Our attorneys are involved in numerous pro bono initiatives to advance our firm's commitment and dedication to pro bono service in both our local and national communities. Below are a few of the many causes we support with pro bono service.
Immigration and Asylum
Volunteers throughout the firm represent clients from various countries of origin seeking asylum in the United States as a path toward citizenship. Following the overthrow of the Afghanistan government in 2021, the firm immediately organized a team of attorneys focused on assisting Afghan asylum seekers fleeing danger from the Taliban. Dozens of Blank Rome volunteers have and continue to work on Afghan asylum cases in collaboration with HIAS-Pennsylvania—a nonprofit refugee resettlement organization—securing many successful grants of asylum for their clients.
Second Chance Work
Our pro bono work focused on supporting those with past involvement in the criminal justice system includes seeking pardons for low-income clients whose minor and non-violent criminal records are preventing them from achieving their social and career potentials. We also secure criminal expungements and record sealing for those previously incarcerated who are trying to improve their lives. Our pro bono partner for pardons work is Philadelphia Lawyers for Social Equity (“PLSE”) and our partners for expungement and record sealing include Delaware Volunteer Legal Services, Community Legal Services, and the Legal Aid Society, among others.
The LGBTQ+ Community
Blank Rome continues its pro bono legal work to support the LGBTQ+ community, such as helping trans+ individuals to legally apply for name and gender marker changes consistent with their lived identities—a life-altering event for many of the clients. We do this in partnership with organizations such as Bet Tzedek, Advocates for Trans Equality (“A4TE”), and Whitman-Walker Health.
Community Economic Development
Blank Rome helps local micro-entrepreneurs, small business owners, and nonprofit leaders identify and address key legal issues that may impact their success. Among the many organizations we partner with to support small businesses, micro-entrepreneurs, and nonprofits are Philadelphia VIP LawWorks, Texas Accountants and Lawyers for the Arts, Philadelphia Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts, Start Small Think Big, Pro Bono Partnership, Public Counsel, and the Neighborhood Entrepreneur Law Project.
Veterans
Working with organizations such as The Veterans Consortium, the National Veterans Legal Services Program, the Veterans Legal Advice Clinic of Houston Volunteer Lawyers, and Mission United Veterans Program of Broward Legal Aid, Blank Rome attorneys and paralegals support former members of the military with various legal needs. A significant focus of our work with veterans is on seeking military discharge upgrades. Many former servicemembers received other-than-honorable discharges due to conduct related to military sexual trauma; combat-related traumatic brain injuries; Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell-related policies; and mental health issues. A successful discharge upgrade significantly impacts the client’s ability to access critically needed veterans’ benefits, including healthcare, Department of Veterans Affairs (“VA”) disability benefits, housing assistance, and more.
Voter Rights
We are committed to ensuring that all eligible voters are able to cast their ballot and have that ballot counted. Blank Rome partners with The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law to help organize and staff a nonpartisan voter hotline to ensure that all voters have an equal opportunity to vote and have that vote count. In addition, partner Katherine Franco serves as the co-chair of the Voting Rights Task Force of the Law Firm Antiracism Alliance (“LFAA”) and the firm provides legal research and support to the LFAA’s nonpartisan voter protection efforts.
Death Penalty Litigation
Blank Rome began representing a client on Pennsylvania’s death row in 2005. After several years of litigation, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania conceded that our client did not deserve the death penalty and agreed to vacate his capital sentence. In 2008, our client was resentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole and was removed from death row. The Commonwealth also agreed that our client’s appeal of his conviction could go forward.
Our Blank Rome team continued to fight for a new trial on our client’s conviction and guilt, presenting evidence in a Post-Conviction Relief Act evidentiary hearing, and appealing the lower court’s decision to the Pennsylvania Superior Court, and then to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. In 2022, after nearly two decades of representing this client, he was released from prison.
Advance Planning Assistance
Our firm provides pro bono advance planning assistance to low-income seniors, veterans, and people with illnesses and disabilities. The assistance includes preparing wills, living wills, and healthcare and financial powers of attorney. Our partners for this work include Houston Volunteer Lawyers, City Bar Justice Center in New York, SeniorLAW Center in Philadelphia, Philadelphia VIP, and Legal Counsel for the Elderly and Whitman-Walker Health in Washington, D.C.
Homelessness Advocacy
Blank Rome is committed to providing legal and advocacy services aimed at preventing homelessness for individuals and families in our communities. Our partners, such as Philadelphia VIP and the Homeless Advocacy Project, help us to provide clients with free legal services and connect them with other crucial social services.
Child Advocacy
Many of our attorneys serve as child advocates for abused and neglected children in the dependency and delinquency court systems. Our child advocate attorneys represent children in dependency court, often when the children have been removed from the care of their parents, and also represent the child’s interests when they are required to testify in a criminal proceeding as a victim-witness. We work in partnership with the Support Center for Child Advocates in Philadelphia and the Alliance for Children’s Rights.