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United States: MoFo Honors Adam Hunt With The 2018 Kathi Pugh Award For His Tireless Pro Bono Contributions
Advocating for clients on some of the most difficult and
long-lasting pro bono cases, while also taking the time to mentor
more junior lawyers on important pro bono matters, is what makes
New York Litigation associate Adam Hunt a true pro bono superstar. Since
joining the firm in 2009, Adam has clocked thousands of hours of
his time in pro bono matters — all in the spirit of making a
positive difference in the lives of his clients.
According to Jennifer Brown, MoFo Pro Bono
senior counsel, Adam's "dedication to serving a wide
spectrum of vulnerable individuals across a number of challenging
pro bono matters" is what makes him a deserving recipient of
the 2018 Kathi Pugh Award for pro bono service.
Adam's pro bono contributions come in many forms and have
had a lasting impact on many since he joined the firm in 2009.
Take, for example, his tireless work over the last seven years for
MoFo's client, a refugee from the Republic of Congo, who
endured extreme brutality at the hands of a Congolese regime
— including the murder of his uncle, as well as severe
persecution and torture — just because his uncle, a prominent
member of an opposing political party, was critical of the
Congolese regime in a news article.
Thanks to Adam's persistence on the case, as well as help
from other members of MoFo's pro bono team, the client was
granted asylum. But, Adam's commitment didn't end there. He
then began a years-long effort to allow his client's four
children — nieces and nephews our client had adopted after
his brother's death — to join him in the United States.
While ultimately unable to secure their asylum, Adam's
commitment to his client and the children he left behind in the
Congo were so remarkable that Human Rights First recognized him as
a "Pro Bono Star" for this work.
This is just one example of how Adam continues to pay it forward
by contributing his time to pro bono. Adam has contributed nearly
1,000 hours serving as lead attorney in ongoing litigation, begun
in 2010, aimed at increasing the support New York State provides to
children in foster care through the stipends paid to foster
parents.
In another long-haul case, Adam has, since 2013, been integral
to a team working with the New York Civil Liberties Union to reform
solitary confinement in state prisons. First filed as a pro se
prisoner's complaint, the case became the vehicle for more than
two years of negotiations with top officials from the
governor's office and the state corrections department that
eventually resulted in a class action settlement that today:
Restricts the use of solitary confinement and shortens time
spent there;
Creates new rehabilitative and step-down programs;
Provides programming to reduce idleness and isolation; and
Improves conditions
Adam also dedicated hundreds of pro bono hours to a case that
ended the New York City Police Department's extremely broad
Muslim surveillance program, subjecting Muslims to unwarranted
government surveillance. Thanks to Adam's ongoing work on the
case, the reforms negotiated to end the case are now being
implemented, ensuring that religion will not be the basis for
investigations that corrode community trust.
Adam's contributions have also been recognized outside of
the firm. In 2017, he was awarded the New York State Bar
Association President's Pro Bono Service Award for the over
2000 hours of pro bono service that he has contributed in his time
at the firm.
"When looking at Adam's contributions on all of these
important pro bono matters, and his tenacity to see them
through," said Jennifer, "we couldn't think of anyone
more deserving of the Kathi Pugh Award. Congratulations, Adam, on a
job well done!"
As the winner of the Kathi Pugh Award, Adam was given the
opportunity to direct a $10,000 donation to a nonprofit
organization that enhances access to justice. He has directed the
contribution, which will be funded jointly by the Firm and The
Morrison & Foerster Foundation, to be split between the New
York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU) and the Education Law Center
(ELC) in Newark, New Jersey. Adam worked for the ELC after college
before beginning law school and worked for the NYCLU during law
school and while at MoFo.
The Kathi Pugh Award was established by Morrison & Foerster
in 2013 when Kathi Pugh retired after two decades of running the
firm's pro bono program. It recognizes the values, enthusiasm,
and compassion that Ms. Pugh brought to the pro bono program and
celebrates the remarkable ways that lawyers like Adam Hunt proudly
carry out Kathi's pro bono legacy.
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