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“ OUR LEGAL INSTITUTIONS SHOULD NOT MAKE JUDGMENTS OF PEOPLE BASED ON THE COLOR OF THEIR SKIN, THE WAY THEY LOOK, OR THE ACCENTS THAT THEY SPEAK WITH.”—STAN YOUNG


What was the coalition that formed against Sheriff Arpaio? How did that coalesce?


We had the good fortune of working together with excellent lawyers at the American Civil Liberties Union of Arizona, the ACLU Immigrant Rights Project, and the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund. We repre- sented a group of courageous plaintiff class representatives and other class members in Maricopa County, Arizona, who all put time and energy into righting a great wrong. T e case was a true team eff ort. We were all bound by a common commitment to prevent racial profi ling from occurring in the future.


What does the outcome mean for the people affected? What does the judge’s order mean for Arizona? What does it mean for other states? What about lawyers in other states fi ghting similar cases?


We believe that this case and the court’s detailed and well-supported opinion will bring better practices to the Maricopa County Sheriff ’s Offi ce and help give all the residents of that County excellent law enforcement protection free from racial discrimination. All of Arizona and all of the country will benefi t from the lessons learned about the bad practices that this case exposed, especially in the context of anti-immigrant legislation and enforce- ment actions.


The case is a departure from your usual practice area of patent and copyright cases. Is this the fi rst time you have taken on a civil rights case?


No, I have done other civil rights cases before. Very early in my career, I participated in the remedy phase of a race discrimina- tion case against the San Francisco Fire Department. I have helped write Supreme Court amicus briefs for Asian-American legal groups in cases involving English language learner educa- tion and citizenship-related professional restrictions.


What other pro bono work have you done? Given your busy schedule, how and why do you take on pro bono work?


A couple of years ago, a colleague here at Covington and I worked with the Stanford Community Law Clinic in a case about the East Palo Alto rent control ordinance. I also helped a group of tenants in Caltrans-owned housing who were being evicted due to freeway construction. I have represented political asylum applicants. I also have done arbitrations for the Santa Clara County Superior Court, and helped advise attorneys who have tried cases as part of public defender pro- grams. Pro bono work is an extremely important responsibil- ity of members of the bar. I have been fortunate to be in law fi rms that have honored that responsibility. Doing that work has given me opportunities both to learn about subjects that I would otherwise never had had the chance to dig into and to help make our society a better place for everyone. D&B


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SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2013 DIVERSITY & THE BAR®


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