Law360 Reports on Shook’s Expanded Civil Rights Practice

After winning a high profile prisoner’s rights case in St. Louis in 2022, Shook is dedicating much of the fee award recovery to the expansion of the firm’s civil rights and racial justice pro bono efforts. Law360 reported on the news, “Shook Hardy Pays It Forward With New Civil Rights Practice.”

Driving the program will be Michael Harrison, a civil rights division prosecutor in the Harris County District Attorney’s Office in Houston, who moved to Shook as senior counsel. Harrison will work closely with Shook Partner Charles Eblen to transform the firm’s current work in this space into a nationally recognized practice. 

“This was a dream come true, to be able to build something from the ground up like this coming from the criminal side,” Harrison told Law360. “It offers not only the platform to do it at the national level, but it also offers a larger scope. I’m not limited to one jurisdiction in my community, but communities across the country will benefit from this type of work.” 

Shook Partner and Pro Bono Director Scot Fishman joined Shook in 2021 with the goal of building civil rights and justice work into a practice. 

“This is going to be a long term, institutionally sound program that’s going to live on for many, many years,” said Fishman.

Read more about the Bilal Hill case.