At Keker, Van Nest & Peters, pro bono work is an integral part of our firm. From challenging illegal mass deportation tactics, to pushing for criminal justice reform, to fighting for the rights of individuals and families, our attorneys take up causes that encapsulate our belief that lawyers have a duty to protect the rule of law and ensure access to justice.
To mark the American Bar Association’s National Celebration of Pro Bono this week, we highlight our major cases from this past year that embody the spirit of pro bono and align the practice of law with the public good.
Fighting Unlawful Mass Deportation Tactics
- In April, Keker helped secure a preliminary injunction from a federal judge requiring Border Patrol to honor laws regarding reasonable suspicion and probable cause after agents made scores of biased and warrantless arrests in and around Bakersfield. “You can’t just walk up to people with brown skin and say, ‘Give me your papers,’” said Keker partner Franco Muzzio.
- Keker recently joined the ACLU Foundation, ACLU Foundation of Northern California, and Centro Legal de la Raza in filing a federal class-action lawsuit against the Trump administration for an unlawful policy of re-arresting immigrants without legal justification. This followed reports that ICE had detained more than 100 immigrants who appeared for court hearings and supervision check-ins in Northern and Central California.
- This past summer, Keker attorneys Erin Meyer and Jonhatan Aragon filed a habeas petition on behalf of a Colombian asylum seeker who had been arrested without a warrant outside her immigration court hearing in San Francisco. Her brother ran to the closest law office he could find, which happened to be Keker’s, and pleaded for help. Within 48 hours, the Keker team was able to secure her release. Two weeks later, Meyer and Kayla Crowell filed a habeas petition and freed a Syrian asylum seeker who had been detained for more than a month without charges.
- Keker recently joined taxpayer and immigration advocates in filing suit to block the IRS and Social Security Administration from sharing private taxpayer data with ICE. An agreement between SSA and ICE revealed plans to share personal and financial information on 50,000 immigrants each month, violating strict privacy protections designed to safeguard sensitive taxpayer data.
- Keker joined the Public Rights Project in representing three localities among a total of 85 local governments and local government leaders in filing an amicus brief with the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in support of a preliminary injunction blocking President Trump's unlawful federalization and deployment of the California National Guard in response to protests against ICE. In June, a district court issued a preliminary injunction in Newsom et al. v. Trump et al., holding that plaintiffs were likely to succeed in showing that President Trump’s use of the National Guard did not comport with the Militia Act of 1903 and violated the Tenth Amendment.
Criminal Justice, Civil Rights, Immigration, and More
- Keker secured the release of Demetrius Howard, of San Bernardino, who served more than 30 years in prison under California’s “felony murder” rule. Mr. Howard was facing a death sentence for a crime committed by the co-defendant.
- In July, Keker attorneys secured asylum for a young mother from El Salvador who faced years of threats and violence, culminating in a hard-fought victory in immigration court. The Keker team helped the judge recognize a well-founded fear of future violence, granting asylum despite long odds. The ruling allowed for the client, now a trained phlebotomist and mother to a U.S. citizen, to begin building a stable future in the United States.
- Keker landed a major victory for three immigrant families, securing large settlements from the U.S. government for trauma suffered during family separations at the southern border in 2018. The settlement represented the largest payout among dozens of similar cases nationwide stemming from the first Trump administration’s family separation policy.
- Keker joined GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders (GLAD Law), National Center for LGBTQ Rights (NCLR), and Brown Goldstein & Levy in challenging an abrupt reversal of a Department of Defense policy, which now prohibits military clinics and hospitals from providing continuing medical care for their transgender adolescent and adult children.
Our pro bono work is not just an obligation. It’s a core value that fuels the firm’s commitment to stand with individuals and communities whose rights are at risk.