News + Events
One-of-a-KIND acts: Angelina Jolie and D. C. Partner Wally Christensen
November 6, 2009
Troutman Sanders and Washington partner Wally Christensen were mentioned in a November 6 Kids In Need of Defense (KIND) Web site article about the firm providing pro bono representation to unaccompanied children, as well as helping KIND underscore the lack of representation for unaccompanied refugee children nationwide.
During National Pro Bono Week (October 25-31), the Washington office of Troutman Sanders co-hosted a panel with KIND on the critical need for pro bono legal representation of unaccompanied children. Christensen hosted the panel, which included the Honorable Rosemary Barkett, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit; Juan P. Osuna, Deputy Assistant Attorney General, Department of Justice; Sarah Hartnett, Deputy Chief, Enforcement Law Division, Department of Homeland Security/Immigration and Customs Enforcement; Andrew I. Schoenholtz, Deputy Director, Institute for the Study of International Migration, Visiting Professor of Law, Georgetown University Law Center; and Robert E. Juceam, Of Counsel, Fried Frank.
Troutman Sanders and KIND hosted a similar event in the firm’s Orange County office on November 6. KIND Board Member and Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Sonia Nazario discussed her work with unaccompanied children and read from her book Enrique's Journey.
On November 17, Orange County managing partner Bob Pozin, along with Christensen, attended a KIND event at the home of Elyse and Stanley Grinstein, architects and owners of Gemini G.E.L, one of the U.S.’s most renowned artists’ workshops. KIND co-founder and actress Angelina Jolie and others discussed how to increase lawyer participation with KIND events.
The firm also supported KIND’s first Board of Directors meeting in June, where a Troutman Sanders partner and associate discussed their experiences with KIND. Christensen stated at the meeting, “Helping a young child through a bewildering legal process has been immensely rewarding. Hopefully, we are showing him what is best about our country. It reminds me of the reasons why I wanted to become a lawyer many years ago.”
KIND was founded by Jolie and Microsoft Corp.
To see the article in full, please visit here.