Winston Team Recognized for Excellence by Federal District Court Judge

While we don’t win every single case, we always vigorously defend every single pro bono client. This steadfast commitment to excellence in serving the public interest was recently recognized at an annual reception sponsored by the United States District Court for the Northern District of California and the Justice & Diversity Center of the Bar Association of San Francisco. 

Judge William Alsup honored the Winston pro bono trial team for its exemplary representation of a Black prisoner who had filed a pro se lawsuit in 2016 against the San Francisco Police Department and six of its officers for false arrest, assault, and illegal detention. Judge Alsup appointed two different attorneys to represent him, but both eventually dropped the case. As a last-ditch effort, Judge Alsup referred the prisoner to the Federal Pro Bono Project for placement. Winston stepped up and finally took the case to trial as part of the firm’s Racial Justice & Equity CEASE Initiative.  

At the conclusion of the week-long jury trial, Judge Alsup addressed our client and said, “You may not have won the case, but you had excellent representation and your lawyers did a fantastic job for you. Ms. Obi, that closing argument was one of the finest I’ve heard in 25 years.” 

During the Pro Bono Project’s annual reception, Judge Alsup also commended the “excellent lawyers” on the Winston trial team and said he was proud to be part of a system that could produce lawyers who not for money, but for the good of the profession and society, give a client like this one his day in court as well as superb representation.

The trial team included Jacqueline Hu, Summy Lau, Rachel McCauley, and Shawn Obi. CSR & Pro Bono Administrator Ken Berry assisted the team.