LAS_Impact_Report_2017

Pro Bono
"The Legal Aid Society of San Mateo County has been an invaluable partner for our ofice's pro bono
program. Their excellent training materials and mentor attorney relationships allow our attorneys to
become proicient in the law quickly, which maximizes the value we can provide to our pro bono clients and
enhances client outcomes."
— Nick Woloszczuk, Latham & Watkins LLP
Attorney Nick Woloszczuk
Legal Aid and Pro Bono Attorneys
Making an Impact
When "Maria" ended her brief dating relationship with
"Eric," he responded with threats of physical harm and
violently shoved her. After she moved out to escape him, he
began stalking her: he would leave notes and personal effects
on the windshield of her car, and send texts to show that he
knew her movements and whereabouts. Eventually, Maria
discovered that a GPS device had been hidden in a secret
compartment of her car, and she turned it over to the police.
She then iled for a restraining order against Eric, and her
case was referred to the irm of Latham & Watkins LLP by the
Domestic Violence Collaborative, a partnership of the Legal
Aid Society of San Mateo County, Bay Area Legal Aid, and
CORA (Community Overcoming Relationship Abuse).
Eric denied all of Maria's claims and asserted his right to an evidentiary hearing, which would
be delayed for 8 months due to court backlogs. Although Maria had the beneit of a temporary
restraining order in the interim, Eric used this time to harass and intimidate her by bringing
bogus claims against her in small claims court. While the rules of small claims courts did not
allow a Latham attorney to appear with Maria in small claims court, we helped prepare her
defenses, and project assistant Na Ho attended the hearing to provide support. As a result of
these efforts, the small claims court denied relief for Eric's claims.
Led by Emily Chen and Nick Woloszczuk, the Latham team took advantage of the time before
the evidentiary hearing and successfully subpoenaed records from the GPS device maker. These
records proved that Eric had purchased the GPS device and that he was receiving alerts to
monitor our client's movements. Facing this evidence of stalking (which is a form of domestic
violence under state law) and the prospect of paying Maria's fees and costs, Eric gave up his
defense, and the evidentiary hearing, and instead agreed to the stipulation of a three-year
restraining order.
For the year ending 6/30/17, law irms and individuals
donated 13,339 hours of pro bono service to Legal Aid clients.
PRO BONO ADVISORY COMMITTEE
Larry Bennett I Intel Corporation
Anne Cappella I Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP
Mirissa McMurray I Law Ofices of Steven J. Montalvo
Rene Kathawala I Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP
Monique Sherman I Cooley LLP
Rachel Williams I Morrison & Foerster LLP