White House honors KIND Board Co-Chair Brad Smith as a “Champion of Change”
- Friday, October 21, 2011 |
- Written by Megan Mckenna
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KIND Board Co-Chair and Microsoft Senior Vice President and General Counsel Brad Smith was recognized October 13 by Attorney General Eric Holder and Senior Counselor for Access to Justice Mark Childress as a White House "Champion of Change" in a White House ceremony.
The event featured 16 leaders from across the country who were recognized for their work in public interest law and providing legal services to people throughout the country who cannot afford them, helping to close the justice gap in the United States.
"It's a privilege to be among so many remarkable individuals who - because of their commitment to progress, and to using their skills and talents to improve the lives of others - have been designated by President Obama as 'Champions of Change,'" said Attorney General Holder. "Across the country, their work is allowing us to address and overcome our most pressing legal challenges and live up to our nation's highest ideals."
Smith was honored for co-founding KIND with actress and humanitarian Angelina Jolie and for its success in finding pro bono attorneys for unaccompanied children who flee violence, human rights abuses, natural disasters, and economic deprivation. In just two-and-a-half years of operations, KIND has assisted more than 3,000 children and trained 3,200 pro bono attorneys in seven cities.
"For the children involved, the value of this work was literally priceless," Smith said in a recent blog post. "In some cases, the ability to stay in the United States literally saved the life of a child. In many other cases, it transformed their future. Ultimately, this is an important part of what pro bono work is all about. The lawyers don't get paid for their time. But they are rewarded in ways that money cannot buy." (Full blog post below).
Students, professors, clinicians, pro bono directors, and law librarians from 118 law schools nationwide submitted discussion questions and viewed the event via live-stream on the Internet. The discussion included conversations on issues such as how to pursue a career in public interest law; how best to assist disadvantaged members of society through legal knowledge and skills; and how to help specific segments of the population, such as tribal members, individuals facing foreclosure and those needing legal representation.
Click here to read more about more about the event and the honorees.
To see pictures, please click here.
Brad Smith, Blog post on being honored as a White House Champion of Change:
Each year as I see litigation first-hand around the world, I come away with even greater appreciation for courts in the United States. No system is perfect, including our own. But when I walk through the doors of an American courthouse, I have more confidence in the legal rules and fair-mindedness that await me than anywhere else.
There is one catch, however.
There's cause for confidence only if you're represented by a lawyer.
For a company like Microsoft, that's obviously not an issue. But for many people, the cost of legal representation lies beyond their financial reach.
That's why it's so important each year to celebrate and strengthen the American legal profession's tradition of doing pro bono work. Across the country, in law firms and companies large and small, tens of thousands of lawyers volunteer their time to represent clients free of charge. Our legal system depends on it.
At Microsoft, our lawyers volunteer for a variety of clients and causes. Over the last decade, we've developed a signature program focused on immigration assistance. In recent years, our work has grown into a national program that we support, Kids in Need of Defense (KIND). Co-founded in 2008 by Microsoft with humanitarian and actress Angelina Jolie, KIND's mission is to represent unaccompanied children in immigration proceedings.
Each year 8,000 children who have become separated from their families face an immigration proceeding alone. In a world that is too often afflicted by war, violence, and abusive conditions for children, their personal circumstances are as diverse as the countries from which they come. But they all share two things in common. They have stories that deserve to be heard. And they have stories that will be told effectively only if they have a lawyer.
KIND now works with over 3,000 lawyers at over 120 law firms and companies. It has represented 3,100 children. Their average age is 14; our youngest client was only two. Operating in eight cities, the effort has truly become nationwide.
This type of national reach reflects not only the virtues of the cause, but also work to develop innovative approaches to scaling pro bono work. KIND partners with pro bono programs that already exist in major cities. The goal is not to reinvent the wheel, but to grow capacity to fill unmet needs. KIND staff work in these groups to add expertise and connect clients with the thousands of pro bono lawyers who have now stepped forward. Last year alone, these lawyers contributed time worth over $11 million, measured at their regular billing rates.
But for the children involved, the value of this work was literally priceless. In some cases, the ability to stay in the United States literally saved the life of a child. In many other cases, it transformed their future.
Ultimately, this is an important part of what pro bono work is all about. The lawyers don't get paid for their time. But they are rewarded in ways that money cannot buy.
