International law firm McDermott Will & Emery and William H. Brown Elementary School are being recognized with a Civic Education Appreciation Award from the Chicago Bar Association’s Lawyers in the Classroom Program (LIC). The award highlights the unique partnership and the team’s work to help youth understand how the law applies to them, their community and their lives.

For more than 30 years, the LIC program has provided civic and social justice education to Chicago elementary and middle school students. The program pairs law professionals with teachers and students in Chicago area schools to provide early and critical access to civic education and reaches nearly 5,000 students in sixty Chicagoland schools each year.

“We’re honored to be a long-time partner of the Chicago Bar’s LIC Program and Brown Elementary School,” said Elizabeth Lewis, McDermott’s Pro Bono and Community Service Partner. “As a young lawyer who participated in the program years ago, I can say first-hand that the LIC program is a deeply fulfilling, learning experience for both our lawyers and the students.”

The team members involved in the partnership include: Evelyn Atwater, Catherine Battin, William Butler, Ryan Clarke, Joshua Cohrs, Michael Ferrara, Gregory Fosheim, Dexter Golinghorst, Nick Greiner, Timothy Halleron, Lindsay Heyen, George Houhanisin, Emily Keil, David Saunders, Christopher Stacker, Teal Trujilo, Bernardo Vaz, Monica Wallace and Evan Walters.

McDermott Will & Emery partners with leaders around the world to fuel missions, knock down barriers and shape markets. Our team works seamlessly across practices and industries to deliver highly effective solutions that propel success. More than 1,400 lawyers strong, we bring our personal passion and legal prowess to bear in every matter for our clients and the people they serve.

International law firm McDermott Will & Emery is proud to be prominently featured in the newly released book Archive Activism: Memoir of a “Uniquely Nasty” Journey, (University of North Texas Press, 2023). i.e. Archive Activism: Memoir of a “Uniquely Nasty” Journey (University of North Texas Press, 2023), by Mattachine Society of Washington, DC President Charles Francis. McDermott has been a pro bono partner of the organization for more than a decade, supporting its “archive activism” mission to uncover and preserve LGBTQ+ American history.

Charles co-founded the new DC-based Mattachine with Pate Felts in 2011. Charles’ memoir tells the story of his life as an LGBTQ+ advocate and the Mattachine Society’s work to recover forgotten, sealed and often deleted LGBTQ+ history. The book also details the contributions of McDermott partners Paul Thompson and Lisa A. Linsky, who have co-led the cross-office, cross-practice teams of lawyers and staff professionals to achieve impactful outcomes on behalf of the Mattachine Society, including:

• Submitting an amicus brief in the US Supreme Court in Obergefell v. Hodges, a case in which the Court held that the Fourteenth Amendment requires states to license and recognize same-sex marriage.
• Winning a motion for summary judgment against the Department of Justice, which was required to disclose historical documents related to a 1953 Executive Order that provided the government with the legal authority to purge gay and lesbian employees from the federal employment rolls.
• Publishing a white paper on the legal and political history of conversion therapy in the US and the damage it causes.
• Publishing a white paper that outlined the history of US government discrimination against the LGBTQ+ community, which resulted in a Congressional Resolution calling for Congress to acknowledge and apologize for long-standing mistreatment.

“Charles’ memoir is a tribute to the unsung heroes and heroines of the LGBTQ+ Civil Rights Movement who fought for full civil equality when doing so put their lives and livelihoods in jeopardy. It is a must-read for all those interested in American history to understand the culture of animus that was created and the many ways in which this animus was perpetrated against LGBTQ+ Americans at the hands of their government,” said Lisa.

“The stories are particularly relevant today given the state of emergency that the LGBTQ+ community and its allies face in the current political and social climate. McDermott has been proud to partner with the Mattachine Society and is deeply honored to have our work recognized by Charles.”

McDermott was also featured in the Mattachine Society’s 2018 documentary produced and directed by Mike Isikoff, an award-winning investigative journalist. The film recounts our joint work to uncover forgotten and buried LGBTQ+ American history. The documentary earned the Edward R. Murrow Award.

International law firm McDermott Will & Emery has been named Pro Bono Team of the Year by Kids in Need of Defense (KIND) for its work to help a teenage refugee who fled Guatemala to pursue asylum in the United States (US).

The teenager, who endured persecution by Guatemalan gang members, fled to the US with no family to accompany her. Led by an all-female McDermott team, a declaration was built, an application for asylum was filed and the teenager obtained a work permit so she could start building a life in her new home country. In addition to the pursuit of asylum, the team collaborated with KIND to secure a host of additional resources for the teenager, including mental health and social services.

KIND’s mission is to protect the rights of children who seek safety in the US. They work to ensure that no child appears in immigration court without top legal representation, advance laws and policies that ensure children’s protection and promote durable solutions to child immigration.

“KIND is a wonderful organization, and our team is humbled to be recognized for making an impact on the people it serves. We’re grateful for the opportunity to help this young woman and to dedicate our resources to advocate for children in need,” said Cecilia Choy, an associate in the Intellectual Property Practice Group and lead on the project. “We will see this case through and look forward to seeing our client thrive and build the life she deserves.”

The McDermott team members involved in this case include Cecilia Choy, April Weisbruch, Anisa Noorassa and Fabiola Díaz Vera.

McDermott Will & Emery partners with leaders around the world to fuel missions, knock down barriers and shape markets. Our team works seamlessly across practices and industries to deliver highly effective solutions that propel success. More than 1,400 lawyers strong, we bring our personal passion and legal prowess to bear in every matter for our clients and the people they serve.