PROBONO Bulletin - Winter 2008 - (Page 22)

NATIoNAL NEWS Helping youth with School Placement arlier this year, Zach Coseglia (Boston) initiated a relationship with Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders (GLAD), one of the leading legal rights organizations dediCoseglia cated to the GLBT community. In the first case referred by GLAD, Zach has been helping a 13-year-old boy with post traumatic stress disorder and generalized anxiety disorder who had been traumatized by the failure of his teachers and school administrators to accommodate his clinically diagnosed and biologically based disabilities. The case itself involved several issues, including a dispute over disciplinary actions taken by the school, the school’s failure to comply with the boy’s individualized education program and issues related to disability and gender expression discrimination. When Zach began representing the family, the case was stalled and the boy had been suspended from school for several months. Zach immediately began working with the school district and the Department of Education to schedule a due process hearing date, while simultaneously catching up on the year-long procedural and factual history. The due process hearing commenced a few weeks after the family retained the firm. At first, the family’s requested remedies were modest—they were not asking for an expensive, out-of-district private school placement, but for a modified program within his school that would enable him to thrive, emotionally and academically. During the course of the due process hearing, however, the school district disclosed information that, from the perspective of the boy’s parents and his treating psychologist, made returning to his school impractical and, arguably, unsafe. Through continued negotiation and effective use of a renowned expert psychologist, Zach was able to convince the school district that an alternative placement was not only reasonable, but necessary to the boy’s future success. Although the parties have not yet finalized all of the details of the boy’s new placement, this result was a welcome surprise to the client and his family. E Preserving Public Health—and Mountain Gorillas—in Uganda ountain gorillas are found in the rainforests that stretch across the borders of Uganda, Rwanda, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Habitat encroachment, poaching, political and economic instability and preventable diseases threaten the mountain gorillas as the population has dwindled to an estimated 700. To make matters worse, diseases spread between humans, wildlife and livestock as a result of humans and gorillas living in such close proximity and having 98.4 percent identical genetic make up. Ugandans dedicated to resolving such threats founded Conservation Through Public Health (CTPH) in 2002. The organization’s vision is to prevent and control disease transmission where wildlife, people and livesetock meet, while cultivating awareness about conservation and public health in local communities. DLA Piper has provided pro bono representation to CTPH in a number of contexts. We are handling several trademark matters for CTPH to develop a joint venture and proprietary data sharing agreements/contracts with US universities, such as veterinary and medical schools that visit and conduct research at the CTPH field stations every year. We also counsel CTPH in contracts needed to outline responsibilities and rights to intellectual property it owns on endangered mountain gorillas, people and their livestock. In addition, lawyers are forming a Type 1 Foundation as a supporting organization for CTPH. Finally, we review contracts for speaking engagements by Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka, who serves as CTPH’s CEO and is a leading expert on mountain gorillas. “We are fortunate to have the opportunity to work with the founder of CTPH, Gladys KalemaZikusoka, and her organization,” says Lisa Haile (San Diego), who has led the firm’s pro bono efforts on Haile behalf of CTPH. “Gladys’ unselfish commitment to the mountain gorillas and their environment is inspiring.” Knox Bell, Lisa Haile, Mattias Luukkonen, Megan McCarthy and Stacy Taylor (all San Diego), have assisted on various matters for CTPH. M 22 | PRO BONO BULLETIN

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of PROBONO Bulletin - Winter 2008

PROBONO Bulletin - Winter 2008 Contents Cover Story: Digging Deep: DLA Piper’s Signature Project Model CSR Report Feature Story: DLA Piper Assists with German Ghetto Work Payment Program Clinics National News Mapping Impact An Interview With Jeff Coopersmith FourThought New Perimeter Update Awards and Recognition

PROBONO Bulletin - Winter 2008

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