2022 Samuel E. Klein Pro Bono Awards

Amanda Liu, an associate in Dechert’s Hong Kong office, has shown tremendous leadership and consistently been involved in a wide array of pro bono projects. Ms. Liu discusses her lead role in the Hong Kong office’s newest pro bono initiative: assisting the Hong Kong branch of UNHCR in preparing applications for refugees in Hong Kong to request the Immigration Department to grant working permits. Ms. Liu has also handled cases involving the abuse of domestic workers, a small claims tribunal matter, and participated in the Innocence Project case screening initiative at Dechert.

Jennifer McGrandle, counsel in the labor group in Dechert’s London office, has led by example within the firm, using her expertise in employment law to help countless nonprofits and individuals. Ms. McGrandle discusses her role spearheading the establishment and development of the Employment Lawyers Association of England and Wales' Employment Tribunal Litigant In Person Support Scheme (ELIPS), which provides advice to unrepresented litigants appearing before Employment Tribunals through in-person pro bono clinics. Ms. McGrandle was instrumental in the expansion of the scheme, and its move to operating online, during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Members of the Dechert team discuss their experience supporting the JUSTICE Working Group in publishing its Reforming the Windrush Compensation Scheme Report. The report sets out recommendations to improve the administrative and procedural aspects of the Windrush Compensation Scheme to ensure it is accessible, fair, and efficient for those seeking compensation for the losses and hardships incurred as a result of not being able to demonstrate their lawful immigration status.

Gary Mennitt, a New York-based partner in Dechert’s trial, investigation and securities group, has focused his pro bono practice on helping asylum seekers and he discusses the need for pro bono lawyers to help in these types of matters. Mr. Mennitt has handled 22 immigration-related cases, and in so doing has inspired and supported a generation of associates in Dechert’s New York office to become involved.

A multi-office Dechert team, led by Jason Rozes and Dennis Lawson, supported The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights’ efforts to launch the first national database on police “use of force” data. The database, Accountable Now, was launched in February 2021 amid press coverage in Time and other media outlets. The endeavor has since been named an “Innovation in Diversity” by Profiles in Diversity Journal.

Caroline Power, an associate in Dechert’s Philadelphia office, discusses her involvement in a variety of pro bono projects and her role as co-chair for the Philadelphia office’s civil rights pro bono practice group. Ms. Power has been the backbone of countless civil rights matters, including prisoner civil rights at the trial and appellate level, partnering with the ACLU of Pennsylvania in a series of profanity cases, and her leading role in the Glen Mills litigation.