October is National Domestic Violence Awareness Month

Throughout the year, PLC's Family Law Unit works to uphold the basic human right to be free from violence and abuse. One such way is our DV Clinic in partnership with the Orange County Superior Court. Volunteers from UCI Law School, corporate law departments like PIMCO and Verizon Wireless, and several law firms make it possible for women and men to complete their declarations and secure their temporary restraining orders. 

PLC's commitment to DV survivors extends well beyond the clinics. For instance, our Family Law Unit recently assisted an individual obtain their temporary restraining order at a DV Clinic. However, she needed further assistance and visited PLC's headquarters in Santa Ana. Unfortunately, her abuser appeared and tried to prevent her from entering our building. After police arrived, PLC was able to help her draft her declaration and prepare for her hearing. Our client had suffered from having a bike thrown at her, elbows to the eye, and head butts to her face. With our assistance, our client was granted a five-year restraining order and will hopefully be able to move on from the violence and abuse.

PLC encourages the Orange County legal community to be part of the solution to this grave problem and, together, we can raise awareness and change lives for the better. 

Gibson Dunn Keeps on Winning at Pro Bono

Orange County office recognized as 2015 California State Bar President's Pro Bono Service Award honoree

Only a few months after receiving the 2015 Law Firm of the Year Award at PLC's Volunteers for Justice dinner, the Orange County Office of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP recently accepted the 2015 California State Bar President's Pro Bono Service Award at a ceremony in Anaheim. California Supreme Court Chief Justice Tani G. Cantil-Sakauye presented the honor to the firm for contributing nearly 2,500 pro bono hours to PLC in 2014. 

The office took on complex and time consuming matters not easily placed on a pro bono basis such as: a low income housing matter for an elderly client requiring more than 1,000 pro bono hours; an appeal to defend a custody order handled by a Gibson attorney on leave; a time-sensitive emergency guardianship involving a grandmother trying to protect a child from his abusive parent; a consumer matter for an elderly disabled man being pursued for outstanding federal student loan debt; a veteran seeking a discharge upgrade so he can be more employable; and a Ninth Circuit case involving application for legal status for a person held one year in immigration detention before becoming bond eligible. 

In PLC's nomination of the firm for the award, we noted "Gibson Dunn approaches their long tradition of service to the community with the same passion, creativity and motivation as applied to their paying work. The firm believes that by striving to strengthen the rule of law, assist the disadvantaged and bring top-quality legal thinking to those who might normally be overlooked by the legal system, they deliver tangible benefits both to their firm and their clients."

PLC salutes Gibson Dunn and all our pro bono partners for playing a role, as Chief Justice Cantil-Sakauye describes, "in delivering justice for the public good, and in ensuring the right to due process-it's a role worth celebrating and nurturing in 2015 and beyond."