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| Rachel Elkin |
Rachel Elkin joined Haynes Boone's Dallas office on July 15 as pro bono counsel after serving as the director of legal services for Genesis Women's Shelter & Support, a women's shelter focused on helping victims of domestic abuse. The firm announced the move on Monday.
Elkin told Law360 Pulse that coming from a family of attorneys, she was familiar with Haynes Boone growing up, adding that at Genesis, she worked with a number of the firm's attorneys who volunteered for the nonprofit. During her time collaborating with Haynes Boone attorneys, Elkin said, she found the firm's culture and approach to pro bono work to be similar to hers, which spurred her decision to join.
"I really developed a personal connection with the firm when I managed the pro bono partnership network at Genesis," Elkin said. "At Genesis, we always tried to find a way to get to 'yes' to help a client and I found the same thing to be true with the Haynes Boone pro bono attorneys. The deep sense of commitment to pro bono work was not lip service to Haynes Boone; it was ingrained in the culture."
A graduate of Southern Methodist University's Dedman School of Law, Elkin said her role at Haynes Boone will focus on leading the firm's pro bono efforts across its 19-office portfolio while also training attorneys on pro bono matters and providing legal services directly to those in need of assistance.
Over the years, Haynes Boone attorneys have worked on a wide range of pro bono matters on issues ranging from immigration and intimate partner violence to criminal cases and evictions, Elkin said.
"I will be working to advance the quality of pro bono opportunities for the firm's lawyers by seeking partnerships with legal services organizations, the firm and the firm's clients," she said. "I will also be working to improve the effectiveness of the firm's pro bono representation and the breadth of the firm's pro bono work."
During her time with Genesis, Elkin said, she led a legal team that worked with the nonprofit's clients in family law matters against their abusers, who she said would often try to exert power and control over their victims using the legal system, which included child protective services, immigration, criminal court and bankruptcy court.
"You had to be creative, collaborative and always up for a challenge," Elkin said. "You also had to be patient, a pillar of calm for your client, and always remembering that you were fighting to change systems that had been entrenched for decades — if not centuries. Progress would be slow and I had to remember that. I think these experiences will help me at Haynes Boone because these same principles will apply."
Elkin said that one career highlight from her time at Genesis was successfully getting the parental rights of a longtime client's abusers terminated after a six-year battle that involved regaining custody of three kids from two different men. The client ultimately obtained secure housing and employment while also regaining complete custody of the children in 2022.
"She and her children are now living in peace, free from violence and fear," Elkin said. "It may sound naïve to say, but I feel a sense of responsibility to leave the world a better place than I found it, and I believe that attorneys have a moral and professional duty to uphold and pursue principles of justice and equality. I love pursuing that as a fundamental part of my job."
According to Haynes Boone's announcement, the firm donated over 16,000 billable hours of pro bono work in 2023, worth over $12.5 million in legal fees.
"Adding Rachel will enhance our already well-established and recognized pro bono practice, and we could not be more excited to have her on board," pro bono committee co-chair David Taubenfeld said in a statement. "Her commitment to helping those in need is a perfect match for our efforts to assist and better the communities surrounding our 19 offices worldwide."
--Editing by Marygrace Anderson.