b'ADDITIONAL PRO BONO HIGHLIGHTS (continued)United States, and shortly thereafter managed to coordinate theLAWYERS CLEARINGHOUSEextraction of the other four children as well. Reunited with all herchildren,SusanmetattorneyJeffMoerdler,whosteppedLawyers Clearinghouse is an organization dedicated to providing in to helpfirst by helping to provide medical care, food, andprobonolegalservicestoresidentsofhomelesssheltersand shelter to Susan and her children, and then by connecting herothers in need in the Boston area. Mintz has been a partner of the with Sanctuary for Families, Center for Battered Womens LegalLawyers Clearinghouse for several decades. Attorney Samantha Services in order for her to obtain sole custody of her children. Kingsbury coordinates the firms work for the organization. Each Susanwassuccessfulinobtainingtemporarycustodyofheryear, Mintz partners with Liberty Mutual and other in-house legal childrenpendingahearingonthemeritsofherpetition.Indepartments to staff Lawyers Clearinghouse legal clinics at local the interim, a cult member, posing as a family friend, filed forhomeless shelters. The prospective pro bono clients meet with custody of the children, claiming that Susan was violent and unfitteams of attorneys and other professionals to discuss the issues to care for her children. Attorneys Narges Kakalia and Amandatheyarefacing,whichoftenincludehousing,socialsecurity Asaro co-counseled with Sanctuary to brief a motion to dismissbenefits, bankruptcy, or immigration issues, among many others. that petition. Subsequently, the childrens father filed a petitionTheclinicitselfconsistsofonlyintakes/interviews,butthose in federal court accusing Susan of international child abduction.intakes often result in longer-term representation.Once the federal action was filed, the family court proceedings in state court were stayed. Despite the stay, the childrens fatherLEGAL SERVICES NYCthen asked for supervised visitation of his children in state familyLegal Services NYC was founded in 1968 as part of the War on court. Mintz did the legal research to argue against his request,Poverty, and since then, it has grown into the nations largest establishing that he could not pursue relief in federal and statecivillegalservicesprovider.Theircitywideforceofover500 courtssimultaneously.Relyingontheargumentsdraftedbystaff helps more than 110,000 low-income New Yorkers annually. Narges and Amanda, Sanctuary successfully convinced the courtThey provide free legal help for a variety of issues, including to dismiss the fathers visitation petition.preventing evictions and preserving housing; demanding access TheMintzteamhelpedSusanduringacriticaltime;thecultto high-quality education, health care, and economic security; abducted two of Susans children while the state court proceedingsensuring safety and stability for survivors of domestic violence were pending. The children ultimately were recovered by US andand immigrants; and fighting for the dignity and respect of all overseas law enforcement agencies and returned safely to theirNew Yorkers, including LGBTQ communities, New Yorkers with motherintheUnitedStates.NargesandAmandacontinuetodisabilities, and people of color. assist the client, ensuring that Mintz has a hand in keeping thisMintz attorneys Richard Block and Brie Kluytenaar represented family safe and together.Legal Services NYC on several employment matters, including collective bargaining negotiations; counseling and implementing KIDS IN NEED OF DEFENSE (KIND)new paid family leave policies; and in an arbitration regarding Kids in Need of Defense (KIND) is an organization devoted tocontractual obligations for off-site intake processes.providingrepresentationforunaccompaniedchildrenwho enter the US immigration system alone. In the last year, 55 MintzMEDICAL LEGAL PARTNERSHIPSattorneys and legal staff from four officesBoston, New York, SanClients referred to Mintz from the Medical Legal Partnerships at Francisco, and Washington, DChave worked with KIND on 15Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (DFCI), Boston Childrens Hospital, matters. In these cases, Mintzs representation often expands toandBostonMedicalCenterfaceseveremedicalchallenges. include siblings or entire families. (See our story on page 11.) Thelegaldifficultiesthatoftenaccompanyaseriousmedical 40 2019'