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Attorney Chris Kitchel Goes to Kenya Pro Bono

September 20th, 2011. By BrendaC

Lawyers Giving Back looks at a side of lawyers you don’t hear too much about—the side that gives back…pays it forward..and shares the love. We’ve found quite a number of attorneys who log non-billable hours helping others—simply because they believe it’s the right thing to do. Their stories are inspiring, and hey, who knew lawyers were so…good? If you’ve got a story to share about an attorney who’s doing the right thing, let us know—we’d love to let others know, too. Today, we’re talking with Oregon Attorney Chris Kitchel of Stoel & Rives…

Attorney Chris Kitchel: “Rape is a way of life…and anyone who even tries to report a rape will be denigrated and called a “whore” or worse.”

Veteran trial attorney Chris Kitchel came away from two months as a volunteer lawyer in Kenya with, among other things, a fresh appreciation of the American justice system. “I have a renewed appreciation for our legal system, how valuable and precious it is and we as lawyers must continue to work hard to keep it a just system,” says Kitchel who has been a practicing trial lawyer for 31 years.

A partner in the firm Stoel & Rives, Kitchel decided to use her sabbatical to work with a group called Lawyers without Borders. Based in Hartford, Connecticut, Lawyers without Borders was established in 2000 to provide support for Rule of Law projects and human rights initiatives around the world using pro bono services of volunteer lawyers.

Kitchel heard about Lawyers without Borders for the very first time at a conference. When the Kenyan opportunity was put to her, this 61-year-old mother of three daughters, from a large Catholic family whose parents worked the night shift and stressed education to their children, jumped at the chance.

Kenya is a country of 40 million people, half are under the age of 18, the unemployment rate is 40 percent and its social and justice systems are racked by chaos and violence—much of the violence is perpetrated against women.

Kitchel wrote a daily blog describing her experiences with the Kenyan legal system, the people who run it and the people who find themselves before the courts.

“There are no trials, there are no juries,” says Kitchel. “Crimes are prosecuted by police prosecutors. They may call someone to testify, that person is cross-examined and they go on to the next case.”

“It may be months before that case comes before the judge again,” she adds. “If the judge changes, then the defendant has the right to continue with the new judge, or start all over again.”

“The records are kept at the courthouse and are supposed to be a verbatim hand-written record,” says Kitchel. “In many of the cases I went through I found just gibberish. It is just lines across the paper and there is nothing there that is usable for anyone to see what went on before.”

Lawyers without Borders asked Kitchel to look particularly at crimes against women. She found a sexually aggressive society where women of all ages and circumstances are vulnerable to sexual attacks and often with little recourse in the justice system.

“Rape is a way of life,” says Kitchel. Women from the Nairobi slums told Kitchel that reporting a rape is useless. “They said, ‘sure report it to the police, you are more likely to get raped by the police’.”

And anyone who even tries to report a rape will be denigrated and called a “whore” or worse adds Kitchel.

Changing the system in a two month tour, of course, is impossible. But Kitchel spent many hours with young female Kenyan lawyers, setting an example for them, talking about how the American system works and raising their hopes and expectations for the future.

“I come from a huge Catholic family in the midwest and my best hope was to marry well,” says Kitchel who grew up in the 1950’s and has benefited greatly from changing social conditions for women in America. “And my parents said education will set you free.”

Kitchel says her value to women in countries like Kenya with the Lawyers without Borders project lies “on a micro basis”. “It is not so much my experience as a trial lawyer, but as female lawyer coming up through a traditionally male structure.”

“I can talk about what kind of struggles and hurdles there are for them. I think that is the value—helping other women take a similar path—that’s how I can help them.”

Would she go again to another country where people are struggling in the justice system? You bet.

Chris Kitchel holds an M.B.A. from Portland State University and a J.D. from Northwestern School of Law at Lewis and Clark College. Her practice focuses on employment litigation and she is a highly sought-after speaker.

Tags: Chris Kitchel, employment litigation, Kenya, Kenyan Justice, Lawyers without Borders, Pro Bono, Rape, Sexual Assault, Stoel & Rives
Posted in Emerging Issues, Lawyers Giving Back | 2 Comments »

King and Spalding Pro Bono Work Saves Man from Death Row

August 16th, 2011. By BrendaC

Attorney Alan Dial: “We believe in Justin’s innocence and…that there was more to it than what was presented at trial.”

An intense six year effort and 9000 hours of pro bono work by the firm of King and Spalding has overturned the capital murder conviction and death sentence for 29-year-old Justin Wolfe, a man whose trial the court ruled was rife with prosecutorial misconduct.

“We were thrilled about that and very excited to have Judge Jackson conduct such a thorough and careful review of the facts and find that the prosecution failed to turn over a lot of information that would have been extremely helpful in presenting a defense in the murder charge presented against Justin at trial,” says trial attorney Alan Dial from King and Spalding in Washington D.C.

Wolfe, who was involved in marijuana distribution ring, was found guilty of killing his supplier in a murder hire plot based on the testimony of a man who later recanted the story he told to police and confessed to committing the murder himself.

A hearing last November found that the state had withheld information that might have precluded Wolfe’s conviction. The arguments put forward at that hearing, says Dial, were the result of long hours and a collaborative effort with University of Virginia law students working on the Innocence Project and the efforts of the Virginia Capital Representation Resource Center.

“As a lawyer, you want to make sure that the rules of engagement are set up so that the process is fair,” says Dial who previously worked as an assistant state prosecutor in Atlanta and San Diego, “particularly when you have someone who has been convicted of capital murder.”

“We believe in Justin’s innocence and wanted to dig into the facts of the case and show the court that there was more to it than what was presented at trial,” he adds.

Wolfe, who has been on death row in Virginia since 2002, was also convicted on charges of drug dealing and will remain in prison.

An appeal by the Commonwealth is possible however, and Dial says King and Spalding will remain on the case. The firm has a long history doing pro bono work and as many as 50 members of the firm were involved in the Wolfe case.

For Dial, apart from overturning Wolfe’s murder conviction, one of the highlights of the case was working with the 12 UVA students involved in the Innocence Project.

“The experience was outstanding” says Dial. “I think this experience gave the students incredible experience. They assisted us in reviewing documents and interviewing witnesses, helping us with some of the research that went into this so it was a real collaborative effort.”

Alan Dial is a partner in the international law firm of King and Spalding. He earned his J.D. at Howard University and focuses his practice on complex civil litigation, white collar criminal litigation and internal investigations. He has experience in pharmaceutical, medical device, healthcare, criminal and civil investigations.

Tags: Alan Dial, Justin Wolfe, King and Spalding, Lawyers Giving Back, Pro Bono, The Innocence Project, University of Virginia, wrongful convictions
Posted in Emerging Issues, Lawyers Giving Back | 1 Comment »

Christian Lawyer Daniel Buttafuoco on Giving Back vs Giving Haircuts

July 12th, 2011. By BrendaC

Attorney Daniel Buttafuoco: “I didn’t hear a voice from God or anything, I just thought I should be a lawyer, a Christian lawyer and it ended up being a good choice.”

Dan Buttafuoco grew up, as he says, “street smart” in a Bronx housing project, raised in family of Italian evangelicals. As a child he remembers his dad telling him he was “a smart kid that should go to school” and he’d “break my legs if I became a barber” as the previous three generations of Buttafuocos had done.

At age 17, not withstanding a few adolescent meanderings about his faith, he became a committed Christian. “All my friends were joining ministries, but I felt that wasn’t for me,” says Buttafuoco who has an easy-going style and a New York City sense of humor. “I didn’t hear a voice from God or anything, I just thought I should be a lawyer, a Christian lawyer and it ended up being a good choice.”

Today, Dan Buttafuoco combines the practice of law and his faith in a way he finds consistent. “I am a sneak attack, nobody expects to hear anything religious or Christian from a lawyer,” says Buttafuoco.

“I purposefully selected a career as a personal injury lawyer where I believe my clients are telling the truth, and where I believe they deserve to win and I purposefully don’t take cases where we don’t believe that,” says Buttafuoco. “The firm is organized around this central principle that we take cases that have merit and that we believe in.”

Buttafuoco’s firm has some impressive wins for clients. It obtained the third largest ever personal injury settlement in New York state history and the largest ever settlement against the state of New York on behalf of an injured police officer who was paralyzed.

Buttafuoco says he would never represent a child molester or a murderer—unless he thought they were innocent, but of course, as a personal injury attorney he doesn’t have to.

And he doesn’t restrict his client list to Christians. “I have Muslim clients, Jewish clients, atheist clients,” says Buttafuoco. “I believe you can be tolerant—which means actually means putting up with what you don’t agree with,” says Buttafuoco. “When we disagree, we try to persuade and never by force, to change things.”

He also holds a master’s degree in theology, is an elder in his church and a follower of Christian Apologetics, a theological defense of Christian faith through rational argument and reason—an approach to Christian faith which would naturally, perhaps, appeal to a lawyer like Buttafuoco. He explains it as “the intellectual side of the Christian church that explores why people believe in God”.

Underlying everything Buttafuoco does and believes in an impressive commitment to giving back. “Essentially there are three things, time talent and treasure that you are supposed to give back,” he says referring to his fundamentalist belief in tithing. “So even when I am involved in making money, I might be getting someone due compensation that he is going to need to live for the rest of their life and that is a good deed.”

Of course, Buttafuoco gets a fee (he earned $5 million from the New York case)—and 10 to 20 percent of everything he earns he returns to charitable organizations. “I am not giving to stupid stuff like these fake preachers that drive around in jet planes like moguls,” says Buttafuoco.

He has, as he describes it, a Rolodex of worthy, credible organizations that do serious work and that align with his Christian beliefs. Among them, is the Love 146 foundation that helps young girls escape from the horrors of being sold into sexual slavery in Asia. This year he will give $500,000 to fund scholarships for Young Christian Leaders foundation. “These are deserving kids who are not going into full-time ministry,” says Buttafuoco, “they want to become professionals”. Kids who are, in a way, a lot like Buttafuoco was as a young teenager.

And this former young kid from the Bronx, is also the money and effort behind a near priceless collection of Bibles—one from the 10th century, an illuminated manuscript, an original page from a Gutenberg Bible and more. Ten times a year, he takes the collection to schools and churches and talks about messages from the Bible. “The Bible is still the bestseller,” says Buttafuoco. “People think it is passé, but it isn’t.”

Dan Buttafuoco is the founder and senior partner of Buttafuoco & Associates, a national personal injury law firm based in New York. The firm’s Christian lawyers represent clients in variety of cases, including complex litigation, major personal injury and wrongful death cases.

Tags: Attorney Daniel Buttafuoco, charitable giving, Christian Lawyer, Faith-based Attorney, Lawyers Giving Back, Love 146, Young Christian Leaders
Posted in Emerging Issues, Lawyers Giving Back | 4 Comments »

Attorney Holly Baer Kammerer: It’s about Helping Others

June 28th, 2011. By BrendaC

Attorney Holly Baer Kammerer: “Some people might believe ‘lawyers are in it for the money’, but it’s certainly not the case in our firm.”

A skilled attorney and mother of three boys, Holly Baer Kammerer never loses sight of why practicing law is important to her. A personal injury attorney with the well-known firm of Burg Simpson, Kammerer has come to the rescue of families in crisis, injured children, children with disabilities and recently she’s become involved in representing women harmed by the controversial birth control pill, Yaz.

“I became a lawyer to help people through a process—for a lot of people, personal injury litigation is a very difficult process and it can be very confusing,” says Kammerer. “It can take time and it is coupled with the fact that clients often have serious injuries and they are in pain and that can magnify the difficulty.”

Kammerer considers she is fortunate to be part of a firm that puts an emphasis on practicing law to the highest moral and ethical standards. Although like everyone else in our society, lawyers have to be compensated for the work they do, the money is secondary. “Some people might believe ‘lawyers are in it for the money’, but it’s certainly not the case in our firm. I believe we are in it for the right reasons and we believe in giving back to the community.”

Burg Simpson has given millions of dollars to community organizations in the Denver area over the last two decades. Some of it has gone to the Denver Symphony, some to the Craig Hospital that specializes in the treatment of spinal cord injury and traumatic brain injury patients—and other recipients include multiple charitable causes that make up a long list of ongoing projects.

Kammerer spends many of her off hours helping low income families access early childhood education as the Vice President/President Elect for the Wild Plum Center in the Longmont and Boulder County area. “There are many children in the area from families that live below the national poverty level,” says Kammerer. “Many of the kids have a combination of issues and I am interested in that and focused on that. My oldest son has a genetic disability and early intervention in his preschool years was extremely important and I certainly know how important that is.”

Members of the Burg Simpson team recently agreed to put themselves out there in a t.v. commercial to raise money for worthwhile projects. “I thought, I am a lawyer,” Kammerer says with a soft laugh. “I don’t want to do commercials, but it does help raise money and that helps our community.”

It is late in the day as Kammerer talks about the business of being a lawyer and she is finishing up some work at home as her three boys return from school. “It is true it goes deeper. I love being a lawyer and helping people and if I wasn’t able to help people and be involved in charitable work, I guess I would be happy to be at home with my boys.”

Holly Baer Kammerer is a shareholder in the law firm of Burg Simpson and has been a practicing lawyer for 19 years. Her career began in Washington D.C. and she joined Burg Simpson in Denver in 1996. She has recovered millions of dollars for her clients including a $2.5 million personal injury verdict in US District Court for the District of Colorado. Kammerer also volunteers with children in the St. Vrain Valley School District and she volunteers on behalf of children with disabilities, specifically in education and research regarding Velo Cardio Facial Syndrome (VCFS).

Tags: Burg Simpson, Holly Baer Kammerer, Lawyers Giving Back, Pro Bono
Posted in Emerging Issues, Lawyers Giving Back | 1 Comment »

Burg Simpson: Denver’s Tight ‘Knit’ Law Firm

June 20th, 2011. By BrendaC

Lawyers Giving Back looks at a side of lawyers and law firms you don’t hear too much about—the side that gives back…pays it forward..and shares the love. We’ve found quite a number of attorneys who log non-billable hours helping others—simply because they believe it’s the right thing to do. Their stories are inspiring, and hey, who knew lawyers were so…good? If you’ve got a story to share about an attorney who’s doing the right thing, let us know—we’d love to let others know, too. Today, we’re talking with legal secretary Gina Clement of Burg Simpson…

Legal Secretary Gina Clement: “giving back…is really rewarding and makes me like working here even more.”

It maybe isn’t what you’d expect to happen at a law firm like Burg Simpson, but then again it might be. A major law firm that engages itself in serious litigation is hardly the place you’d expect to find people knitting in the office lunchroom—but that is exactly what happens several times a year.

The “Kaps for Kendall” knitted hat drive started six years ago when legal secretary Gina Clement was struck by the strength and courage of a young Denver, Colorado woman who was born with Fanconi Anemia (FA), a rare and often fatal blood disease.

To save her life, Kendall Atkinson would have to undergo a bone marrow transplant. Unfortunately it meant losing her long curly hair—no minor inconvenience to a young girl just barely out of her teens. To cope with the hair loss, Kendall began knitting hats.

Sadly, the bone marrow transplant failed and Kendall died at age 20. But the knitted hat drive continues and, through the efforts of the Burg Simpson knitters, it continues to raise money for the Fanconi Research Fund and provide warm fuzzy hats for individuals across the US who are going through treatment for FA or other diseases, like cancer, that might also involve hair loss.

“At first I thought won’t that be fun, we will do something for charity,” says Gina Clement. “And when I met the Atkinson family I felt like I had known them my whole life. I absolutely love to knit and it’s a great way to do something for the community.”

Burg Simpson has a deep and abiding commitment to giving back to the community and the firm has earned a reputation for contributing time and hundreds of thousands of dollars each year to a variety of worthy causes in the Denver area.

For legal secretary Gina Clement it’s a nice break from some of the more weighty issues the lawyers and staff usually deal with. “It’s a chance to cool your head a little bit,” says Clement. “It’s just really awesome that everyone genuinely cares about giving back here. It is really rewarding and makes me like working here even more.”

Gina Clement is legal secretary to attorney Michael Burg, founding partner of Burg Simpson.

Tags: Burg Simpson, Fanconi Anemia, Gina Clement, Kaps for Kendall, Lawyers Giving Back, Pro Bono
Posted in Emerging Issues, Lawyers Giving Back | 2 Comments »