PRO BONO

ACT NOW!!!The State Bar of Nevada Board of Governors and the Access to Justice Commission extend a special thanks to the following attorneys who generously accepted cases in March 2016, through the Legal Aid Center of Southern Nevada, Washoe Legal Services, Nevada Legal Services, Volunteer Attorneys for Rural Nevadans and Southern Nevada Senior Law Program.

HONOR ROLL

Norman AllenPaola ArmeniTravis BarrickNeil BellerRobert BlauAdam BreedenRobert BroiliAmy BuchananPatricia CafferataRyan T. CampbellChristopher CarrRobert CerceoEbru CetinAmy CheliniJames ClaflinTravis ClarkMitch CobeagaLesley CohenVenicia ConsidineDonald K CoppaAndrew Craner

Ben AlbersNorman Allen Maricar AndradeCarl ArnoldPeter BellonK. Kevin BensonBrian BlackhamBrian BlankenshipRobert BlauDaniel BravoElizabeth BrickfieldRobert BroiliKelly C. BrownKaitlyn BurkeRebecca BurrJordan ButlerKC CaraballoCandace CarlyonMarilyn CastonMargo ChernyshevaNatalie CheungBenjamin ChildsJames ClaflinTravis ClarkShelly CooleyJoshua CoolsTimothy Cory

Douglas CrawfordNic DannaDawn DavisMatthew DaytonTracy DiFillippoKerry DoyleChristopher EcclesSteve EvensonMelissa ExlineDeanna ForbushJennifer GaynorErin GrieveDana GriggPatricia HadfieldBill HammerSteven HandelinRoger HaradaStephen HarrisDaniel HillKriston HillRichard HolleyJohn HowardL. Edward HumphreyBrian HutchinsJohn JonesJustin JonesJosef Karacsonyi

Michael KeaneShelley KrohnIshi KuninKristine KuzemkaAndrew KynastonJames LeavittCecilia LeeDavid LoremanDan LovellDawn LozanoJennifer McDonaldEmily McFarlingRendal MillerRoyi MoasLindsey MoralesAnn MorganAngela Nakamura OchoaAllyson NotoDavid O’MaraSean PattersonArezou PirooziC.J. PotterJessica PruntyEric PulverNatalie ReedStephen Reid

Kevin CullineyNic DannaBrian L. DavenportLinda N. DaykinCourtney DolanFrank EllisLeland FauxErnest FigueroaCherie FletterLisa M. FraasJoseph GellerNathan GibbsNeal GidvaniAviva GordonSihomara GravesApril GreenDana GriggBill HammerSteven HandelinRoger R. HaradaAthar Haseebullah

Craig HendersonTerry JohnsonGabrielle JonesKevin R. KarpPeter KeeganJerimy KirschnerMadeline La ForgiaAnat LevyMonti LevyMark LichtenfeldDan LovellRussell MarshRaymond McKayRendal MillerSusan NoyceRay E. OsterRebecca PaddockMaren ParryAndrew PastwickLauren PenaPatricia A. Phair

Attorneys who participated in clinics, Ask-A-Lawyer or Lawyer in the Library programs:

BOLD honors multiple cases accepted and/or sessions conducted within the month.

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34 Nevada Lawyer June 2016

Matthew PruittEric RoyBeverly SalhanickArturo SanchezJonathan ShipmanMadelyn ShipmanMuriel R. SkellyMichael SmithLaura TuckerNicholas TrutanichKristin TylerNatalia Vander LaanSoraya VeigaDarren WelshLeah R. WigrenJill K. WhitbeckTehan Wittemyer SlocumAdam WoodrumJennifer YimGreg Zunio

Francesca ReschStephanie RiceJennifer RobertsAmber RobinsonL. Christopher RoseCaitlin SalasCher ShaineTamatha ShreinertJeffrey SilverMuriel SkellyJames SmithHenry SoteloDon SpringmeyerBrian SteinbergEric StovallRodney SumpterKim SurrattChristopher TilmanNicholas TrutanichDan WaiteMarshal WillickShannon WilsonLarry WinkingRobert WinnMarilyn YorkGreg Zunio

Lose weight fast! If you take on pro bono work, you will instantly shed 15 unwanted pounds, have super-silky, shiny hair, learn to speak a foreign language, be referred to by everyone you know as “Your Majesty” and win every single case you take, for the rest of your legal career.

Disclaimer: Some or all of the statements above could be blatant falsehoods designed solely to encourage you to do pro bono work.

BY PATRICIA LEE, ESQ.

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June 2016 Nevada Lawyer 35

While you may not magically lose 15 pounds or learn to speak a foreign language, there are many other fabulous benefits to be derived from doing pro bono work. Several years ago, I was retained by a woman from Burma. She and her boyfriend were both in Japan on student visas when she found out that she was pregnant. The couple returned to Burma, where their son was born. The woman then went back to Japan, with her baby, to finish school.

Her boyfriend was also trying to get back into Japan, but his student visa had expired, and the Japanese Embassy would not allow him back into the country unless he was married to her. The couple found a lawyer to sign an affidavit stating that they were married and the woman’s boyfriend subsequently joined her and their son in Japan. A bit later, they both came to the U.S. to visit my client’s mother and, while they were here, she (a political dissident), filed for political asylum for both her and her son. It was granted. However her boyfriend/husband’s visitor visa expired and he was forced to go back to Japan.

After they had been apart for about a year, my client came to Legal Aid Center of Southern Nevada seeking an attorney to help her get “divorced” and to maintain sole legal and physical custody of her son.

BY PATRICIA LEE, ESQ.In just a single case, I learned:

1. All about seeking and obtaining political asylum;

2. How political asylum impacts domestic rights;

3. About the Hague Convention with respect to service of process in Japan;

4. Dealing with “constructive marital” issues; and

5. (Bonus!) How to say “thank you” in Burmese (“Kyeizu tin ba de”).

As a commercial litigator, I doubt I would ever have encountered these interesting and complex issues were it not for this case. This knowledge is all part of my tool box today and, some aspects of the case, such as the information about the Hague Convention, actually translate nicely into my commercial practice.

The best part of the whole experience was getting my client the divorce and sole physical and legal custody of her son. She has since moved to Washington, D.C. with her fiancé (also a political dissident from Burma) and son, and recently sent me a hand-knitted table cloth that rivals anything Martha Stewart could ever dream up. One of my favorite sayings is, “It is always the darkest just before dawn. If you give up in the dark, you’ll never see the light.” It is an overwhelmingly awesome feeling to help someone through the darkness and into the light.

PATRICIA LEE, is a partner with Hutchison & Steffen, LLC.

A portion of this article previously appeared in the September 2014 issue of Nevada Lawyer.