Serving the Community

Sunstein has always been committed to community outreach and pro bono legal services. We believe this work reflects the best traditions of our profession, and we promote and support participation by all of our attorneys.

We have provided pro bono legal representation in such areas as affordable housing, artists', authors' and inventors' rights, environmental protection, civil rights, real estate and land use, family law, health care and health insurance coverage, landlord/tenant disputes, and we work with universities and non-profit organizations to protect their intellectual property.

We provide pro bono counseling and support to individuals, non-profit organizations and community-based groups. Our attorneys serve on the board of directors of several local and national non-profits. We collaborate with the leading health care advocacy organization in Massachusetts for the advancement of universal health care access. We offer legal representation to the Massachusetts Law Reform Institute, a statewide legal services support center. We provide general legal services to Newton Weston Wellesley Committee for Community Living (NWW), a community-based program serving developmentally disabled adults. For many years we have been committed to supporting affordable housing initiatives. In 2003, Sunstein partner Ed Dailey was recognized with the Robert B. Swett Housing Award for his long service as an advocate and chair of the City of Newton's inclusionary zoning committee.

Our attorneys are committed advocates of legal services to the poor, and hold leadership positions in Greater Boston Legal Services, the Massachusetts Equal Justice Coalition and the Boston Bar Foundation. Our firm has consistently provided financial support for legal aid programs serving the needy and for other civic and charitable causes. We were honored by GoodWeave for our work.

We support educational opportunities for students in the Boston Public Schools, including providing summer jobs through the Boston Bar Association summer jobs program, and through leadership positions on the Boston Bar Association Children and Youth Outreach Task Force. For several years we have hosted a team from the Citizen Schools 8th Grade Academy program, an after-school program that connects middle school youth with adult mentors. In this program, a diverse group of 10 eighth graders from Boston comes to our office every other Tuesday to work with our attorneys one on one to improve their reading, writing and advocacy skills. See www.citizenschools.org.

In keeping with the interests that occupy us professionally, our firm has made a major commitment to promoting technology innovation and education by sponsoring a team of students from the Accelerate Learning Lab (ALL) high school in Worcester, Massachusetts, in the FIRST Robotics Competition this year. Many of the students are young women, who are often underrepresented in scientific disciplines. The team has attracted a growing number of participants, and growing support by the ALL high school and its faculty. FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) was founded by acclaimed technologist and inventor, Dean Kamen, to imbue young people with an enthusiasm for science, engineering and technology and motivate them to pursue opportunities in those fields. See www.usfirst.org. Sunstein is extremely proud to be the first law firm to sponsor a FIRST Robotics team, and we are helping FIRST broaden support for its initiatives within the Boston legal community.

Recent Pro Bono Victories

Sunstein successfully represented Mr. B, a political dissident from Haiti, in asylum proceedings. Mr. B had long been involved in Haitian politics, acting as an organizer and regional leader in a minority political party. Having endured years of threats, Mr. B, along with his wife and two young daughters, fled Haiti after repeated attempts were made on Mr. B's life by political partisans. The violence perpetrated against Mr. B culminated with the murder of his brother and the ransacking and destruction of his business. With the assistance of Sunstein's Jack Schecter, Mr. B secured a grant of asylum, meaning he and his family may remain in the United States for an indefinite period and will not be forced to return to Haiti where they would face continued political persecution.

Sunstein successfully represented Ms. F, a political refugee from Cameroon, in asylum proceedings. This victory means that Ms. F will not be forced to return to her country, where she was brutally beaten by the police, and where her husband is also a political prisoner. Ms F's asylee status means she may now apply for her two young daughters to join her in the United States.