Loeb & Loeb Receives 2011 California State Bar President's Pro Bono Service Award

LOS ANGELES - Loeb and Loeb LLP will receive the 2011 California State Bar President’s Pro Bono Service Award for the firm’s work helping individuals seeking asylum in the U.S. based on political or ethnic persecution, or domestic violence in their home countries. The firm’s Los Angeles-based pro bono immigration attorneys, including partner Laura A. Wytsma and associates William M. Brody and Eric B. Schwartz, will be recognized for their outstanding service at the Pro Bono Reception held during the State Bar Annual Meeting on Sept. 16th in Long Beach.

“We are extremely proud of Laura and her team for their efforts to protect the rights of asylum seekers in Los Angeles,” said Mark Campbell, partner and Chair of Loeb & Loeb’s Los Angeles Litigation Department. “The team has contributed more than 400 hours of pro bono representation in the past year alone to individuals in desperate need. Their exceptional work reflects the firm’s rich tradition of service excellence and deep commitment to pro bono activities.”

In partnership with Public Counsel’s Immigrant’s Right Project, Loeb & Loeb has represented asylum seekers from across the globe, including Cameroon, Ethiopia, Mexico, El Salvador and Kenya, among other nations, who are fleeing persecution or domestic abuse. Public Counsel represents individuals seeking asylum in the U.S. based on past persecution or well founded fear of future persecution on account of political opinion, race, religion, nationality or membership in a particular social group. Over the past year, Loeb & Loeb’s work with Public Counsel has resulted in several significant victories before the immigration courts, reunited families and helped numerous individuals avoid deportation and the threat of violence or death in their native countries.

“I am extremely proud of the Loeb associates who have volunteered to represent individuals fleeing persecution in their countries,” said Laura Wytsma, an intellectual property partner at Loeb & Loeb and former Department of Justice trial attorney. “These attorneys have assisted asylum-seekers navigate a complex legal process to obtain safety in the United States, often under very challenging conditions. The team is humbled and honored to be recognized by the State Bar for our pro bono refugee work.”

The State Bar Board of Governors created the President’s Pro Bono Service Awards in 1983. The awards recognize California attorneys, law firms and associations of California lawyers who have provided or enabled the direct provision of legal services to poor persons, or to organizations whose primary purpose is to provide legal services to the poor, free of charge, without expectation of compensation from the client, in the preceding calendar year. A combined total of up to nine awards are given annually in all award categories. Recommendations for the President’s Pro Bono Service Awards are made by the Standing Committee on the Delivery of Legal Services (SCDLS) to the Board of Governors and the Board reviews and approves the recommendations.

Loeb & Loeb LLP is a multi-service law firm with more than 300 attorneys focusing on select practice areas, rather than endeavoring to be all things to all clients. The firm is recognized as a leading law firm in the areas of advanced media; bankruptcy, restructuring and creditors' rights; business litigation; energy; entertainment; finance; intellectual property; mergers and acquisitions; real estate; securities; technology; and tax and wealth services. Loeb & Loeb has five domestic offices in Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, Nashville and Washington, DC, as well as a representative office in Beijing serving a rapidly growing number of Asian clients.