Members Who Inspire

Texas lawyer is the top volunteer for ABA’s free online legal aid clinic

Jack Fan is a volunteer with Texas Legal Answers, part of the ABA’s Free Legal Answers virtual legal aid clinic. The service allows income-eligible clients to post civil legal questions for pro bono attorneys in their state. According to the ABA Standing Committee on Pro Bono and Public Service, which annually recognizes attorneys who provide extraordinary pro bono services through Free Legal Answers, Fan has answered more questions than any other attorney in the country. In 2018, he responded to nearly 1,100 of them.

May 1, 2019 1:30 AM CDT

Margaret Cassidy founded a group to connect and boost female lawyers

Margaret Cassidy connected with other female attorneys in solo and small-firm practice in Washington, D.C., and brought them together to discuss their businesses, share successes and provide referrals. Now, more than six years later, her group, the League of Women Lawyers, has more than 100 members who communicate weekly via email and meet regularly for happy hours.

Apr 1, 2019 12:50 AM CDT

Schiff Hardin partner and former Green Beret leads firm’s pro bono pilot program for veterans

Led by Mir Ali, Schiff Hardin lawyers in the Veterans Consortium Pro Bono Program have started representing veterans and their loved ones in appealing U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs denials of benefits.

Mar 1, 2019 12:45 AM CST

When things go wrong, immigrants serving in the military look to Margaret Stock

Alaska lawyer Margaret Stock fought new restrictions on MAVNIs–service members in the Military Accessions Vital to the National Interest program, which recruited immigrants with highly desired skills.

Jan 1, 2019 1:05 AM CST

Meet 8 ABA members who inspired us in 2018

The ABA Journal launched the Members Who Inspire column in 2017 to highlight ABA members who are doing important and interesting things in their personal and professional lives.

Dec 27, 2018 11:08 AM CST

Source of Solace: Off the bench, federal judge dedicates time to helping others

U.S. District Judge Jay C. Zainey co-founded SOLACE more than 15 years ago. Support of Lawyers/Legal Personnel—All Concern Encouraged members try to help fellow members of the legal community and their families in times of need.

Dec 1, 2018 1:10 AM CST

Olympic medal-winning attorney fights sexual abuse and discrimination in athletics

Olympic gold medalist Nancy Hogshead-Makar backed a new law that requires Olympics governing bodies to try to prevent the sexual, physical and emotional abuse of amateur athletes.

Nov 1, 2018 1:00 AM CDT

Showrunners: Couple's friendly fundraising competition launches marathon event to benefit legal aid

Lawyers Crystal and Michael Freed organized marathons and other events to raise money for legal aid and awareness of human trafficking.

Sep 1, 2018 1:30 AM CDT

California attorney devotes his career to helping children navigate immigration courts

Martin Gauto, a senior attorney for Clinic (the Catholic Legal Immigration Network Inc.) in Los Angeles, has represented hundreds of immigrant children who were apprehended at the U.S. border after fleeing abusive situations in countries such as Mexico, Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala.

Jul 1, 2018 1:00 AM CDT

San Diego attorney and clinic founder helps human trafficking victims rebuild their lives

As founder and president of the Free to Thrive legal clinic in San Diego, Jamie Quient uses her networking skills to get her clients access to safe housing, drug treatment programs and job training.

May 1, 2018 12:55 AM CDT

Former prosecutor advocates for criminal justice reform

As deputy director of the ACLU of Florida, Melba Pearson approaches criminal justice issues with the eye of a prosecutor and the heart of a civil liberties activist.

Mar 1, 2018 1:05 AM CST

Advocating for at-risk children is Richard Hooks Wayman’s mission

Richard Hooks Wayman is national executive director of the Children’s Defense Fund. The privately financed nonprofit promotes medical care, education, housing, nutrition and safety for children, particularly the 13 million who live in poverty.

Jan 1, 2018 1:25 AM CST

Chang Wang walks the line to teach constitutional law in Beijing

Chang Wang has been an ABA member since 2011 and has participated in many ABA committees on topics such as immigration and naturalization, international law, and arts and cultural heritage law. He has adjunct faculty and guest lecturer status at several institutions and works to fire up students with the same love for constitutional law he discovered in himself

Dec 1, 2017 12:35 AM CST

A Thurgood Marshall trial comes into focus through Connecticut lawyer's screenplay

Ludwig van Beethoven composed an ode to joy. Percy Bysshe Shelley wrote an ode to the west wind. Connecticut attorney Michael Koskoff wrote an ode to the jury trial—and it became the movie Marshall, starring Chadwick Boseman as a young Thurgood Marshall.

Oct 1, 2017 1:40 AM CDT

Chicago associate protects the rights of at-risk travelers in the wake of the president’s ban

Iman Boundaoui grew up knowing that good fortune is not earned. “You don’t choose the circumstances that you were born into,” she says. “Fortune is a gift. So you think: How can you use it to empower people, to inspire people, to encourage people?”

Sep 1, 2017 1:10 AM CDT