In a statement on its website, Foley Hoag said it was promoting Rebecca Cazabon — who joined the firm in 1998 and has served in many roles — in recognition of her commitment to public service and the firm's pro bono program.
"Foley Hoag has led the charge on pro bono since its founding 80 years ago," the firm's managing partner Jim Bucking said in the statement. "We are grateful to Rebecca for her tireless efforts to grow our program and take on new challenges. Community engagement and a commitment to social justice are hallmarks of our firm, and these are embodied in the pro bono program under Rebecca's leadership."
In her new role, Cazabon will run the firm's pro bono portfolio, which in recent years has focused on issues such as reproductive rights, racial equity, international human rights and immigration, across its five offices and practice areas. She will also provide direct legal representation to the firm's pro bono clients, the statement says.
In the statement, Cazabon said pro bono services allow attorneys to make use of their training and expertise to protect people who have been historically marginalized.
"Pro bono is an essential part of our firm because it provides a way for lawyers and others to work together to make a real difference in people's lives," Cazabon said.
Cazabon, who was born in Spain and is of Cuban heritage, graduated from George Washington University Law School in 1998. She served for three years as a legal intern in the U.S. Army Judge Advocate General's Corps before landing her first job at Foley Hoag.
In 2000, she became the firm's pro bono managing attorney, a position she maintained until her promotion to pro bono counsel.
In a call with Law360 Pulse on Tuesday afternoon, Cazabon said that, while her day-to-day responsibilities won't change much in her new position, the new title shows that the firm is committed to pro bono and social justice causes.
"We have never had pro bono counsel before," she said.
Foley Hoag recently hired a full-time pro bono coordinator who will allow Cazabon to dedicate all of her time to deepening the firm's pro bono portfolio, she said.
"It allows me to focus on some bigger-picture thinking about the firm, about the projects, and frees me up to meet new pro bono partners and to make sure that we're focused on the right kind of work," Cazabon said.
Cazabon works closely with the firm's pro bono committee, which includes attorneys from each of Foley Hoag's four offices in the United States, to set a direction for the pro bono program, the firm said.
Recent pro bono engagements by Foley Hoag include work related to reproductive freedom. The firm has advised a coalition of nearly 200 organizations in a legal submission to United Nations special rapporteurs in response to the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization overturning decadeslong precedent protecting the right to abortion. Foley Hoag's attorneys also provide legal advice via abortion hotlines in Massachusetts and New York, the firm said.
Additionally, Foley Hoag has devoted pro bono resources to issues involving immigrants. Lawyers at the firm are currently representing a class of Venezuelan asylum-seekers who were flown from Texas to Martha's Vineyard by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican, in what immigrant rights advocates and Democratic elected officials criticized as a political stunt.
Cazabon said she intends to focus the firm's pro bono efforts on issues involving access to justice for underserved individuals. She also wishes to increase the firm's pro bono output, she said.
"I would love to see more attorneys throughout our offices and all practices do a greater number of hours," she said.
--Editing by Melissa Treolo.
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