O'Melveny's 2018-2019 Pro Bono Review

O’MELVENY PRO BONO PROGRAM REVIEW 2018- 2019 11 After a three-hour hearing, the judge found Ms. G’s testimony credible, adopted O’Melveny’s analysis of the viability of domestic violence asylum claims, and granted her asylum. When the government waived appeal, Ms. G’s future in the US was secured. Regaining Child Custody from an Abusive Father Despite allegations that her partner physically and emotionally abused her and her children, a woman in Virginia lost custody of her two children while trying her case pro se in 2009. When the children’s father attempted to move them to Arkansas six years later— after being fired for, among other reasons, anger management issues and dishonesty— O’Melveny stepped in and proved to the court both changed circumstances and continued physical and emotional child abuse. The father expected the mother to be unrepresented and was surprised to see O’Melveny representing her at the initial hearing, where the judge blocked his move pending a full hearing. The father insisted on deposing the children himself, which O’Melveny wisely allowed, and the children bravely implicated their father in engaging in a pattern of abuse. O’Melveny also presented school records that demonstrated In partner Leah Godesky’s first year at O’Melveny, she represented a woman who had testified about the sexual assault of her friend, and was then sued by the accused for malicious prosecution. Leah convinced a federal judge to dismiss the suit. A year later, she took on a similar case, eventually winning an appeal for a woman who had been sued for malicious prosecution by her abusive ex-husband after she obtained a protective order against him, and reporting him for violating it. While her pro bono practice covers many areas, much of Leah’s work focuses on reproductive rights. As advocacy groups have adopted creative strategies to attempt to limit reproductive rights, Leah has had to stay one step ahead of them. “The clinics are being affected on a day-to-day basis and patients are being turned away the minute these laws go into effect,” says Leah. “The stakes are so high.” She is involved with challenges to laws restricting abortion all over the country, winning some landmark battles (Kentucky) while others continue to wind their way through the legal system (Virginia). PRO BONO SPOTLIGHT Leah Godesky Leah works on pro bono cases at the highest level; these are public-policy issues as lawsuits, and their outcomes have dramatic effects, not only on the parties, but on scores of people and communities around the country. Leah says she finds such high-stakes work thrilling and that she’s inspired by her co-counsel at the legal services organizations with which O’Melveny partners. “I love how we have the opportunity to work with true subject matter experts and people who are truly incredible lawyers, and incredibly passionate about their work,” says Leah. “It’s infectious.” As a junior associate, Leah took her first deposition in a pro bono matter, and now she is passing her expertise and enthusiasm for the work on to the next generation of O’Melveny lawyers. She recently looked on as an associate prepped clients, examined witnesses, and argued at an immigration court hearing for a lesbian of Roma descent from Hungary. Leah’s team has now taken on another case, representing two brothers from Nigeria. After their mother won a primary election to become a senator, the opposition party killed one of her children and shot two others; the surviving brothers came to the US in 2016. Their asylum case is typical of the matters Leah handles. Says Leah, “My pro bono cases give me more energy about being a lawyer than almost anything else I do.” My pro bono cases give me more energy about being a lawyer than almost anything else I do. LEAH GODESKY