"Cully" Stimson generates a lot of opposition amongst the blue chip lawyers on Pennsylvania Avenue

Nice to see that Wilmer Hale 1875 Pennsylvania Avenue, members (AKA Cutler Pickering) in the list of blue chip law firms that "Cully" Stimson dislikes have been creating heavy traffic to Lord Patel's site.

They point out on their website that The American Lawyer (January 2007 Cover Story)recognized Wilmer Hale’s Ronald Machen (see pic) as one of the nation's 50 most accomplished litigators under the age of 45 in this month's issue.

The article commends Ron for his ability to generate business and quotes Litigation Department Co-Chair Howard Shapiro describing Ron, saying that clients "meet him once and they keep coming back." The magazine also commends Ron for making a successful transition to private practice after having been a federal prosecutor. Ronnie has defended The Boeing Company, the former Riggs Bank nonexecutive board, and Mitchell Wade, who pled guilty to bribing former California congressman Randy "Duke" Cunningham. Ronnie tells us he is now defending Allied Capital Corporation in an investigation of pretexting by hedge fund short sellers. In March he is scheduled to represent Prabhat Goyal, the former chief financial officer of McAfee, Inc., in an accounting fraud trial in federal court in San Francisco.

Ronnie Machen was a very effective Assistant US Attorney in the Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Columbia, US Department of Justice, from 1997 to 2001, when Lord Patel knew him . He was responsible for representing the United States in a wide range of criminal matters in both the local and federal court systems of the District of Columbia. As an Assistant US Attorney, Mr. Machen conducted grand jury investigations and prosecuted matters involving bribery, mail fraud, government contracts fraud, federal conspiracy, forgery, uttering and theft - what they call white collar crime in law school.

Useful to look at what they say on their website about their pro-bono work which "Cully" Stimson excoriates so much ...

"Because the law is still a profession as well as a business, lawyers have special obligations to the administration of justice and the development of the law.......We strongly believe that we have a responsibility to help strengthen our communities......we have been known for our record of pro bono representation and community service—a record based on the belief that there is more to our professional mandate than advocacy for the most powerful and successful members of society."

An original partner Reginald Heber Smith—considered the father of legal aid in the United States—authored the seminal book Justice and the Poor and galvanized the organized bar nationally to secure equal justice for those unable to afford counsel. More than seven decades later, in 1992, partner John Pickering led the effort to establish the Pro Bono Institute’s Law Firm Pro Bono Challenge and ensured that they were its charter signatory. Today, as measured by The American Lawyer in 2005, their pro bono program ranks as one of the top in the country - long may it continue.

Go and have a look at the stunning list of work they do ; including (just to upset "Cully")

WH Filed a habeas petition and are briefing an appeal to the DC Circuit Court of Appeals on behalf of six men who were seized in Bosnia in January, 2002 and thereafter held at Guantanamo Bay.(These were 6 Islamic clergy alleged to have plotted to blow up the US Embassy , a charge since dropped - The Algerian 6 - see more here).

Lord Patel is happy to disclose that Melissa Hoffer of WH has acted for them and spoke (video of speech here - wmv file) at the 17th Concours International de Plaidoiries -regarding the case and their treatment - described elsewhere (pdf alert) ..." They were kept naked in their cells. They were taken to interrogation for hours on end. They were short shackled for sometimes days on end. They were deprived of their sleep. They never got letters, nor books, nor reading materials. The Bosnians had the same interrogators for a while as we did and so we knew the names which were the same as ours and they were given a very hard time by those. They told us that the interrogators said if they didn't cooperate that they could ensure that something would happen to their families in Algeria and in Bosnia.

The charge against one of them, has now been reduced to "Mustafa Idr had taught Karate to Bosnian orphans."

It seems appropriate to raise this case because these 6 prisoners were arrested on January 18th 2002 - 4 years ago to the day.

Melissa (means honey in Greek)Hoffer is pro bono environmental counsel to Boston Natural Areas Network, a Boston-based non-profit dedicated to preservation and management of urban green space and community gardens. Recently, Ms. Hoffer has provided pro bono advice related to mechanisms for establishing a carbon sequestration project in South America and has counseled a non-profit organization interested in developing a renewable energy demonstration project on the Boston Harbor Islands.

Achieved what the Washington Post described as a “stunning reversal” of a miscarriage of justice in a nationally-reported case—undertaken with co-counsel from the NAACP Legal Defense Fund and other firms—in Tulia, Texas, in which multiple defendants, nearly all African-American, were wrongfully convicted and sentenced on drug charges based on the completely uncorroborated testimony of a white undercover agent who was later indicted for perjury. [One of The New York Times "100 Notable Books of 2005", Tulia: Race, Cocaine, and Corruption in a Small Texas Town by Nate Blakeslee tells the sad yet ultimately triumphant story.]