October 2024

It’s been a busy week for partner Samir Abdelnour. That’s in part because it’s Pro Bono Week—which culminated in yesterday’s firmwide celebration of our remarkable pro bono impact over the past year. In addition to planning and hosting the event, he coordinated (and has been enthusiastically promoting) the firm’s annual silent auction with proceeds benefitting our pro bono partner organizations. The auction’s prizes range from cool house plants to coveted event and concert tickets.

As Director of Pro Bono and Social Impact—a position he helped create in 2020 with a vision and the support of Managing Partner Kristina Lawson and CDEIO Jennifer Martinez—and as Co-Chair of the Pro Bono Committee, Samir’s role involves forging lasting partnerships with mission-driven organizations, facilitating and tracking all of the pro bono and social impact work our attorneys and professional staff are involved in, and ensuring Hanson Bridgett remains a leader in the space year-round. The 2023-24 billable year was one of the firm’s best ever in terms of pro bono (see our impressive numbers below).

The Spotlight

Yesterday’s event offered a glimpse into the firm’s overall pro bono contributions and shined a light on a few of our most impactful pro bono matters from the year, ranging widely in focus and scope, each significantly impacting our California communities:

• Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA) Separation Claims: In 2020, Hanson Bridgett attorneys took on eight families as pro bono clients that had been separated at the southern border under the “Zero Tolerance” family separation policy implemented by the Trump administration. Partner Anthony Dutra played a key role in Hanson Bridgett’s participation in a national effort organized by a coalition of law firms and non-profits. Through this collaboration, we filed administrative claims on behalf of several families under the FTCA to seek damages from the federal government for the harm our clients endured. Nearly four years later, thanks to the claims filed and the diligent follow-up, these families are finally seeing some justice in the form of settlement offers from the government.
• Gender Equity Policy Institute (GEPI): GEPI is a non-profit organization dedicated to accelerating gender equality in the United States. GEPI engaged Hanson Bridgett to provide pro bono support to their policy initiatives to reduce occupational segregation in trade industries, such as clean energy or construction. Associate Johanna Williams led our effort to help expand women’s representation and access to jobs in industries where women are historically underrepresented.
• Ujamaa Farmer Collective: The Ujamaa Farmer Collective works to secure access to resources for the success of Black farmers in the Sacramento area. Thanks to senior counsel Robin Baral’s excellent pro bono work, the Collective acquired its first parcel of farmland property in late 2023 after two years of effort. The 22 acres the Collective acquired near Woodland, California, will further the group’s mission of securing access to resources, increasing growing capacity, and offering exceptional educational and employment opportunities for individuals interested in farming.
• Bay Area Council SCOTUS Amicus Brief: In June 2024, the US Supreme Court issued a landmark ruling on the tools available to cities to address homelessness in their communities. Hanson Bridgett filed an amicus brief on behalf of the Bay Area Council and 13 other community groups in support of the cities’ position, which ultimately prevailed. According to senior counsel David Casarrubias-González, who led the team, along with a coalition of Bay Area groups and the Bay Area Council, the influential brief helped the Courts better understand the real-world implications of the 9th Circuit’s previous rigid interpretation of the 8th Amendment. The amicus brief opened up the door for a more practical legal framework, protecting the rights of unhoused individuals and community members.

These partnerships come about both organically and strategically. “One of the great things about our pro bono program is that there isn’t only one way to access pro bono work at Hanson Bridgett,” explains Samir. “We have long-standing relationships with some organizations like LCCR-SF, that have been in place since before I joined the firm. I’m also out in the community, along with the other members of the Pro Bono Committee, looking for new partners all the time.”

No Time for Guilty Pleasures

When he’s not busy planning the firm’s next impactful win, you might catch Samir cranking up a favorite tune, such as “Without You”—the Harry Nilsson version, sure, but he doesn’t shy away from the Mariah Carey version when he’s got ‘all the feels’.

“I don’t like when people refer to certain music as a ‘guilty pleasure,’” he jokes, “Who cares if it isn’t cool to like something?!” One thing’s for sure: our pro bono success can’t live if livin’ is without Samir—as evidenced by the numbers below.

Our Remarkable Pro Bono Year—the Numbers

• 7,590 pro bono hours worked firmwide, reflecting an 18% increase over the previous year.
• 37.4 pro bono hours per attorney (including every attorney at the firm), with 48.8 hours per participating attorney.
• 210 attorneys, clerks, paralegals, and legal professionals worked on 166 pro bono matters.
• 48 attorneys contributed 50+ pro bono hours, and 27 of those logged 100+ hours!