Pro Bono

We regularly file amicus curiae briefs in Oregon courts on behalf of public interest and community groups in a wide variety of cases. These have included: Briefs on behalf of the NAACP’s Oregon branches in several post-Ramos v. Louisiana, 140 S Ct 1390 (2020), cases challenging criminal convictions obtained under Oregon’s law (declared unconstitutional in Ramos) that allowed conviction by nonunanimous juries. State v. Flores Ramos, 367 Or 292 (2020); State v. Kincheloe, 367 Or 335 (2020); State v. Dilallo, 367 Or 340 (2020); State v. Ciraulo, 367 Or 350 (2020); State v. Chorney-Phillips, 367 Or 355 (2020). A brief on behalf of 26 Professors of Immigration Law, Civil Procedure, and Administrative Law in a case challenging the Trump administration’s policies and …

In 2019, three of our attorneys spent a week in El Paso, Texas, representing asylum seekers who were fleeing their home countries because they were being persecuted for their political and religious beliefs and because they belonged to particular social groups, such as being LGBTQ. We represented asylum seekers in their bond hearings, drafted briefs for their asylum petitions, and met with them in detention. At the time, there was very little hope for most of them to obtain asylum, and they faced violence and, in some cases, certain death if forced to return home. Despite the grim prospects, we were successful in obtaining a safe haven in the US pending an asylum hearing for one client who fled gang …

In conjunction with the District of Oregon and its Pro Bono Program, and the ACLU, we have represented several indigent clients and prisoners bringing civil rights claims against employers and law enforcement officers, among other matters. We have tried cases on behalf of prisoners alleging that prison officials needlessly beat them and allowed them to be beaten by other prisoners. We have defeated dispositive motions against our clients’ claims, won dispositive motions on counterclaims, and obtained reversal of judgment dismissing our client’s claims. We have also helped clients reach favorable settlements of their disputes.

We are proud to support many civic organizations seeking to improve peoples’ lives in areas such as access to justice, equality, equity and inclusion, education, and healthcare. Among others, these organizations have included the Campaign for Equal Justice, Oregon Women Lawyers, Trillium Family Services, Women in Environment, Classroom Law Project, American Constitution Society, and Unite Oregon.