For Immediate Release: June 8, 2021
Contact: Beki San Martin, rsanmartin@childrensdefense.org, 301-755-7110
Selection builds strategic capacity for nation’s leading child advocacy organization
Washington, DC — After an extensive and competitive procurement process, the Children’s Defense Fund (CDF) has selected the global law firm Morgan Lewis as its legal counsel. The partnership is an essential part of CDF’s strategic direction focused on institutional growth and movement building for child well-being. The firm’s corporate and focused programmatic counsel will be a valued input for the child advocacy organization’s vision of a nation where marginalized children flourish, leaders prioritize their well-being, and communities wield the power to assure they thrive.
“Along with strong corporate practice to meet our institutional needs, Morgan Lewis’s commitment to pursue justice through inclusion, impact litigation, and pro bono strategies aligns with our roots as a public interest law firm advocating for America’s children,” said Rev. Dr. Starsky Wilson, the Children’s Defense Fund’s president and CEO. “The firm’s reach and justice commitments afford us new tools for effectiveness and valued partners in strategy.”
The selection was informed by CDF’s reflection on alignment of values, systems, and its programmatic vision for justice for children. The law firm’s focus on equity and inclusion as well as its commitment to social justice and civil rights were key considerations in the process. These values were demonstrated in the diversity of the firm’s leadership – Morgan Lewis is one of the largest law firms in the world led by a woman – and workforce, strong track record of impact litigation, and work to nurture the pipeline of diverse law students through a scholarship program housed in the Morgan Lewis Foundation. The foundation was established using a fee award granted to the firm in a historic class action settlement of a pro bono matter on behalf of African American families working to combat nearly a century of government-sponsored racial segregation in public housing in Baltimore.
Robin Nunn, a partner at Morgan Lewis, will lead the team representing CDF. Her experience spans from private practice to representing Fortune 500 companies. She lives out the shared values of the firm and CDF, serving her community as an advisory neighborhood commissioner and maintaining an active pro bono and diversity and inclusion practice. Robin has been awarded a Pro Bono Publico Award and was recognized in 2020 in the National Black Lawyers Top 100.
“We are honored that Morgan Lewis was selected to be the Children’s Defense Fund’s primary legal counsel,” said Robin Nunn. “By putting the vast talents of our lawyers—who have a long history of providing comprehensive legal services to tax-exempt organizations—behind this fight, we hope to assist the Children’s Defense Fund in moving forward constructively, concretely, and expeditiously to help protect the rights of children, achieve racial justice, combat discriminatory policies, and eradicate systemic racism. If we don’t stand up for children, then we don’t stand for much.”
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The Children’s Defense Fund (CDF) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit child advocacy organization that has worked relentlessly for more than 40 years to ensure a level playing field for all children. We champion policies and programs that lift children out of poverty; protect them from abuse and neglect; and ensure their access to health care, quality education and a moral and spiritual foundation. Supported by foundation and corporate grants and individual donations, CDF advocates nationwide on behalf of children to ensure children are always a priority.