For Three Law Firms, Gitmo Cases Weren’t Strictly Pro Bono
Guantanamo legal challenges handled by three law firms have not been strictly pro bono efforts.
The three firms received at least some fees from the International Counsel Bureau, which is partly funded by the Kuwaiti government, Washington Times reports.
Shearman & Sterling received the most money—more than $1 million, the article says. A second firm, Arnold & Porter, has filed government reports showing it received $325,000 in fees from the group. A third firm, Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman, reported receiving more than $250,000 in fees.
Shearman & Sterling was among 50 law firms honored at a ceremony last year for doing pro bono work for Guantanamo detainees. Shearman’s work was also highlighted in a recent Boston Globe article. It reported the law firm has donated about 4,000 hours of pro bono time.
Shearman lawyer Thomas Wilner told Washington Times the fees were for work done before 2006 and it has been working pro bono ever since. A firm spokesman, Peter Horowitz, said the firm has donated about $1.5 million in Guantanamo legal fees to a nonprofit transportation-planning group called the Regional Plan Association.
A hat tip to Legal Blog Watch.
