Brad Karp of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison. (Courtesy photo)

Describe your firm's philosophy on pro bono service.  We believe passionately in protecting the rule of law and pro bono work. We see the law as a profession, not as a purely commercial enterprise; community engagement and pro bono service are indispensable elements of our practice—every bit as important as our work for paying clients. We constantly look for ways to leverage our resources to achieve the greatest impact, and seek out collaborations that multiply what we can achieve on our own.

What are the two biggest cases your firm worked on in 2019? Tell us more about those cases and how you reached the outcome.  We are co-counsel in several significant challenges to Trump administration immigration policies and continue to lead a court-appointed steering committee in the [American Civil Liberties Union's] class action on behalf of immigrant parents separated from their children. Our role in that case, Ms. L v. ICE, expanded last fall, while the first phase of reunifications concluded in early 2020. We secured a victory in September 2019, when the judge overseeing Ms. L ordered the government to allow 11 parents unlawfully deported during the family separation crisis to return to the U.S. to reunify with their children while they pursue their asylum claims.

We are handling several high-impact reproductive rights litigations and won a [U.S. Court of Appeals for the] Fifth Circuit ruling in December 2019, working with the Center for Reproductive Rights on behalf of Mississippi's last abortion clinic, upholding our district court win earlier in the year overturning the state's 15-week abortion ban.

What was the most satisfying aspect of that work?  Successfully completing the first phase of reunifications of separated families marked a punctuation point for hundreds of our lawyers involved in that effort. Equally gratifying, our work with the deported parents laid the groundwork for the court ruling that allowed 11 to return to the U.S. to file asylum petitions. Our unbroken string of victories in Mississippi and Missouri challenging state laws restricting abortion is gratifying, but unfortunately that battle is far from over.

What other pro bono matters is the firm working on?  In March, we created an online Coronavirus Relief Center to support the tens of millions of Americans and small businesses facing devastation due to COVID-19. Some 400 lawyers have contributed 6,000 hours analyzing and summarizing, in simple language, 800-plus relief programs nationally. Leveraging this resource, we are collaborating with legal organizations to directly serve small businesses and individuals in need. We're petitioning for the release of detained immigrants at greatest risk for infection in Ohio, New Jersey and Michigan. And we're working to enjoin efforts by certain states to label abortion services as "non-essential" in the face of COVID-19.

Why does pro bono work matter to you as a lawyer?  Nothing matters more to me. Millions of Americans face economic ruin; gratuitous actions by state and federal authorities put inmates, migrants and others at extreme risk; and our democratic institutions are being undermined. If we, as lawyers, don't step up to safeguard the rule of law and those in need, who will?

Responses submitted by Brad Karp, chairman at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison.