Shook Shorts: Legal Aid of Western Missouri Recognizes Shook for Pro Bono
Partner Pat Kenney and Associate John Constance are recognized for pro bono by Legal Aid of Western Missouri.
Transcript
SHOOK
Legal Aid of Western Missouri recognizes lawyers or law firms with the Robert Welch Volunteer Attorney Project Award when they participate in serving the poor in a community. In 2021, two Shook attorneys earned the award. Pat Kenney and John Constance are here to discuss. Gentlemen, congratulations to you both. Pat, tell us about the case. Can you give us a quick summary?
PAT KENNEY
Our clients were homeowners who had acquired a mortgage just before the mortgage crisis in 2008 for their family home in Platte County, Missouri. They had occupied the house for a number years but because of the terms of their loan, they were underwater. The loan was one that many people refer to in the industry as a “predatory loan.” They had been targeted to get the loan, “pick your own payment” plan, which put them in a financial position they really couldn’t sustain. Our role, which started with Legal Aid working up the case and beginning the process, was to take over for them and assist in helping the homeowners deal with the foreclosure proceedings.
SHOOK
John, tell us about your role.
JOHN CONSTANCE
My role was on the day-to-day of the case, strategy with my partner Pat. He gave me great latitude in working this case up. I argued the briefing and drafted the subsequent briefing and really got to run with it thanks to Pat letting me handle the responsibility.
SHOOK
Is there a happy ending for the family?
KENNEY
Absolutely, to our knowledge, they are still in the home today with no mortgage payments.
SHOOK
Pat, you’re the partner—did you want to say something about John’s work in case?
KENNEY
Absolutely, in fact I was going to interrupt there a moment ago. John undersells what he did for this family. It really was instrumental in their life. If they had not been in a position to have his advocacy with the court, they would be out on the street right now. This was the difference between whether they could stay in their family home or whether they would be homeless. He deserves great credit for the work he did in court. My role was just to make sure that I could provide some advice along the way. But for the most part, this is a success story due to the work of John.
SHOOK
Well, congratulations to you both. Pat, let’s talk a minute about the Volunteer Attorney Project. This is just one of many Shook partners that are able to benefit from our trial firm’s expertise, right?
KENNEY
That’s absolutely correct. We have been involved in this project with Legal Aid of Western Missouri for a number of years. It’s one of the core parts of our pro bono program here at Shook. It’s a good example of how we try to partner with other organizations to leverage our attorneys and our expertise to assist with pro bono projects. Not only with Legal Aid but also with our Immigration Law Project and with our adoption programs. But really, this program itself is near and dear to my own heart because it works with people here in the Western District of Missouri who have financial distress and who need the assistance of quality attorneys but Legal Aid just doesn’t have enough capacity.
SHOOK
The firm is known for its dedication and commitment to pro bono work. John, for lawyers who haven’t taken on a pro bono case—maybe young lawyers just getting started like yourself—what recommendations or advice do you give them?
CONSTANCE
Legal Aid is a fantastic organization to work with. They, really—it’s a mutually beneficial relationship. We help them out when they are overloaded but they also help us out because they give us great cases to work on. These cases are vetted by Legal Aid, ones that they know will present a challenge. It gives experience that a younger associate—or even a mid-level associate at a larger law firm—might struggle to get with their billable hours. And so you get in-courtroom experience and you get to work on fascinating cases while helping out members of the community.
SHOOK
For you, personally, what did it mean to you to help this family stay in their home?
CONSTANCE
It was incredibly rewarding when, at the end of the day, our clients prevailed—they got to stay in their home, and it was just all-around a great outcome.
SHOOK
Pat, any final words about the importance of pro bono work?
KENNEY
Sure. I would just echo what John said a moment ago. Pro bono work is an excellent opportunity for all attorneys in our firm to continue to improve our skills, get opportunities to be in court—but, most importantly, to make a difference. Pro bono is an area where you really get to see how the law can change lives of the people that we work with. That can seem somewhat attenuated when you are working on a business dispute, but in the context of helping a family stay in their home, you really understand what the law can do for people. I would encourage all my colleagues, both within the firm and out the firm in the legal community, to set aside some time and really invest in the idea of doing pro bono.
SHOOK
Any final words, John, from you?
CONSTANCE
I’d give a thanks to Legal Aid for the opportunity and I look forward to working with them on future opportunities.
SHOOK
Congratulations to you both. Thank you.
