Pro Bono Archives - Coppersmith Brockelman PLC

Oct 26 2020

The Florence Project Recognizes Vidula Patki as Pro Bono Attorney of the Year

Helping abused, neglected or abandoned migrant children from Central America receive protection and permanent residence in the United States earned Vidula Patki accolade from The Florence Immigrant and Refugee Rights Project. The nonprofit organization honored her as its Children’s Pro Bono Attorney of the Year, recognizing her hard work and unwavering commitment to ensuring immigrants have access to counsel. Vidula has volunteered with the Florence Project since 2013. Dedicated to the organization’s mission, she has worked on asylum cases for adults in addition to helping children receive Special Immigrant Juvenile Status. She also works to reunify migrant children with any family members living in the country. “As the only organization in Arizona that provides truly free legal and social services to detained men, women and children who...

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Jun 17 2019

Andy Gaona Elected President of Board of Directors of Arizona Center for Law in the Public Interest

Naomi Jorgensen

Andy Gaona, an accomplished election lawyer and commercial litigator, was recently elected President of the Board of Directors of the Arizona Center for Law in the Public Interest. He will serve a two-year term at the helm, helping to guide the nonprofit law firm in fulfilling its mission of ensuring government accountability and protecting the rights of underserved Arizonans. Founded in 1974, the Center represents individuals and groups in matters involving clean air and water, education and school finance, open government, and healthcare for vulnerable populations, among other critical issues. Staff attorneys litigate and advocate before administrative agencies and the courts at no charge to their clients. The Board of Directors approves litigation and assists with strategic planning and fundraising. Andy has served on the board since 2014. “The Center fills a critical gap in Arizona’s...

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Aug 16 2018

Andy Gaona Advises Court of Appeals in Pivotal Case as Part of Pro Bono Program

Naomi Jorgensen

Andy Gaona, a volunteer with the Arizona Court of Appeals’ Pro Bono Representation Program, recently served as amicus curiae in Gallarzo v. ADES, a case in which the court dealt with serious misconduct within the Arizona Department of Economic Security (ADES). At issue was ADES’s failure to transmit applications for appeal of unemployment and other benefits to the courts over a period of years, leaving hundreds of people in legal limbo and causing systemic problems. With experience in both appellate law and state government matters, Andy was appointed by the Court to help determine if due process violations occurred, and what additional steps were needed to respond to ADES’s failings. Andy, along with another Phoenix attorney, made a series of recommendations to the Court, several of which...

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Sep 15 2016

Andy Gaona, Ninth Circuit Pro Bono Program Help Client Pursue Long-Awaited Asylum, Keep Family Together

Naomi Jorgensen

He couldn’t drive a car or vote, but at 14 years old, Andy Gaona’s client carried the burden of completing asylum paperwork. Fast-forward 15 years, after lost paperwork and incorrect forms, the client learned that he was subject to removal not only from the United States, but from his family of four children who depend on him. Andy, a member of the Ninth Circuit’s pro bono program, passionately took on the case to right what was clearly a wrong. Born in El Salvador during the country’s brutal civil war, Andy’s client was brought to the U.S. to reunite with his mother, who had fled several years earlier and was granted asylum in 1990. Entitled to “derivative” asylum through his mother, the then 14-year-old boy completed his own...

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The Florence Project Recognizes Vidula Patki as Pro Bono Attorney of the Year

Andy Gaona Elected President of Board of Directors of Arizona Center for Law in the Public Interest

Andy Gaona Advises Court of Appeals in Pivotal Case as Part of Pro Bono Program

Andy Gaona, Ninth Circuit Pro Bono Program Help Client Pursue Long-Awaited Asylum, Keep Family Together

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