Law Firms Pledge Lawyers, Resources for Families at the Texas Border

© 2018 The Texas Lawbook.

By Mark Curriden

(June 28) – Thirty-four large corporate law firms – half of them with offices in Texas and two firms based in Texas – have signed a pledge to provide legal support and resources for immigrant families who are separated from their children when crossing the border to seek asylum.

Two Texas-headquartered law firms – Haynes and Boone and Vinson & Elkins – signed the pledge to help reunify parents and children separated by federal officials after they crossed the U.S. border. The law firms also committed to provide lawyers to represent the families in asylum applications and proceedings.

Several other law firms, including Akin Gump and Bracewell, have committed to providing legal assistance to those in need at the border, but did not participate in the formal pledge.

These major corporate law firms, which normally represent Fortune 100 companies, started mobilizing three weeks ago when the Trump Administration began enforcing its zero-tolerance policy.

“As a firm with historic roots in Texas, we are concerned and saddened about the legal situation on the Mexican border and the risk that immigrant families could face removal without being afforded due process of law,” said Haynes and Boone managing partner Tim Powers. “We have a deep respect for the rule of law and know it is vital for our country’s laws and regulations to be enforced firmly but also with humanity and empathy.”

Powers and leaders at other law firms say they are working with Texas legal rights organizations, such as Human Rights Initiative of North Texas and Kids In Need of Defense, to represent asylum seekers and unaccompanied minors. The firms also are coordinating with each other to provide boots-on-the-ground assistance and are preparing a contingent of lawyers and staff to travel to the border to help with immediate needs.

“As a firm, we are committed to providing pro bono legal services to those who are at risk and most in need,” said V&E Chairman Mark Kelly. “It’s a privilege that the legal profession both affords and obligates us to undertake and is a significant part of our firm’s culture. We have represented immigrants in their asylum and other immigration claims for decades and we view this as a continuation of that important work.”

Fifteen national law firms that have offices in Texas – including Baker McKenzie, Eversheds Sutherland, Fish & Richardson, Hunton Andrews Kurth, Polsinelli and Simpson Thacher – have signed the pledge.

Five lawyers in the Dallas and Houston offices of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, which signed the pledge, have volunteered. Houston capital markets partner Hillary Holmes, for example, represents two sisters from Honduras ages nine and 12. Four associates are actually going through intensive legal training this week and will be deployed to Port Isabel next week to work with families.

“These are two precious young girls who need our help,” Holmes said. “It will take years to go through the asylum process, but the first goal was to get them out of detention and get them into a safe place.”

Holmes said that many business lawyers do not volunteer because they fear the unknown.

“Lawyers can feel intimidated because they either don’t speak Spanish or they are corporate lawyers who don’t know immigration law or they fear that it will take up too much of their time,” she said. “But there are so many ways for lawyers to help and the support system provided by the legal aid agencies means that there really is no excuse for lawyers to not get involved and help.”

Federal statistics show that those seeking asylum are multiple times more likely to be granted protected status if they have a lawyer representing them throughout the process.

Because federal authorities are not charging the immigrants seeking asylum with felony criminal charges, the immigrants are not entitled to a lawyer under past Supreme Court decisions.

As a result, less than one in 10 immigrants have a lawyer representing them in immigration court proceedings.

“The long-term issues in immigration are also of great concern to us, and we are taking steps to address them by deepening our commitment to agencies already helping in this arena and also by visiting impacted communities to advise immigrants and assist them as their needs warrant,” Powers said.

Akin Gump did not sign the pledge, but a firm spokesperson said it fully supports the effort and the firms who signed the pledge. In fact, Akin Gump is one of the lead firms helping train other lawyers from the firms listed on the pledge.

Akin Gump lawyers have been involved in representing detainees as part of pro bono program at the Karnes Family Detention Center in 2014. Hundreds of Akin Gump lawyers have worked with asylum-seeking families during the past five years.

Similarly, Bracewell officials did not sign the pledge – it is unclear if the firm was even approached about it – but lawyers for the Houston-based firm have been involved in pro bono immigration matters for years.

Richard Danysh, a litigation partner in Bracewell’s San Antonio office, works with the CARA Family Detention Pro Bono Project in Dilley. The CARA Project provides representation and counseling through its volunteers to women and mothers in preparation for credible fear or reasonable fear interviews with asylum officers.

The counseling is the first non-adversarial opportunity for the detainees to tell their stories. The interview is the critically important first step in the asylum-seeking process. A negative finding often results in deportation.

“You are helping people with no resources who have fled horrific circumstances with young children and who otherwise would have no legal representation in what is the most important endeavor in their family’s life – finding a safe and secure future,” Danysh said in a statement Bracewell posted Wednesday on its website about its pro bono immigration efforts.

Editor’s Note: The Texas Lawbook seeks articles from Texas-based lawyers who have been to the border and worked with families going through the immigration process. Please contact me at mark.curriden@texaslawbook.net. Thank you.

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