News & Updates

Greene Espel PLLP congratulates attorneys Matthew Forsgren, Jenny Gassman-Pines, Bob Gilbertson, Aaron Knoll, Karl Procaccini, Faris Rashid, Katherine Swenson, Anna Tobin, and Kevin Zhao on being named North Star Lawyers by the Minnesota State Bar Association (MSBA). MSBA awards North Star Lawyer designations to members who have provided at least 50 hours of pro bono in a given year.

In 2017, the attorneys mentioned above represented pro bono clients and helped to:

• Uphold the constitutionality of the Minnesota Fair Campaign Practices Act
• Represent clients in asylum interviews through The Advocates for Human Rights
• Defend a non-profit boxing gym that provides fitness, nutrition, and athletic training to low-income children in trademark lawsuit
• Write amicus briefs for public-interest organizations in cases before the United States Supreme Court

Greene Espel is committed to a wide array of pro bono initiatives and shares its time and talents to serve our community’s most vulnerable populations. Our attorneys, including those named above, have established strong relationships with many legal organizations including The Advocates for Human Rights, Children’s Law Center, Neighborhood Justice Center, The Pro Se Project, and the Volunteer Lawyers Network. The firm’s commitment to serving our community also includes individual volunteer opportunities and firm-sponsored projects. In the past years, we have organized a shoe drive and collected over 800 pounds of shoes to benefit Good in the Hood, made over 200 sandwiches for Simpson Housing Services, and packed food for Feed My Starving Children.

In addition to applauding our attorneys for their efforts, the firm also thanks the MSBA for encouraging pro bono work to close the justice gap for low-income Minnesotans. MSBA reports that 928 Minnesota lawyers provided over 50 hours each of free legal services. Greene Espel is proud to be a part of the broader Minnesota community devoted to changing lives and transforming communities through pro bono legal work and other community outreach programs.