David Stanley (JD '89) Receives Public Counsel Pro Bono Award for Work with Children's Rights Project

Pepperdine Caruso Law alumnus David E. Stanley (JD '89) has received a Public Counsel 2021 Pro Bono Award for his guardianship work with the Children's Rights Project. Stanley is a partner at Reed Smith, LLP.

Stanley said, "It's obviously a huge honor to receive an award like this from the largest pro bono public interest firm in the world. I started working with Public Counsel nearly 20 years ago, primarily with its Immigrants' rights project helping undocumented victims of crimes obtain legal residency. The last few years, I have branched out into Child Guardianships, helping undocumented children obtain stability with family members here who are willing to become their legal guardians and then helping to obtain legal residency for these children. Working closely with the excellent in-house lawyers at Public Counsel, we have had some success on that front recently and those victories are as rewarding as any accomplishments I have had in my 30 plus year career as a litigator."

Via Public Counsel:

The Children's Rights Project, Guardianship team, recognizes David Stanley for the work he has done for our litigants and their families. In the past year alone, David has taken on three separate guardianship/ Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS) cases, each requiring much time and dedication to helping youth who do not have their parents' care.

The first was a particularly complicated case where the family of a young minor was in desperate need of a birth certificate. The young girl has been living here in the United States with her aunt and uncle, but her birth was never registered in Mexico. Without a birth certificate she was unable to pursue a SIJS case in order for her to get legal status in the US. David agreed to assist with both the delayed birth registration and thereafter assist her in filing her Petition for SIJS to the United States Immigration Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS). We were unfamiliar with the process and could not offer much guidance. However, David researched and prepared the necessary applications on his own and recently convinced a Los Angeles Superior Court judge to issue an order establishing the birth of his young client.

Since then, David has taken two additional pro bono cases for our clients. He is assisting us with two separate cases for minors who need guardianships/SIJS applications so they can remain in the US legally with their family members. David is always there to help us and does not turn away challenging cases. He is diligent, timely and reliable. We are incredibly grateful to him and hope he will continue to assist us in the future.

Additional information may be found at Public Counsel