Describe your firm's philosophy on pro bono service.

As Orrick partner Annette Hurst recently told AmLaw, pro bono legal service is in our DNA. Ninety-nine percent of our U.S. lawyers and 79 percent of our international lawyers met the 20-hour standard in 2018. Associates receive full bonus credit for pro bono hours; partners are expected to meet the minimum standard. All lawyers are encouraged to select projects of personal interest with the guidance of two full-time pro bono counsel.

Of the big cases your firm recently worked on, one included representing James Dimaya, a citizen of the Philippines who had been a lawful permanent resident of the U.S. for more than 25 years, but faced deportation. Tell us more about that case and how you reached the outcome.

When the case was set for re-argument after Justice [Neil] Gorsuch joined the [U.S. Supreme] Court, we focused on developing an innovative strategy to convince a conservative to provide the tie-breaking vote on our side.

Our appellate team scoured Justice Gorsuch's record as an appellate judge. We gleaned from his jurisprudence that he held significant concerns about Congress' enactment of vague laws that might give law enforcement and the courts too much latitude to fill in the gaps and make the hard decisions that Congress itself should have made. So we zeroed in on his "separation-of-powers" concerns at oral argument. Appealing to a conservative justice on what might appear to be the "liberal" side of a case was atypical—and it paid off.

What was the most satisfying aspect of that key case?

Hearing from all corners of the country what a difference this decision made in people's lives. It was a huge victory for our client, of course; he can now stay in the country that's been his home for decades. But the precedent we set has also meant that thousands of noncitizens have avoided automatic deportation, and many criminal defendants have avoided draconian sentencing enhancements.

Discuss other key pro bono matters recently completed by the firm.

Backing our arguments for Planned Parenthood, a federal judge struck down a Kentucky regulation that would have shuttered the state's last abortion clinic. In addition, prompted by our work, California leaders ordered new DNA testing in the case of death row inmate Kevin Cooper. In a separate matter, an Orrick team was instrumental in invalidating Washington state's death penalty law. We also secured two precedential Federal Circuit rulings expanding disability benefits for veterans in Saunders v. Wilkie and Procopio v. Wilkie. And more than 100 of our lawyers and staff collaborated on a comprehensive human rights report documenting persecution against the Rohingya Muslim minority in Myanmar.

Why does your pro bono work matter to you as a lawyer?

I am keenly aware there are people who are not nearly as fortunate as I am and need the kind of help I can provide through pro bono service. Social responsibility is important, both to me and the firm. Helping pro bono clients get closer to their own goals is deeply rewarding, personally and professionally.

Responses submitted by Rene Kathawala, pro bono counsel for Orrick; partners Josh Rosenkranz and Brian Goldman, who led the Dimaya case; and partner Karen Johnson-McKewan, lead attorney for Planned Parenthood in the Kentucky case.