01/10/2006
Cooley Godward Pro Bono Victory Honored by The National Law Journal
Palo Alto, Calif., January 10, 2006 — Cooley Godward LLP announced today that Santillan, et al. v. Gonzales, et al., a major impact pro bono matter successfully handled by the Firm, has been selected by the National Law Journal (NLJ) as one of the country's top pro bono cases of 2005. Only four pro bono cases nationwide earned this recognition.
"We strive to give generously of our time, talents and resources to the communities in which we practice, and pro bono work is one of the primary ways we fulfill that goal," said Stephen Neal, chairman and CEO of Cooley Godward. "It is extremely gratifying to see the Firm's commitment and the team's hard work and dedication acknowledged in such a positive and visible way."
In a case seeking to protect the rights of up to 12,000 immigrants, Cooley and the Texas Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights filed a nationwide class-action lawsuit against the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for denying documentation of lawful status to lawful permanent residents. The suit sought to compel the DHS to provide evidence of lawful status to thousands of immigrants who had been granted such status by the immigration courts.
In August 2005, Judge Marilyn Hall Patel of the U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, granted plaintiffs' summary judgment motion, ruling that the DHS policy of withholding documentation from persons already determined to be lawful permanent residents by immigration courts was arbitrary and capricious and violated DHS's nondiscretionary duty to issue documentation in a timely manner.
On December 22, 2005, the matter was definitively concluded in the district court when Judge Patel issued a permanent injunction against the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ordering the agency to provide documentation of lawful status ("green cards") to class members within a specified period of time.
The Santillan team was comprised of Cooley partners John Dwyer and Michelle Rhyu, pro bono counsel Maureen Alger, associates Rueben Chen and Rob McHenry, paralegal Jeannine Douglas and administrative assistant Debra Elliott.
In 2005, for the third consecutive year, Cooley met its goal of contributing at least three percent of its attorneys' billable hours to pro bono work.
About Cooley Godward
Cooley Godward is an established provider of strategic litigation and business transaction services and a recognized leader in the representation of high-growth private and public companies, financial institutions, venture capital firms and nonprofit organizations. Our singular focus on providing the highest quality legal services has enabled our clients to achieve their strategic business objectives and garnered for Cooley recognition as one of the country's leading law firms.
Cooley was recently named to The American Lawyer magazine's 2005 "A List," the publication's annual ranking of "the best of the best" among the nation's top law firms. For additional information please visit www.cooley.com.