City law firm excels in providing legal assistance to needy

Paul Barbato is pleased to practice law for the benefit of others. The young Madison attorney, 30, is an associate at the firm of Michael Best & Friedrich. Thanks to an expansive pro-bono program offered by his employer, Barbato can provide those in need with the best legal representation money can buy.

"I have a strong interest in being able to use my law degree for good," Barbato said. "In the general corporate context, we deal with a lot of disputes with companies that are important to them to be sure, but don't have as great a social significance. It's helpful for me to do something that I think has a positive impact on the state or the community or people in general."

In a recent case, Michael Best & Friedrich was tapped to provide free legal assistance to a Wisconsin man in danger of losing his parental rights. Senior attorney James Troupis was assigned the case and argued before the state Supreme Court. But it was Barbato who volunteered to do the bulk of the legal research and other legwork.

"The case was the State versus Bobby G.," Barbato said. "The status of the case was this: the (Wisconsin) Supreme Court had accepted a petition for review from a court of appeals decision. Bobby G. had received a termination notice of his parental rights. When he received that notification it was the first time that he learned he had a child."

At the time, Bobby G. was incarcerated. His child, named Marquette, was born while he was in prison. The result of a one-night-stand, Marquette was born to a woman who neglected to inform Bobby G. that he was a father. The lower court had terminated his parental rights on the grounds that he had made no effort to achieve or maintain a relationship with Marquette prior to or immediately subsequent to his birth.

Marquette was a 10-month-old when his father learned of his existence. Once he realized he was a father, Bobby G. tried to step up and take responsibility. But a Wisconsin statute that insists upon an ongoing relationship denied him the opportunity to do so.

"The court read the statute to assume that any attempts to have a relationship with the child after notification were irrelevant," Barbato said. "They basically said, 'Our hands are tied.'"

It's cases like this that Michael Best & Friedrich take on. When people of limited resources require legal assistance, it often falls to attorneys who work for little or no money to achieve justice for their clients.

Pro-bono work required

"The state bar of Wisconsin has a requirement that attorneys try to do pro-bono work," said Grant Killoran, a partner at Michael Best & Friedrich based in Milwaukee and co-chairman of the firm's pro-bono committee.

"It's one of our ethical obligations in conjunction with having a license to practice law. They don't tell us a particular number of hours that the state requires. It's just something we try to do."

Michael Best & Friedrich does more than try. The firm takes great pains to provide its partners and associates with the time and resources to help a number of clients who can't afford to pay. David Crass, managing partner of the firm's Madison office, said pro-bono services range broadly across a variety of different clients.

"We perform legal services within the context of a contested matter for an underprivileged client, all the way through the performance of legal services for nonprofit civic and charitable organizations," Crass said. "Our firm has worked with entities such as the Friends of the Arboretum, Edgewood College, the Madison Symphony Orchestra, the Repertory Theater, American Farmland Trust and the Natural Resources Foundation."

Michael Best & Friedrich also played a significant role in providing legal services at no charge or reduced charge for the development of both the Monona Terrace and the Overture Center.

Charitable involvement

"Our view is part of our giving back," Crass said. "Not only does the state bar and the American bar consider the concept of giving back to the public part of our ethical obligation, but our view is — and we really try to instill this in our people from day one — is that civic and charitable involvement, to help build the communities in which we live and draw our living, is a requirement of entry to Michael Best and Friedrich."

In 2007 Michael Best & Friedrich was ranked by American Lawyer Magazine 25th out of the top 200 firms in the country for its work on pro-bono cases. On average, the firm's 225-325 lawyers contribute well over 10,000 hours of legal assistance every year (about 50 hours per attorney) valued at more than $3.75 million. Crass said it's the firm's laudable pro-bono record that makes it easy to attract the next generation of young attorneys from top law schools.

"This group of young people is motivated by different things than other generations before them," Crass said. "Among those are collaboration and public service and making a difference. A paycheck is less important to them than feeling like they're a part of something important and a part of something that's accomplishing something special."

Barbato said the ability to practice pro-bono law was a major factor in his decision to work for Michael Best & Friedrich.

"It's a huge benefit to be able to do that kind of work with the resources that we have here," Barbato said. "The legal resources to do the research and the knowledge base that we have here, the other attorneys, makes the work a lot easier. As we were going through the case with Bobby G. for example, we tapped a number of different people from a number of different areas. I never could have done it on my own."

Legal precedent set

The Wisconsin Supreme Court ultimately overturned the lower court in the Bobby G. case. The mitigating circumstances that prevented the plaintiff from establishing a relationship with his child would be taken into account as the court considers the termination of his parental rights. Barbato said he was very pleased to see that his client would at least have his day court.

But ramifications of this case go beyond the legal interests of one man. This case sets a legal precedent upon which cases in the future may ultimately be judged. Thanks to the pro-bono efforts of Michael Best & Friedrich other fathers like Bobby G. will have the law on their side as they defend their parental rights

"You want to make sure that the courts have the right sort of lawyers behind them if they're facing a very difficult judicial penalty," Grant Killoran said.

"This was a big-deal case in Wisconsin. The Supreme Court went out of their way to thank us for making sure that this fellow had a very qualified legal team behind him, while the law in this area was being made."

James Edward Mills is a Madison freelance writer.