Perkins Coie Pro Bono Power Player: Ron McIntire
In this series, we shine a spotlight on our lawyers and business professionals who demonstrate an exceptional passion for pro bono service. These individuals exemplify our firm's commitment to pro bono—they go above and beyond for their clients, making pro bono a central pillar of their work.
Throughout his?more than 35-year?career at the firm, Los Angeles-based partner Ron McIntire ?has balanced his real estate and commercial litigation practice with a wide variety of pro bono work. Most recently, he has?represented pro bono clients facing the death penalty.?
What kinds of pro bono cases do you typically take on????
I started with landlord/tenant and consumer cases, which I handled for many years. I then moved to including some impact litigation focusing on homelessness issues, teaming up with outfits like Public Counsel and Bet Tzedek. About 15 years ago, I started doing criminal work, taking on the Sara Kruzan case (described below).?Then I?got involved in the most challenging cases of all:?death penalty cases. I'm currently working with outstanding teams for a death row inmate in Texas (post-habeas corpus) and another in Oklahoma who is filing a clemency petition.?
Writ of habeas?corpus is the procedure for challenging a criminal conviction and/or sentence after a defendant has exhausted?their?direct appeals. It starts in the state courts and, once exhausted,?moves?to federal court.?We also have a civil action pending in California to compel the State to provide state habeas corpus counsel on a timely basis, as guaranteed by state law.??
What is at stake in these cases???
Beyond the obvious interests of our clients–fair housing, shelter, basic quality of life, and, most importantly, liberty–I see these cases as contributing in at least a small way to making our legal system function as it ideally should, with both sides vigorously represented. Even in our losses, I have felt some satisfaction in at least getting our clients a fair chance at justice that they wouldn't have had?otherwise and in setting an example for others.??
How did you first become involved in pro bono work????
I started working in pro bono while in law school, at Westside Legal Services, where we held weekly night clinics for people who couldn't afford lawyers. Most of the work was landlord/tenant. As a law student, I did intake, interviewing the clients and reporting to a volunteer lawyer to get advice and an action plan. Once I was licensed to practice law, I worked as a volunteer lawyer and would occasionally take the more compelling cases into the firm as pro bono matters.??
What relationships?have?you?built, both inside and outside the firm, that have contributed to your pro bono success????
Outside the firm, I've been humbled by the dedication of those who do pro bono work for a living. I also admire those who have devoted their careers to ending the death penalty and fighting against a system that is often stacked against the accused. They have been a constant inspiration. The clients, even those on death row, have given me a fuller perspective on life and the law. Inside the firm, the larger matters, particularly criminal matters, have exposed me to many talented and passionate lawyers with whom I never would have worked?otherwise. All have, I hope, made me a better lawyer.?
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Share a rewarding experience from a recent pro bono matter.??
By far,?my most rewarding pro bono experience was for Sara Kruzan. Sara had been sentenced to life without possibility of parole for killing her trafficker at age 17. We pressed her case through state habeas?and got a favorable ruling from the California Supreme Court, which laid the groundwork for a reduced sentence and then parole. Sara emerged at age 35, having spent more than half her life in prison. Today, she is thriving as an advocate for sex trafficking victims and women returning to freedom from prison and has a happy, creative daughter named Summer. The day Sara was released was my proudest day as a lawyer (so far).?
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What advice do you have for lawyers who?want?to?get more involved with?pro bono???
Take the plunge! Find good organizations and people to work with. You never know where it may take you, and you will be glad that you went on the journey.?
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Perkins Coie's commitment to community runs more than 110 years deep. Sharing our time and talents to help those most in need, both on an individual and systemic basis, defines our firm culture.
Under the leadership of our senior pro bono counsel and the firmwide Pro Bono Committee, our pro bono program launches initiatives across all our offices. Support for pro bono involvement is generous and gives associates and counsel billable-hour credit for their work on approved matters.