Practice
Pro Bono

Representative Pro Bono Cases

• MF traveled to Fresno County on behalf of a foster child who was mistreated at the hands of her oral surgeon and orthodontist. In a unanimous verdict, a jury awarded the minor plaintiff substantial damages, finding both dentists professionally negligent.  MF was honored to represent the minor at the request of the Santa Clara County Juvenile Court, which has referred other children to the firm over the years for representation in civil matters.

• In Batchelder v. Geary et al.  MF served as co-counsel with the Public Interest Law Firm of the Law Foundation of Silicon Valley to represent the plaintiff class in this revival of a class action suit against the Department of Corrections of Santa Clara County for violations of inmates’ constitutional rights. A long-standing consent decree provided that inmates representing themselves in propria persona (without a lawyer) must have a law library, as a means of access to the courts, pursuant to rights under the Sixth Amendment to the Constitution. The decree also provided that all inmates in Santa Clara County were subject to certain disciplinary procedures in conformance with due process. The County sought to terminate the consent decree.  The issues to be decided included whether the Court should terminate, modify, or leave in place the prospective relief in a consent decree protecting these constitutional rights; whether the County Department of Corrections was committing current and ongoing constitutional violations in these areas; and whether the relief in the consent decree meets constitutional minimums.

• An MF family law attorney represented a minor child in a case that had been going on since the child was 2 years old, in which the Court determined that absent the involvement of an attorney for the minor, the child’s relationship with her father could be severely compromised due to conflict between the parents. The father had moved to the Midwest. The MF attorney was appointed to ensure that the child saw her father despite mother’s efforts to stop visits. The parents were at times represented and at times not. Court orders were necessary for nearly every lengthy visit. The parents did not have the funds to pay counsel. While the county paid some of the fees, most of the work was pro bono. 

• On May 26, 2005, the California Legislature by Joint Member Resolution No. 321 commended the law firm of McManis Faulkner“for its exemplary record of civic and philanthropic leadership,” following the firm’s receipt of the Honorable Robert F. Peckman Award for Public Interest Litigation.