Ethical Issues in Pro Bono Representation

Elizabeth P. Lewis serves as the Firm's Pro Bono and Community Service Partner. In this role, Elizabeth leads the Firm's pro bono, community service and charitable giving initiatives. She works closely with the Firm's Pro Bono and Community Service Committee and senior management to define the Firm's programmatic mission, identify strategies for growth and launch pro bono and community service initiatives. Elizabeth also regularly collaborates with nonprofit organizations on legal clinics, community service events and other opportunities for social impact.

In addition, Elizabeth regularly represents individual and nonprofit clients on a wide variety of issues ranging from special education, school discipline, family law, tax exemption and a variety of other tax and business law issues, and participates in numerous volunteer and community service activities through the Firm's Kids First Initiative.

Prior to assuming the role of Pro Bono and Community Service Partner, Elizabeth was a partner in the US and International Tax Group. In that role, she devoted considerable attention to international tax planning for US and non-US-based multinational companies, advising on multi-jurisdictional business structures for US multinationals, focusing on issues that included subpart F and other anti-deferral rules, transfer pricing, sourcing issues, US trade, business or permanent establishment issues, and Section 367.

As one of the Firm’s deputy general counsel, Joshua Rogaczewski focuses his practice on advising McDermott on professional-responsibility, loss-prevention and other compliance-related issues.

Joshua advises the Firm and its professionals in connection with the client-intake process, as issues arise in the course of matters, when and after matters end, and when professionals join or leave the firm. He works with the Firm’s New Business Committee, Client Intake Services, Information Governance, Human Resources, and other departments to minimize McDermott’s risk. Joshua chairs the Firm’s Professional Responsibility Committee.

In addition to providing in-house training and guidance to the Firm’s professionals, Joshua manages claims against the Firm and the Firm’s responses to subpoenas for documents and testimony of McDermott’s professionals. He also assists in the Firm’s diverse day-to-day compliance efforts.

Prior to joining the General Counsel’s Office, Joshua was a member of the Firm’s Litigation Practice Group, focusing on complex civil litigation in a variety of substantive areas, including retirement-benefit disputes under ERISA and the Labor–Management Relations Act of 1947; challenges to program accessibility under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990; trademark disputes; patent-infringement disputes, including those before the U.S. International Trade Commission; challenges to government action under the Administrative Procedures Act; and the False Claims Act. He has experience in both jury and nonjury trials. At the appellate level, Joshua has substantial experience briefing cases for appeal, has argued appeals, and has litigated issues before the Supreme Court.

Joshua current serves as a hearing-committee member for the DC Board of Professional Responsibility, which adjudicates lawyer-misconduct matters for the DC Bar.

William (Bill) P. Schuman focuses his practice on securities and complex commercial litigation, class actions, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) defense litigation, internal investigations and dealer/distributor litigation. Bill also has broad experience representing nonprofits, officers and directors, and attorneys and other professionals in fiduciary duty litigation.

Bill has extensive experience in the field of legal ethics and professional responsibility. He has chaired the Firm’s Professional Responsibility Committee since 1994 and is an adjunct professor in Legal Ethics at Northwestern University Law School.

Bill also has extensive experience in constitutional law. In 1985, he won an Illinois Supreme Court decision in Sanelli v. Glenview State Bank, regarded as seminal in the area of separation of powers doctrine. In 1993, he won an important decision in the Illinois Appellate Court, on due process grounds, in ChemRex, Inc. v. Illinois Pollution Control Board.

Bill has represented clients in admiralty litigation as well. He was one of the lead counsel representing the ship owner in Grubart v. Great Lakes Dredge & Dock, where admiralty jurisdiction was upheld in the US Supreme Court in 1995.

Bill has handled litigation in the federal and state courts in California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Texas, Washington, DC and Wisconsin.