Good in Practice, Greenberg Traurig, LLP’s podcast focused on pro bono, released episode 23 titled “2,500 Miles Apart: Two Greenberg Traurig Offices Reunite Child with Custodial Grandmother.” Good in Practice is hosted by Shareholder Caroline J. Heller, chair of the global law firm’s Global Pro Bono Program and commercial litigator in the New York office.
In this episode, Heller speaks to Michael R. Sklaire, co-managing shareholder of Greenberg Traurig’s Northern Virginia office, Jacob D. Bundick, shareholder in the firm’s Las Vegas office, Shirin Afsous, associate in the Northern Virginia office, and Christian T. Spaulding, associate in the Las Vegas office, about how they helped reunite a grandmother in Washington, D.C. with her 10 year old granddaughter. The grandmother and grandchild lived together for nearly all of the child’s life, but in early 2021, the grandmother had to send the child to live with a relative in Las Vegas while she had surgery. When it came time for the child to return, the relative refused. Greenberg Traurig stepped in to help reunite the grandmother with her granddaughter. The group discusses the complexities of working with clients in two different states on a deadline and how, because of Greenberg Traurig’s global presence, the firm able to help. They also discuss the additional challenges they faced including dealing with a guardian ad litem for the child and complications and restrictions imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic.