Firm Celebrated for Pro Bono Work at Annual Gala

The National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty (NLCHP) awarded Latham the “Extraordinary Achievement Award” at its annual McKinney-Vento awards ceremony on November 19. The award, the first of this category ever given by NLCHP, recognizes the years of cooperation and success between the firm and NLCHP, which provides proven legal expertise dedicated to helping prevent and eliminate homelessness.

While the award recognizes Latham’s longstanding work on behalf of NLCHP and its clients, two matters that stood out in particular were a win in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, in which the court ruled that arresting homeless individuals for sleeping outside when there are no beds available in shelters amounts to cruel and unusual punishment under the Eighth Amendment, and a win in the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, in which the court ruled that a city’s anti-panhandling law was a “content based” restriction on speech in violation of the First Amendment.

Latham & Watkins partner and NLCHP board member Matthew Murchison said: “We are truly honored to receive this recognition. The successes the firm has had on behalf of NLCHP would not have been possible without close collaboration with the organization’s fantastic lawyers and staff, and come as the result of a lot of hard work and compassion by the team here at Latham. We look forward to continuing to help those affected by homelessness and poverty through our ongoing relationship with NLCHP for years to come.”