers have been active supporters of the Public Law Center (PLC), the largest volunteer lawyer service in Orange County, providing pro bono services to the indigent. Hundreds of people below the poverty line are served each year on matters including consumer fraud, landlord/tenant disputes, SSI counseling, family law issues and children’s rights. The PLC also represents the working poor on larger issues ranging from affordable housing to medical benefits.

Safe Horizon Domestic Violence Law Project
Lawyers from our New York office participate in this project and provide legal advocacy and representation to low-income and indigent battered women in family justice proceedings such as order of protection, custody, support and divorce proceedings, as well as advocacy in connection with criminal justice proceedings.

Seattle Patch
During the last several years, K&L Gates lawyers have helped P-Patch Trust to reorganize as a nonprofit land trust and to acquire three of its sites. Seattle’s nationally recognized P-Patch program operates 44 neighborhood community garden properties that together annually contribute more than 15,000 pounds of fresh produce to area food banks.

Southern District Pro Bono Panel
Lawyers from our New York office participate in the Pro Bono Panel of lawyers for the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.  On a voluntary basis, they are appointed as counsel for pro se litigants when the court determines that representation by counsel is warranted.

U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia
Our Washington office participates in the D.C. District Court’s Civil Pro Bono Panel. The cases assigned by the court typically involve representation of indigent plaintiffs in civil rights cases, with representation encompassing discovery and trial before the court.

University of Washington Community Museum Project
Several K&L Gates lawyers are assisting on various intellectual property issues connected with the UW Community Museum Project. This project originated several years ago when an elder from the Hoh tribe approached the UW with the idea of recording and preserving tribal culture through digital media. The idea evolved into creating an on-line community museum to preserve and share culture, history and traditions of the Northwest Olympic Peninsula region, while supporting the educational, social and economic goals of the community. The UW Educational Partnerships and Learning Technologies group is leading the effort to create Web sites, kiosks for on-line and physical exhibitions, workshops and curriculum materials.

Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts of Massachusetts
Our Boston office is an active participant of VLAM, sponsored by the Boston Bar Association, through which lawyers provide legal representation to artists and arts organizations that need legal counsel, but cannot afford it.

Volunteer Lawyers Project
Boston office lawyers accept referrals from VLP, which is sponsored by the Boston Bar Association and Greater Boston Legal Services. We are referred a wide range of civil matters for indigent clients through VLP, including housing disputes, social security benefit disputes, custody matters, and other civil litigation matters.

Washington Area Lawyers for the Arts
K&L Gates' Washington lawyers have handled a variety of matters for indigent artists, poets, musicians and other arts organizations referred by WALA. We have counseled these organizations on employment issues, copyright and trademark, incorporation, and litigation.

Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless
Washington lawyers offer assistance to homeless individuals regarding disability benefits, food stamp benefits, and employment issues.

Washington State Farm Bureau Federation V. Reed
K&L Gates lawyers successfully represented school parents and administrators before the Washington Supreme Court in arguments about the scope of the initiative and referendum power under the Washington State Constitution. The Supreme Court agreed that the Legislature’s actions regarding funding for education and other matters were not subject to referendum, and denied the petition for mandamus filed against the state of Washington.

Washington State Marriage Litigation
K&L Gates has been active in litigation over marriage equality for same-sex couples in Washington state, serving as cooperating lawyers for Lambda Legal in Andersen v. King County and as cooperating lawyers for the ACLU of Washington in Castle v. State. In Andersen, the King County Superior Court struck down Washington’s Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) as unlawfully burdening the fundamental right to marry protected by the Washington constitution. In Castle, the Thurston County Superior Court also struck down the Washington DOMA as a discriminatory violation of the privileges and immunities clause of the Washington constitution. Both cases were consolidated and argued before the Washington Supreme Court in March 2005. A decision is pending.

Washington Trails
When the Northwest Motorcycle Association sued to declare a state motor vehicle fuel excise tax refund program a violation of the Washington State Constitution, a team of K&L Gates environmental litigation lawyers agreed to represent a coalition of pro bono clients, including the Washington Trails Association, North Cascades Conservation Council, the Mountaineers, Sierra Club, Issaquah Alps Trail Club and Kittitas Audubon Society, to fight the lawsuit. The K&L Gates team joined with the coalition to obtain a trial court ruling, upheld on appeal, that will help to secure recent funding allocation increases for non-motorized recreational facilities.

Water Advocates
K&L Gates represents Water Advocates, an advocacy group for clean water in the third world.

Non Legal Public Service News
Community Service Highlights

United Way of Allegheny County
K&L Gates has a long history with the United Way of Allegheny County and the United Way of Southwestern Pennsylvania. Our lawyers have served as Director, Vice Chairman of the Executive Committee, and Chairman of the Professionals Division and Lawyers Section. In 2001 K&L Gates was proud to receive the Platinum award, which recognizes organizations that achieve a per capita gift of $150 or more. K&L Gates was also honored in 2001 as one of the 15 Largest Workplace Contributors to the United Way. In recognition of continued extraordinary support to the community, K&L Gates was honored at the United Way Annual Meeting in 1999 by induction into the United Way Hall of Fame.

Over the past twelve years, K&L Gates's United Way campaign giving has grown almost 213%, from $164,000 to $513,349. The amount of K&L Gates' United Way campaign gifts and the number of its Leadership givers - 115 , including 26 Alex de Tocqueville Society members giving $10,000 or more--place it as the top law firm in the Western Pennsylvania region in those categories.

K&L Gates has also participated in the United Way Day of Caring, which is one of the largest single-day volunteering events in the nation.  A team of K&L Gates lawyers and staff volunteered a day to make our community a better place to live. Past projects included assisting families in transition, and cleaning, painting, and landscaping selected sites in the local community.