Orrick Receives Beacon of Justice Award for Pro Bono Effort for Immigrants at U.S. Border

July.21.2020

The National Legal Aid & Defender Association has recognized Orrick as a 2020 Beacon of Justice Award winner for our pro bono work protecting the rights of immigrants along the U.S. southern border. Orrick will be among the firms honored in September.

We were specifically recognized for our efforts last year forcing the federal government to address inhumane conditions for migrant children being held in U.S. detention facilities along the Texas border. Our team, led by partner Elyse Echtman and Pro Bono Counsel Rene Kathawala, collaborated with immigration rights organizations to enforce the provisions of the Flores settlement, which governs conditions in detention centers.

Our team continues to work on the case to ensure conditions in border facilities remain in compliance with the orders of a federal judge. Orrick was recognized with other firms for a “strong commitment to uphold the rule of law and safeguard the legal rights of these individuals.”

In addition to Elyse and Rene, others on the Orrick team in Flores include Marc Shapiro, Diana Fassbender, Heather Boylan Clark, Kevin Askew, Logan Dwyer, Mick Peters and Sam Adler.

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Rene Kathawala Pro Bono Counsel

New York

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Rene Kathawala Pro Bono Counsel

New York

Rene works with other pro bono counsel and legal services nonprofits to increase the quantity and quality of pro bono representation that is being provided to indigent clients in each of the cities worldwide where Orrick has a presence. In addition, he supervises and directly works on cases in such diverse areas as immigration law, family and matrimonial law, housing law, public benefits law, employment law counseling, impact litigation and nonprofit advice and counseling. Rene has worked on many substantial matters in the federal and state systems over his career that are reported as precedent. He also works with firm attorneys to strengthen the firm's innovative Impact Finance team that he founded and that provides representation in diverse transactional areas to nonprofit, for profit and hybrid organizations dedicated to providing basic services to poor persons around the world in areas including microfinance, water, education, energy, housing and health.

Based on his long-standing commitment to access to justice issues, Rene has been appointed to serve as co-chair of the New York City Bar Association Race Equity in the New York State Courts Working Group, co-chair of the Association of Pro Bono Counsel Transactional Law Working Group, as member of the New York City Bar Association Right to Counsel Task Force, as member of the New York City Bar Association Family Court Judicial Appointment & Assignment Process Work Group, as member of Sanctuary for Families' Narkis Golin Initiative, and as member of the Kids in Need of Defense's New York Advisory Committee. In recognition of his exemplary work in family law, United States District Judge Bloom appointed Rene as a special master in a federal court family law matter in 2014 in the Eastern District of New York in case number 07-cv-02565-ARR-LB, styled Garmhausen et al v. United States Department of Justice et al. Rene also appeared in a documentary with wide release, called "The Accidental Spy," about his pro bono immigration client, Mr. Blerim Skoro, for whom Rene spent six-years in the New York City immigration court and gained deferral of removal under the Convention Against Torture for the client.