Soldiers & Families

The stresses of war can destabilize relationships, impose financial hardship and create housing difficulties for soldiers and their families. These stresses often lead to legal problems at a time when these families are most vulnerable. Many service members cannot afford a civilian lawyer. In addition, while most lawyers can help with common legal needs like custody battles and landlord-tenant disputes, they are often unfamiliar with government programs created specifically to help service members.Encouraged by the American Bar Association, state bar associations are trying to address the unmet need for legal services through creation of Legal Assistance to Military Personnel (LAMP) programs that provide training to legal aid lawyers and attorneys in private practice on the unique legal needs of service members and their families. Akin Gump lawyers are active in numerous LAMP programs and also provide legal representation to individual service members in a wide range of civil cases.

Asylum Assistance

People of all ages, races, religions, political ideologies and socioeconomic backgrounds have come to this country for a chance at a peaceful and successful life. The challenges for new immigrants have always been daunting, particularly so for asylum seekers. Access to an attorney is key to gaining asylum. Akin Gump attorneys represent individual clients in asylum proceedings, and work with legal service organizations to provide holistic support for individuals and families settling into a new life in the United States.

Women’s Rights

All around the world, women face physical and emotional abuse, restrictions on personal autonomy and civil rights, and the indignities of oppressive poverty. Many of these women envision the promise of a better life in the United States, but because immigration options are extremely limited, some take risks to enter this country through arranged marriages or smuggling operations. Often, women who enter the United States through an arranged or brokered marriage to a U.S. legal permanent resident or citizen are subjected to physical or emotional abuse and threatened with deportation if they protest. Women and young girls smuggled into the United States by human traffickers are forced into indentured servitude and commercial sex work to repay the price of their passage.

Akin Gump is committed to assisting vulnerable immigrant women in understanding and asserting their rights. We work closely with legal services and advocacy organizations to ensure that women and children can start safe and productive lives in the United States. For example, in every office, we work with local human rights organizations as part of our annual firm-wide Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) Summer Project. Summer associates, supervised by Akin Gump lawyers, are given the opportunity to represent undocumented women who have been victims of domestic violence to "self-petition" for legal residency in the United States.

Charter Schools

Charter schools – schools that are publicly-funded, and open to the public (usually by lottery), but run privately and outside the direction of the local school board – have been hailed as a saving grace of America’s crumbling public school system. Most charter schools (including KIPP, one of Akin Gump’s valued pro bono clients) are non-profits that serve the poorest communities in urban centers. Charter schools are essentially educational “businesses,” with many of the same problems as our commercial clients. Akin Gump lawyers provide them with legal advice within their areas of expertise, from employment law to commercial contracts, from litigation to real estate, all the while knowing that the ultimate beneficiaries of this work are the inner-city youth getting a stellar public education. For instance, our transactional lawyers advised KIPP on a sophisticated mortgage-financing vehicle that will allow KIPP to open new schools across the country.

Legislative Advocacy

Since Bob Strauss came to Washington in 1971, clients have sought out Akin Gump for the firm’s expertise in navigating the administrative and legislative government processes. Today, with a star bi-partisan team leading the public law and policy (PLP) group, our expertise also benefits pro bono clients.

Pro bono work on the public policy level can affect millions of people. For example, we work with the U.S. Coalition for Child Survival to secure funding to fight preventable child deaths in the United States. Nearly ten million children around the world die each year from preventable and treatable diseases. To live, these children don’t need advanced technology or complex medicine – they need basic interventions such as vaccines, antibiotics, and birth attendants. We know what saves lives; now we need the money to do it. Akin Gump uses its superb PLP practice to help secure funding for projects that help pro bono clients, millions at a time.

Historic Preservation

Our relatively young country is rich with history. All around the United States are sites of immense historical significance – from American Indian settlements to Civil War battlefields to presidential mansions. But time cannot be stopped; development is threatening to overrun some of these precious historic areas. Akin Gump is working to protect this country’s historic heritage while respecting the economic needs of local communities. We partner with grassroots organizations seeking federal protection for historic sites and funding for educational activities to involve the next generation in the preservation and exploration of their history. For instance, we worked with the Journey Through Hallowed Ground Partnership over a three-year period to pass legislation securing an area from Charlottesville to Gettysburg as a National Heritage Area.

Community Representation

The core of any pro bono practice should be legal work on behalf of the indigent in our communities, including staffing legal clinics, defending tenants from eviction, and representing local community organizations. In every office, Akin Gump attorneys work closely with local legal services organizations – such as the Dallas Volunteer Attorney Program, the Legal Aid Society of New York, Public Counsel in Los Angeles, the Homeless Advocacy Project in Philadelphia and Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless – to ensure that the needs of the communities our attorneys call “home” are effectively met.