MEXICO CITY – March 2, 2018 – Global law firm Greenberg Traurig, LLP is proud to announce that its Mexico City office has been recognized with Latin Lawyer’s 2018 Pro Bono Award. The award honors the law firms, clearing houses and lawyers that led the recent coordination of the pro bono response to the devastating earthquakes that rocked Mexico last September.
Following the aftermath of Mexico’s catastrophic earthquakes, the firm’s Pro Bono Practice in Mexico City, joined forces with other law firms, clearing houses and solo practitioners to design and lead legal disaster recovery efforts.
“By applying our legal experience, we responded quickly to help those affected in the aftermath of the disaster. Through our local Pro Bono Practice, we successfully took on a strategic litigation case in Oaxaca to demand effective recovery governance and more transparency from authorities regarding the allocation of federal resources. We also collaborated in the creation of a legal handbook, offering practical advice focused on long-term recovery from the devastating effects of the 2017 earthquakes,” explained Ms. Elba B. Gutiérrez, who serves as the Mexico City Pro Bono Coordinator. “This Latin Lawyer recognition demonstrates our strong commitment to pro bono work in Mexico, and we look forward to coordinating more legal responses to meet the growing pro bono needs of earthquake victims across the country.”
Consistent with the mission of the Mexico City office to identify pro bono opportunities, a legal “hot line” was developed to improve the accessibility of its pro bono legal services throughout Mexico City. The firm’s Mexico City Pro Bono Practice became a pioneer in initiating pro bono work in Mexico by appointing dedicated and passionate lawyers to coordinate its pro bono activities, including investing over 3,000 hours in 2017 to pro bono work.
Through an alliance with UNHCR Mexico, the UN Refugee Agency, the firm’s Mexico City office also became the first law firm in Mexico to offer pro bono services to UNHCR to represent asylum seekers in Mexico. The Mexico City pro bono team frequently attends civic events and other speaking engagements in support of urban reconstruction, such as the Ciudadanía 19s festival on Jan. 2018 in Mexico City.
About Greenberg Traurig: Greenberg Traurig, LLP (GT) has more than 2,000 attorneys in 38 offices in the United States, Latin America, Europe, Asia and the Middle East. GT has been recognized for its philanthropic giving, was named the largest firm in the U.S. by Law360 in 2017, and is among the Top 20 on the 2017 Am Law Global 100. Web: www.gtlaw.com Twitter: @GT_Law.