Describe your firm's philosophy on pro bono service.

As our firm's chairman, Marty R. Lueck, put it, "we believe everyone is entitled to effective, zealous representation, not just the rich and powerful." Robins Kaplan attorneys view pro bono work as a professional and moral responsibility and profoundly personally fulfilling. We set high expectations: all attorneys are required to contribute at least 50 hours of pro bono work each year.

Of the big cases your firm recently worked on, one included achieving a consent decree that will require enforceable reforms of the Chicago Police Department. Tell us more about that case and how you reached the outcome.

On Oct. 20, 2014, Laquan McDonald was shot 16 times by the Chicago Police Department. In the following year, the [Department of Justice] opened an investigation into the CPD's "use of force, including racial, ethnic and other disparities in use of force." The DOJ released its findings of patterns and practices of "unnecessary and avoidable uses of force," and "identified serious concerns about the prevalence of racially discriminatory conduct." However, the DOJ under the Trump administration declined to pursue a federal court consent decree to achieve meaningful reform. The then-Illinois attorney general, Lisa Madigan, sought pro bono co-counsel to pursue a civil rights action on behalf of the people of Illinois based on the findings of the DOJ report. Robins Kaplan was honored to help litigate, negotiate, and ultimately achieve the reforms set out in the consent decree.

What was the most satisfying aspect of that key case?

Judge [Robert] Dow held a public fairness hearing to hear from members of the public. Over 90 individuals addressed the need for the consent decree. This hearing reflected authentic democracy in action, and vindicated the dedication to bring reform to Chicago. As Judge Dow explained, the consent decree aims to ensure that "policing in Chicago is done fairly, transparently and without bias, affording dignity to those who are served and protected."

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

In 2018, we helped secure a victory on behalf of a transgender woman incarcerated by the Missouri Department of Corrections (MDOC). A federal district court permanently prohibited MDOC from enforcing a policy that denied doctor-recommended health care to transgender people as cruel and unusual punishment.

We also helped a detained Cameroonian woman obtain asylum. In addition to working tirelessly with experts and witnesses for the hearing, our attorneys were personally invested in the case. They waited several hours for their client's release from detention and personally assisted her through TSA at the airport so she could board a flight to be reunited with her sister.

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

Few professions offer the ability to change people's lives forever. Being a lawyer is one that does. And pro bono work offers the ability to do that for people in need of it the most—the poor, the disadvantaged, and those who live in the shadows of life. Pro bono work is not only a privilege for lawyers, but a responsibility.

Responses submitted by Patrick Arenz, a partner and high-stakes trial lawyer at Robins Kaplan.