Pro Bono Honorees: March 2008
Lindsey Blenkhorn & Aileen Mo, Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP

Our first honorees of the year are Aileen Mo and Lindsey Blenkhorn, both attorneys from Gibson Dunn & Crutcher's San Francisco office. They are both committed volunteers, serving on their firm's Pro Bono Committee. In part thanks to the work Aileen and Lindsey do with Legal Aid, Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP was awarded the President's Pro Bono Service Award from the California State Bar last year.

Aileen has worked pro bono on Legal Aid projects since 2004. Last year she put in upwards of 70 hours working on guardianship cases and we are delighted to honor her this month. She is also up for the pro bono award in her firm and we wish her luck.

Lindsey began volunteering with Legal Aid last year and has just taken her second case with the Guardianship Project. At Gibson Dunn Lindsey practices general business litigation so guardianship cases were a new challenge for her which eagerly took on. She enjoys working with Legal Aid's clients and hopes to continue her volunteer efforts and is now working with Legal Aid's Domestic Violence Collaborative Project.

Here are two case these attorneys worked on and won for their clients. We thank them both for their hard work and dedication.

Aileen's Case

Eight-year old Jackie came to live with her aunt Maribelle after her mother abandoned her at a drug house and did not return for days. Jackie’s mother Lily was Maribelle’s only sister and she hoped she could put her life back together. Unfortunately at the time Lily was homeless and had been battling a substance abuse problem for many years.

Concerned about Jackie’s future, Maribelle sought Legal Aid’s help with obtaining guardianship of the minor. Legal Aid called Aileen Mo at Gibson Dunn who took Jackie’s case. Aileen filed the proper papers in November, 2006 and received a hearing date for a month later. The five weeks in between were full of activity. Lily threatened to kidnap her daughter, so Aileen filed for temporary guardianship on behalf of Maribelle.

Once Lily was located, at a local church whose ministry took in homeless women with substance abuse problems, Aileen contacted the pastor to request his help in serving the Lily with court papers. The pastor begged Aileen to wait and asked to meet her in person. At the meeting the pastor asked that they hold off on telling Lily about the temporary guardianship and permanent petition for a few months. They decided that the temporary guardianship should be extended and permanent guardianship had to be postponed.

Before Aileen could file an extension, the pastor called Aileen to tell her Lily had run away from the church and couldn't be found. A few days later she was found on the streets. Only a month after the original permanent petition was filed, the court gave permanent guardianship of Jackie to Maribelle and her husband. Jackie is thriving in school and is in a stable home situation at last.

Lindsey's Case

In November Lindsey Blenkhorn successfully obtained a permanent restraining order and favorable custody and visitation orders for Genna and her two-year-old boy Kyle. Genna sought a restraining order against Kyle's father, her former boyfriend, after numerous violent encounters involving the pick-up and drop-off of the Kyle. Despite the fact that the evidence presented by Genna indicated the father engaged in drug and alcohol abuse and used physical force against Genna in front of Kyle, the Family Court mediator recommended that Genna and the father share legal custody. 

Genna’s case was particularly difficult because the father was aggressive and disrespectful to the judge, bailiff, Lindsey and her client. However the father’s behavior did not deter Lindsey, who stated that “in my other pro bono representations, the abuser was often absent or not involved in the proceedings. This was the first time that I’ve been face-to-face with the defendant and I found it exciting and challenging trying to negotiate with him and obtain the best result for my client.” 

In the end, the judge granted Genna’s request for a permanent restraining order against the father for the maximum time allowed. He also gave Genna physical and legal custody of Kyle despite the Family Court mediator's recommendation for shared custody.  Lindsey indicated that she and her client did not expect the judge to deviate from the mediator’s recommendation, and were extremely pleased when she did. 

According to Lindsey, the experience was “very rewarding.  It gave me a chance to sharpen my advocacy skills and get some more ‘on-your-feet’ courtroom time.  I’m already working on my next case.”