Orange County office recognized as 2015 California State Bar President’s Pro Bono Service Award honoree
Only a few months after receiving the 2015 Law Firm of the Year Award at PLC’s Volunteers for Justice dinner, the Orange County Office of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP recently accepted the 2015 California State Bar President’s Pro Bono Service Award at a ceremony in Anaheim. California Supreme Court Chief Justice Tani G. Cantil-Sakauye presented the honor to the firm for contributing nearly 2,500 pro bono hours to PLC in 2014.
The office took on complex and time consuming matters not easily placed on a pro bono basis such as: a low income housing matter for an elderly client requiring more than 1,000 pro bono hours; an appeal to defend a custody order handled by a Gibson attorney on leave; a time-sensitive emergency guardianship involving a grandmother trying to protect a child from his abusive parent; a consumer matter for an elderly disabled man being pursued for outstanding federal student loan debt; a veteran seeking a discharge upgrade so he can be more employable; and a Ninth Circuit case involving application for legal status for a person held one year in immigration detention before becoming bond eligible.
In PLC’s nomination of the firm for the award, we noted “Gibson Dunn approaches their long tradition of service to the community with the same passion, creativity and motivation as applied to their paying work. The firm believes that by striving to strengthen the rule of law, assist the disadvantaged and bring top-quality legal thinking to those who might normally be overlooked by the legal system, they deliver tangible benefits both to their firm and their clients.”
PLC salutes Gibson Dunn and all our pro bono partners for playing a role, as Chief Justice Cantil-Sakauye describes, “in delivering justice for the public good, and in ensuring the right to due process-it’s a role worth celebrating and nurturing in 2015 and beyond.”