HOUSTON – Richard Horstman is widely recognized as one of the leading international transactional lawyers for oil exploration and production.
The Marathon Oil assistant general counsel has developed a new reputation: he is the poster child for formal corporate pro bono programs. His story has attracted national attention.
The truth is, Horstman didn’t give a second thought about doing pro bono legal work during his first three decades at Marathon Oil.
“I always felt I did enough law at work,” he says. “I focused my public service and community work on non-legal matters.”
Then, five years ago, former Marathon Oil General Counsel Bill Schwind implemented a formal pro bono program for the oil and gas company’s in-house lawyers. One of the first presenters was Catholic Charities, which highlighted the legal needs of immigrant children in the U.S.
Horstman agreed to tackle a single case. According to colleagues, it changed his legal practice and his life. A dozen cases later, pro bono has no bigger supporter.
“Pro bono certainly changed my view of myself as a lawyer,” says Horstman, who now performs about 230 hours of pro bono annually. “I realized that I am one of the few who can do this because of my expertise as a lawyer.”
While Horstman doesn’t favor state mandated pro bono, he thinks law firms and in-house corporate legal departments should implement formal pro bono efforts that strongly encourage their lawyers to get involved.
“I regret that I didn’t start doing pro bono earlier,” he says.
Horstman, whose pro bono work is featured in the September issue of the ABA Journal, also thinks it is smart for lawyers in corporate legal departments to use their positions to persuade their outside counsel to do more pro bono. The international energy law expert says that Baker Botts, King & Spalding and Dykema have been particularly supportive of his pro bono efforts by providing lawyers to help him and his clients.
Horstman’s pro bono cases are heartbreakers. He’s represented kids as young as three. They are from El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Mexico. Most have been horribly abused and neglected. They are housed in overcrowded shelters with no family or friends and facing removal proceedings.
He recently represented a 12-year-old El Salvadorian girl who was abandoned by her parents when she was a baby. She was repeatedly raped at age six. Finally, a family member paid a coyote to help her flee to the U.S.
The girl was caught and detained in Houston. Immigration officials were planning to send her back.
“If these kids are sent back, they will likely be killed,” says Horstman. “The kids don’t have a chance without a lawyer. These cases are very complex with many hurdles to clear. A lot of these cases are girls running from drug cartels and their punishment for fleeing is certain death.”
The cases can take a year or more to obtain legal status and establish permanent residency for the kids. Of the 12 cases Horstman has handled, he has won nine. One is still pending and he just agreed to tackle two new cases this summer.
“These kids are so truthful and considerate and they are just so happy and grateful that lawyers are there to help them,” he says.