Key Law Firms, Corporations, and Advocates receive awards for Exemplary Support of Unaccompanied Children
NEW YORK — April 23, 2015 — Kids in Need of Defense (KIND) honored international law firm Greenberg Traurig with an award for extraordinary contributions to the protection of children who come alone to the United States in search of safety. KIND presented the award during its annual Benefit Dinner Gala April 22. Brian Duffy, co-president of Greenberg Traurig, accepted the award on the firm’s behalf.
“In a world that threatens to overwhelm us with what seems like one crisis after another, we are fortunate to have an organization like KIND, whose efforts have made a tremendous impact in the lives of countless children. In a short period of time, KIND has managed to create a nationwide network of staff and pro bono attorneys, all dedicated to the rights of unaccompanied minors who find themselves in this country without the assistance of legal counsel,” said Richard A. Rosenbaum, chief executive officer at Greenberg Traurig, LLP.
Greenberg Traurig, along with three other major law firms, received KIND’s Allegiance Award for providing thousands of hours of pro bono representation to unaccompanied children referred to KIND. Also honored were the Exxon Mobil Corporation, Univision and its CEO and President Randy Falco, and California Attorney General Kamala Harris, according to KIND.
“I am very proud of our affiliation with KIND and of this award. More than 100 of our attorneys were trained to handle unaccompanied minor cases and we are moving forward at full speed. To date, our active team of 21 shareholders; 42 associates; nine of counsel; 13 paralegals; seven researchers and countless staffers has spent more than 3,550 hours on KIND cases. Additionally, the Greenberg Traurig Fellowship Foundation is proudly funding a full-time fellow at KIND through Equal Justice Works,” Duffy said.
Rosenbaum added, “I want to specifically highlight three individuals who made the difference for us in this partnership and thank them for their leadership in connecting us with this extraordinary endeavor: Bill Silverman who is head of the firm's pro bono program and a recognized leader in the pro bono community; Caroline Heller who heads our New York pro bono program and was a key contact and liaison between KIND and Greenberg Traurig, and for this we are forever in her debt; and Jennifer Tomsen, a shareholder in our Houston office who was recently appointed as a founding member of the KIND Houston Advisory Committee. And there are many more of us either already working with KIND, or ready to do so.”
Greenberg Traurig lawyers across the firm provide pro bono legal services to the indigent and working poor, as well as to numerous civic and charitable organizations dedicated to assisting them. In addition to KIND, the firm has ongoing partnerships with the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, Her Justice, Children and Family Justice Center, Just Neighbors Immigrant Ministry, Center for Community Change, University of Miami School of Law’s Children and Youth Law Clinic, Legal Counsel for the Elderly, D.C. Employment Justice Center, ABA Death Penalty Representation Project, and the Archdiocesan Legal Network, among others.