This article is part of National Law Journal's 2018 Pro Bono Hot List recognition package that celebrates law firms that do well by doing good. See the other stories here.

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom won a major victory in October 2017 when the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed a district court's order granting a classwide preliminary injunction in favor of its pro bono clients, noncitizens who remained detained due to their inability to afford the bond set by immigration officials.

The Ninth Circuit decision brought to fruition nearly three years of work on the case. The Los Angeles-based Skadden team, headed up by partner Matt Sloan, a former federal prosecutor, and associate Doug Smith, interviewed dozens of detainees at Adelanto Detention Center, 85 miles east of Los Angeles.

The two lead plaintiffs were Xochitl Hernandez, a mother of five who spent a single day in jail on a shoplifting charge, and had her bond set at $60,000; and Cesar Matias, a Los Angeles hair stylist who had spent four years in detention because he was unable to post $3,000 bail.

“This was such a fundamental violation of due process,” Sloan said. “We said the government can't hold people indefinitely in custody without taking into account their ability to pay bond, and setting a $60,000 bond was far more than was needed to ensure their appearance for another hearing.”

Smith said he saw a turning point in the case on Nov. 10, 2016, when the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California certified the class of plaintiffs, and granted a preliminary injunction.

On Jan. 4, 2017, the Ninth Circuit granted a stay of the injunction sought by the Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security.

On Oct. 2, 2017, the Ninth Circuit, in a decision by the late Judge Stephen Reinhardt, held in Hernandez v. Sessions that the district court did not abuse its discretion in granting a preliminary injunction requiring immigration officials when making bond determinations to consider: 1. financial ability to post bond and 2. alternative conditions of release pending immigration proceedings, such as ankle monitoring bracelets.

The Ninth Circuit also lifted the stay on the preliminary injunction order. Accordingly, hundreds of immigrant detainees have had or will have bond hearings that consider their ability to pay and alternatives to detention.

The case has been remanded to U.S. district court. Sloan and Smith want the injunction to be made permanent and have also asked for other relief, including the option of posting bond with a deposit, property or other assets as security.

The ACLU is honoring Skadden with its 2018 “Access to Justice Award,” in recognition of the “outstanding” and “instrumental” work as co-counsel in Hernandez.