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Leaning in to Help: Program Helps Nonprofits Better Serve Immigrant Children
- February 1, 2012
Posted Feb 1, 2012 2:30 AM CST
By Maria Kantzavelos
Seyfarth Shaw has brought Six Sigma to the nonprofit sector to help immigrant children who are alone in the United States. The law firm lent its expertise with SeyfarthLean—its process-driven methodology for the delivery and billing of legal services that borrows from the Six Sigma corporate management strategy—to Kids in Need of Defense, a national legal aid organization whose mission is to ensure that children who come to the U.S. without a parent or guardian have a lawyer to help them navigate the immigration justice system.
“We had to kind of step back and look at what we were doing and make sure we were doing it effectively,” KIND executive director Wendy Young says. “It was great because [Seyfarth Shaw] already had a system through which we could do this.”
In recent years the law firm has been applying SeyfarthLean to its work with billable clients to increase value, service and efficiencies, as well as to improve the predictability of fees.
Q&A: Nixon Lawyer Wins Asylum for Salvadoran Teen Tormented by Gangs
- December 8, 2011
- Written by Drew Combs
Over the past three years, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, more than 52,000 unaccompanied minors have been caught trying to enter this country illegally. In many instances, those apprehended are sent back to the country they fled. This year, Los Angeles-based Nixon Peabody associate Kelly Kress helped one such child win asylum.
In the spring of 2009, Kress—who works in Nixon's white collar defense and government investigations group—took on a pro bono case representing an undocumented teenage immigrant from El Salvador. (The firm frequently takes such cases and is currently representing 28 so-called unaccompanied alien children facing the prospect of deportation.)
Microsoft attorney recognized by White House for KIND pro bono work
- October 27, 2011
- Written by Samantha Pak, Redmond Reporter
For three years, Kids in Need of Defense (KIND) has been helping children by providing them with legal representation in immigration court.
And earlier this month, Brad Smith was honored by the White House for his work with KIND as founder and board of directors co-chair. The Microsoft Corp. executive vice president and general counsel was honored as part of the White House's weekly Champions of Change initiative, which recognizes Americans who are making an impact in their communities in different fields each week. Smith was one of 16 attorneys honored as part of the U.S. Department of Justice's Access to Justice Initiative, which focuses on the importance of pro bono work.
Seyfarth, Shaw aids immigrant children
- October 26, 2011
- Written by Patricia Manson, Law Bulletin Staff Writer
Chicago attorney Allegra R. Rich of Seyfarth, Shaw LLP said there is more than one way to helpimmigrant children who find themselves alone in the American immigration system.
Microsoft’s Smith receives White House honor for pro bono aid for children
- October 24, 2011
- Written by Greg Lamm
President Obama is recognizing Microsoft’s legal council Brad Smith as of the White House's Champions of Change, for Smith’s efforts to provide pro bono legal help for children who have been separated from their parents and face immigration issues.
Microsoft’s Top Lawyer Recruits Celebrities and Colleagues to Start Charity
- October 20, 2011
- Written by Caroline Preston
Kids in Need of Defense provides free legal assistance to immigrant children in courtrooms across the country. Its roots are in an unexpected place: the Microsoft Corporation.
Microsoft GC receives White House recognition for service in immigration
- October 14, 2011
- Written by Danielle Feinstein
Brad Smith, Microsoft Corp.’s general counsel and corporate secretary, was honored yesterday at the White House’s “Champions of Change” event for the success of Kids in Need of Defense (KIND), an organization that he co-chairs and that provides pro bono representation to unaccompanied children in the U.S. U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder and Mark Childress, senior counselor for the Justice Department’s Access to Justice Initiative, gave Smith and 15 other leaders awards for their exemplary efforts in providing disadvantaged Americans with equal legal services.
Microsoft attorney Brad Smith to be honored at White House
- October 14, 2011
- Written by Janet I. Tu
It's not all patent negotiations and intellectual property issues for Microsoft general counsel Brad Smith.
Sometimes he gets to work with actress Angelina Jolie and get feted at the White House.
Smith is among 16 leaders in the legal field being honored at the White House today by the Champions of Change program, which each week highlights people who are making an impact in their communities. The 16 being honored today are leaders who use the law to assist people in need and improve lives, according to a news release from the White House press office.
KIND: Helping Children Alone in the United States
- September 1, 2011
- Written by Megan Mckenna
For the next three years, the Division has adopted a collaborative project with KIND (Kids In Need of Defense) to provide opportunities to our members to give back. Beginning with our Fall National Solo and Small Firm Conference from October 20–22 in Denver, Colorado, at the Westin Downtown Denver, we are working with KIND to put on training on immigration law proceedings so that our members can take on a pro bono matter in their communities.
Emerging Issues: Interview with Wendy Young, Executive Director KIND
- August 1, 2011
- Written by Megan Mckenna
For immediate release:
Contact: Megan McKenna This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
202-824-8687
LexisNexis® Immigration Bulletin Podcast- Wendy Young spoke with Dan Kowalski, an immigration lawyer at The Fowler Law Firm PC and editor-in-chief for Bender’s Immigration Bulletin, about the number of unaccompanied children that come into the United States each year and how KIND is helping them find pro bono legal representation through their partnerships with law firms, legal departments, and corporations to ensure that no child faces immigration court alone.
To listen to the entire podcast click here: http://bit.ly/immigrationpodcast
Copyright© 2011 LexisNexis, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc.
"These children often have nothing; no money, no support and no family, yet they come to America seeking its promises of a better life."
