Robins Kaplan LLP Establishes Fellowship Supporting Public Counsel, Nation’s Largest Pro Bono Law Firm

Los Angeles, CA—August 15, 2017—Robins Kaplan LLP® is proud to announce that Kathryn Eidmann, an attorney in Public Counsel’s Opportunity Under Law (OUL) impact litigation unit, has been named the Robins Kaplan supervising senior attorney of OUL. This new position was created as part of a major gift by Robins Kaplan to Public Counsel, the nation’s largest pro bono law firm.  

"For the past seven years at Public Counsel, Kathryn Eidmann has used her prolific talents to successfully expand opportunities for disenfranchised communities throughout our nation," said Margaret Morrow, president and CEO of Public Counsel. We are honored to name Ms. Eidmann the Robins Kaplan supervising senior attorney of OUL, where she will help lead a team of impact litigation attorneys with whom Robins Kaplan has worked, and continues to work, closely on a pro bono basis. We are grateful for the support of the firm, which has continually proven its dedication to worthy causes and individuals in need of legal representation."

"I'm thankful to Robins Kaplan and Public Counsel for this tremendous honor," said Ms. Eidmann, a graduate of Yale Law School and former law clerk to Judge Thomas Griffith of the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. "As the Robins Kaplan supervising senior attorney, I look forward to building upon the impactful work of the OUL project. I appreciate this opportunity even more given the urgent need for lawyers in both private practice and public service to advocate for justice at this moment in our history."

OUL is one of eight different legal projects operated by Public Counsel. Created in 2009, and comprised of some of the foremost civil rights attorneys in the country, the OUL team has successfully litigated a number of education equity and school governance cases. Recently, it won a settlement in Cruz v. State of California – which protects students’ rights to meaningful learning time and eliminates courses that lack instructional value. OUL is currently in settlement talks with Compton Unified School District to ensure that children who have suffered trauma are given appropriate accommodations and access to proven treatment strategies.

About Public Counsel

Through a pro bono model that leverages the talents and dedication of thousands of attorney and law student volunteers, Public Counsel provides free legal assistance to low-income clients and addresses systemic poverty and civil rights issues through impact litigation and policy advocacy.  In 2016, Public Counsel staff and over 4,800 volunteers provided legal services to 19,000 individuals and more than 300 nonprofit organizations, and conducted impact litigation on behalf of over 12 million people.  Public Counsel advocates for the rights of children, veterans, consumers, immigrants, the homeless, and women and girls.  It also focuses on economic justice and systems change through its impact litigation project, Opportunity Under Law.