(CHICAGO) Katten announced today that a dozen attorneys were honored at Katten Pro Bono Service Awards ceremonies at firm offices throughout the United States and in the London affiliate office during this month’s National Celebration of Pro Bono, recognizing their outstanding pro bono services and consistent commitment to use their legal skills on behalf of those in need.
“We thank our honorees for their tireless efforts and hard work in serving those in need of a legal champion. We are proud of the transformative impact these attorneys have made in the lives of those less fortunate,” said Jonathan K. Baum, Katten’s director of pro bono services.
“Katten’s award-winning pro bono program is one that encourages giving back to our communities and connects individual attorneys with opportunities that match their interests, whether that is helping asylum seekers get fresh starts, advocating for clients whose rights were violated, or providing guidance to nonprofit organizations dedicated to helping others,” Baum said.
This year’s Pro Bono Service Awards recipients, who each received a $1,000 honorarium to donate to a charity, provided a range of services, some of which include the following:
- Ava R. Alim, associate, Real Estate, Charlotte, who helped Afghan refugees find immigration support and worked to obtain Special Immigrant Juvenile Status for undocumented children.
- Britt R. DeVaney, associate, Litigation, Chicago, who worked on a number of asylum cases, arguing in the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and securing asylum for a mother and daughter who had fled Honduras.
- Trevor T. Garmey, associate, Litigation, Los Angeles, who represented numerous clients in petitions to United States Citizenship and Immigration, ranging from O1-A petitions and asylum applications to assisting a client in reversing a determination that the client was inadmissible to the United States.
- Johnjerica Hodge, partner, Litigation, Washington, DC, who represented a client in her claim for age discrimination, fighting against her wrongful termination and the termination of other older women at a university, in a case that the District of Columbia Court of Appeals reversed and remanded.
- Matthew R. Jennings, associate, Structured Finance and Securitization, New York, who partnered with Immigration Equality to advocate for LGBTQ clients seeking asylum in the United States, and served as a volunteer coach for high school moot court and mock trial teams.
- Alvin Katz, partner, Real Estate, Chicago, who was involved in the continued expansion of the Chicago Furniture Bank, which plays an integral role in creating a stable home life for the formerly homeless by helping furnish their homes with gently used furniture from hotels, discontinued furniture companies and universities.
- David M. Mohl, associate, Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation, Washington, DC, who handled asylum work and counseled voters on their legal rights through election integrity projects.
- Rhodri Preece, senior associate, Real Estate, London, who advised a tenant that runs a community co-working space in connection with re-negotiating COVID-19-related rent arrears, and other tenants in connection with lease renewals for premises that are used on a not-for-profit basis as a youth center and community sports hall.
- Andrew J. Schuyler, associate, Litigation, Chicago, who handled asylum cases, provided employment-related counseling to nonprofit organizations, and worked with the League of Women Voters and Open Hearts Magic, which produces magic shows for hospitalized children.
- Trisha Sircar, partner, Privacy, Data and Cybersecurity, New York, who worked with the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, assisting with research and drafting comments to the Federal Trade Commission on an anticipated upcoming rulemaking related to privacy, algorithmic decision-making and civil rights.
- Nikita Yogeshwarun, associate, Litigation, Dallas, who worked with the Animal Legal Defense Fund, serves on the firm’s Dallas office pro bono committee and helps run the Dallas office’s summer pro bono program.
Additionally, Timothy G. Little, partner and chair of the Real Estate practice, received an honorable mention for his pro bono contributions in assisting the New York City Mission Society with its application for a charter school and the leasing of its building in Harlem to Harlem Children’s Zone.
