Working Mother Highlights FaegreBD's Pro Bono Work on Behalf of Women

A recent survey conducted by Working Mother Media and Flex-Time Lawyers LLC suggested that firms with more women in leadership positions also provide more pro bono legal services to women in need. With a third of the firm's management board seats and a quarter of the executive committee filled by women, Faegre Baker Daniels is no exception to this finding. The firm offers pro bono assistance to women entrepreneurs, victims of domestic violence, families with immigration issues, patients who need end-of-life planning documents, low-wage health and child care workers, women in family court proceedings and LGBT students experiencing harassment.

In an interview with Working Mother magazine, Pro Bono Counsel Dianne Heins noted that the needs of women in child-oriented pro bono cases, who typically lack education and financial means, has never been greater. Heins said, "The demand continues to grow, and the recession hasn't helped. Civil legal services programs can't meet the demand." Recalling an adoption case in which FaegreBD represented the guardian ad litem for a child with special needs, Heins said, "I've seen lawyers moved to tears by some of the pro bono work we do. It was life-changing for the child in question but also for the lawyers involved."