On May 22, 2024, Wilson Sonsini was honored with Community Legal Services in East Palo Alto’s (CLSEPA’s) 2024 Pro Bono Champion Award at the organization’s “Legacy of Service: Celebrating Pro Bono at CLSEPA” event in Palo Alto. According to CLSEPA, the award recognizes the firm’s “long-term, sustained commitment to the immigration program,” as Wilson Sonsini “by far accepts by the most immigration pro bono referrals from CLSEPA,” including those related to U-visa relief, Special Immigrant Juvenile Status, employment authorization, permanent residency, and citizenship.

The firm “continues to go the extra mile for the community served by CLSEPA, even in the face of many years-long administrative delays from USCIS and the Immigration Court,” the organization notes.

CLSEPA is one of Wilson Sonsini’s key pro bono matter referral agencies, with the firm having a number of open matters with them. Most recently, Wilson Sonsini secured a U-visa grant for a client referred from CLSEPA who cooperated with police after being assaulted, and separately obtained citizenship for an elderly client who had long sought naturalization. CLSEPA, whose mission is to support individuals and communities in effecting significant, positive changes, has been referring clients to Wilson Sonsini since 2009.