Oct. 18, 2023 – Emily Feinstein is a pro bono coordinator and a partner at Quarles & Brady in Madison. Her primary practice area is commercial litigation representing businesses in a variety of lawsuits, including class action defense and a variety of contract disputes. But over the course of her career, she has made pro bono work part of her practice.

“Using our legal skills to help those who cannot afford legal services helps make our community stronger and (of course) is an ethical obligation of all attorneys,” said Feinstein.

The DAIS Network

About 10 years ago, Feinstein helped to create a network of attorneys to take on domestic violence injunction cases in Dane County. By working with the staff at Domestic Abuse Intervention Services (DAIS) and Atty. Marsha Mansfield, she was able to put together trainings and an elist where partnering lawyers could receive referrals for individuals who needed representation at their injunction hearing. Feinstein’s legal assistant, Staci Jensen, volunteered to administer the program.

The elist has grown to include approximately 20 attorneys outside of Quarles & Brady. These volunteers have appeared in over 500 domestic violence injunction hearings since 2015.

Pro Bono Litigation

In addition to her work helping domestic violence survivors, Feinstein also represents pro bono clients in complex litigation. How she gets the cases can vary – sometimes individuals or groups like the American Civil Liberties Union contact her firm, and occasionally she’ll reach out to individual counsel to offer her support.

Most recently, Feinstein represented Gender Equity Associations of the Madison Metropolitan School District high schools in a suit that challenged the school’s guidance on a child’s preferred name. This case went through the appeals process to the Wisconsin Supreme Court on issues related to standing and jurisdiction.

Feinstein appeared on another high-profile case involving the father of a Sandy Hook victim. She credits the success on that defamation case to their narrow focus on the issues, and the judgment was in favor of her client.

The value of her services on either case is hard to quantify. The hours needed for these types of cases with appeals are countless, but she credits the immense support from her firm, associates, support staff, national organizations, and the community to make pro bono representation a priority.

Ultimately, by providing the work pro bono, the individuals alleging the harm had a fairer chance to have their issues heard in court.

So Many Benefits

When reflecting on the benefits of pro bono, Feinstein says that, while that some impact litigation is more feasible at a firm like Quarles & Brady, attorneys in any practice setting can bring pro bono litigation into their practice.

There is a strong need, she says, for representation at domestic violence injunctions, where most cases require 5-10 hours of an attorney’s time but can make a world of difference to survivors of violence.

If the feeling of reward isn’t enough to tempt attorneys to take cases, Feinstein also stresses the importance of practice and experience for honing your trial skills and appearing in court with your local judges.

For questions or interest about taking on an injunction case in Dane County, contact Emily Feinstein at Emily.feinstein@quarles.com to join the injunction elist.