2024 Frank Wheat Memorial Awards

Lifetime Achievement Award

Scott Edelman (Century City)

This year we are thrilled to recognize Scott Edelman with a special Frank Wheat Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of his dedication to Gibson Dunn’s pro bono practice. Scott retired as a partner at Gibson Dunn at the end of 2024, capping a distinguished career in which he served on the Firm’s Executive Committee, co-chaired the Media, Entertainment, and Technology practice group, founded and chaired the Firm’s Pro Bono Committee, and dedicated innumerable hours of service to both the Firm and the broader legal community.

For decades, Scott has been an indomitable advocate for pro bono work at Gibson Dunn. He played a key role in expanding and centering the Firm’s commitment to pro bono, first by helping create a firmwide Pro Bono Committee and later by advocating for the appointment of an attorney to manage the Firm’s pro bono practice on a full-time basis. In many ways, Scott is the godfather of Gibson Dunn’s pro bono practice. It is no exaggeration to say that our practice would not be what it is today without his efforts to champion pro bono work, build up the Firm’s pro bono infrastructure, and mentor attorneys across the Firm.

Beginning in 2005, Scott served as the inaugural chair of the Firm’s Global Pro Bono Committee, a role he held until 2021. As chair of the Pro Bono Committee, Scott dedicated hundreds of hours to promoting pro bono work within the Firm while also taking on dozens of pro bono clients of his own. Scott always championed the Firm’s commitment to excellence in billable and pro bono matters alike, advocated for a “Big Tent” approach to pro bono work that persists today, and served as an inspiration to busy attorneys who were looking to balance a robust commercial practice with a commitment to justice.

Scott’s pro bono practice has been wide ranging, from representing individual clients to advising nonprofits, protecting the rights of the Jewish community to fighting against gun violence. Most recently, Scott has represented an impoverished individual seeking public benefits, advised local nonprofits in licensing negotiations, fought antisemitism, and worked on important gun safety cases. And his impact on the Firm’s pro bono practice goes far beyond his individual representations, as he has helped countless onboard new pro bono matters of their own and provided advice and mentorship on countless other pro bono cases at the Firm.

Beyond his pro bono work at Gibson Dunn, Scott also has poured his heart and soul into serving the Los Angeles community and advocating for the broader Jewish community. Scott, who received the Jewish Federation of Los Angeles’ 2024 Bruce I. Hochman Maimonides Torch of Justice Award, has been an exemplar of community engagement throughout his 40-year legal career. A mainstay of the Los Angeles Jewish community, he served as President of American Jewish Committee (“AJC”) Los Angeles, currently serves on AJC’s National Board of Governors, and is Immediate Past President of the Wilshire Boulevard Temple—which has been serving the Los Angeles Jewish community for more than 160 years. In 2015, he received AJC’s Learned Hand Award, which is presented to outstanding leaders in the legal profession and is the highest honor AJC bestows on members of the legal profession. Scott also is a former Chairman of the Board of Directors of KCET Public Television and a past President of Bet Tzedek Legal Services, a legal aid organization for the indigent that provides free legal services to individuals and families across Los Angeles County. Currently, he serves on Bet Tzedek’s President’s Council and is a member of the Board of Directors of the Alliance for Children’s Rights, the nonprofit co-founded by Frank Wheat to provide free legal services to indigent and underserved children in Los Angeles County.

We are so grateful to Scott for his remarkable contributions over the years, and we are incredibly proud of the dynamic, diverse, and impactful pro bono practice he helped create. Although we will certainly miss him after his retirement from the Firm, we know he will remain a force in the Los Angeles community for years to come. And his legacy of service and commitment to justice will remain a hallmark of the Gibson Dunn pro bono practice for all time.

Individual Award Winners

Nadia Alhadi and Nilofar Rahimzadeh
(New York)

When the Taliban seized control of Afghanistan in August 2021, it imperiled the lives of hundreds of thousands of Afghans who had supported the democratically-elected government, advocated for women’s empowerment, or otherwise opposed the Taliban. The Firm quickly organized to respond to the humanitarian crisis unfolding in Afghanistan, with many of our initial efforts focused on helping Afghans apply for humanitarian parole, a discretionary form of immigration relief that allows individuals to enter the United States on a temporary basis. At the time, this was a novel and relatively untested use of humanitarian parole, and there were endless questions about how the U.S. government would adjudicate the claims, how individuals would come to the United States if approved for parole, and what would happen to them after arriving in the United States.

Nadia Alhadi, a New York litigation associate, was among the Gibson Dunn attorneys who immediately volunteered to take on humanitarian parole applications on behalf of Afghans at risk of Taliban reprisals, ultimately dedicating hundreds of hours to helping multiple Afghan families. In 2022, she was part of a Gibson Dunn initiative helping a group of Afghans affiliated with a high-level women’s sports team apply for humanitarian parole. These women and their families were at acute risk of Taliban reprisals because their athletic achievements had made them symbols for women’s empowerment within Afghan society. Many of them had been targets of the Taliban for years, and most were forced into hiding after the Taliban seized power.

Nadia represented two families affiliated with the team. For months, they waited to receive a response from USCIS. Then, at the end of 2023, Nadia finally received word that two of her clients, a pair of sisters in their early twenties, had been conditionally approved to travel to the United States. Over the next few weeks, Nadia worked closely with the sisters to help them navigate the complex bureaucracy of consular processing, which included both medical exams and State Department interviews. Finally, about a year and a half after Nadia began working with them, the family was approved to travel to the United States—the first of Gibson Dunn’s humanitarian parole clients to receive full approval.

Although the sisters were thrilled, they still faced significant challenges: they had no connections in the United States, the sponsor who previously agreed to help them get settled in the United States was no longer able to provide any support, and they had nowhere to live—and they were rapidly running out of time to figure out their next steps. At this point, Nadia brought in Nilofar Rahimzadeh, a real estate associate who had joined the Firm just weeks earlier. Nilofar wasted no time in pounding the pavement looking for solutions. After days of tireless outreach to the New York Afghan community and local nonprofits, Nilofar broke through: a congregation of Catholic Sisters whose ministry includes working with immigrants could provide an apartment for the sisters as they got settled in New York.

In February 2024, after years living in fear of Taliban attacks, the sisters arrived safely in New York. Nadia and Nilofar were there to greet them at the airport, providing a warm welcome to the United States and accompanying them to their apartment. Over the coming days, Nadia and Nilofar visited the sisters regularly to help them get settled, including by helping them apply for employment authorization documents and connecting them with other short-term resources. Notably, Nadia and Nilofar provided similar assistance to a second family, also affiliated with the team, that was approved to travel to the United States a few months later. Without Nadia and Nilofar’s efforts, these families would not have made it to the United States and would not now be building their new lives with a sense of peace and security.

Ryan Azad (San Francisco)

Ryan Azad, a litigation associate in Gibson Dunn’s San Francisco office, has devoted considerable effort to briefing and arguing appeals on behalf of indigent clients who were wrongly denied their opportunity to a fair proceeding in the trial court. His advocacy has allowed immigrants fleeing persecution and torture to obtain relief from removal proceedings and embrace the United States as their new home and his appellate experience has been instrumental in helping a survivor of domestic violence obtain a second opportunity to receive protection from her abuser.

In 2024, after more than three years of advocacy before the Ninth Circuit, Ryan achieved a significant victory on behalf of a Cuban immigrant seeking relief from removal. The client entered the United States after being persecuted and tortured by the Cuban government in retaliation for holding an anti-Castro sign on a national holiday to celebrate the country’s communist regime. Officers took the client to a police station, where they beat her unconscious. After that incident, officers repeatedly threatened to imprison and murder her if she refused to change her political views. The client ultimately fled to the United States, where she sought asylum. Despite her clear history of political persecution, an Immigration Judge later denied her claims for relief for removal and the Board of Immigration Appeals (“BIA”) agreed.

The client filed a pro se appeal to the Ninth Circuit, and Ryan was appointed as pro bono counsel. Just weeks after Ryan argued the case, the Ninth Circuit reversed the BIA’s decision, holding that the denial of her applications for asylum and withholding of removal could not stand because the record compelled finding that she suffered past persecution on account of her political opinion. The Ninth Circuit remanded the case to the BIA for further proceedings, and Ryan persuaded the government to stipulate to the dismissal of removal proceedings against our client—enabling Ryan to apply for adjustment of status under the Cuban Adjustment Act to help his client obtain a green card to remain in the United States long-term.

Ryan also dedicated significant time in 2024 to advocating on behalf of a survivor of domestic violence who sought a domestic violence restraining order (“DVRO”) seeking protection for herself, her child, and her partner from her former partner. In her DVRO application and testimony, the woman described physical, verbal, and psychological abuse by her former partner. At her DVRO hearing, however, the court repeatedly interrupted her testimony, refused to grant a continuance to allow her to obtain additional documentation to support her claims, and ultimately denied her request because it believed her testimony was insufficient to demonstrate that she had been abused. Ryan successfully represented the woman in her appeal, arguing that the lower court’s decision should be reversed because the court erred in concluding her allegations did not constitute abuse as a matter of law, among other arguments. The Court of Appeal agreed and reversed the trial court’s decision, allowing the client to present her request for a DVRO—this time with the assistance of counsel and after having had the opportunity to gather documentary evidence in support of her testimony.

These are only two examples of Ryan’s many pro bono contributions. He also has demonstrated a commitment to defending the rights of criminal defendants and ensuring their voices are heard in court, including by filing amicus briefs advocating for the rights of criminal defendants. We are grateful for all his contributions to the Firm’s pro bono practice.

Team Award Winners

Denver Employment Authorization Initiative (Denver)

In recent years, thousands of immigrants arrived in Denver, Colorado, on buses from the southern border of the United States. Many of these migrants fled violence and persecution in their home countries and came to the United States in search of safety for themselves and their families. Upon arriving in Denver, however, they found themselves facing a harsh winter with nowhere to go—and often with nothing more than the clothes on their backs. Local nonprofits, in coordination with the City of Denver, the State of Colorado, and the federal government, immediately organized themselves to provide assistance.

For most families, their immediate needs were both basic and vitally important: finding shelter, food, and warm clothes. Together, the local government and nonprofit organizations housed newcomers in shelters, provided basic necessities, and helped families navigate their first weeks in the United States. But these measures were inherently temporary, and there were more immigrants in need of housing than beds available in the City’s shelters. Ultimately, the families would need to find employment to support themselves, afford permanent housing, and begin to find their footing in their new home.

In late 2023, Gibson Dunn’s Managing Partner, Barbara Becker, participated in a meeting at the White House regarding the private sector’s efforts to welcome immigrants in the United States. Following that meeting, Gibson Dunn was asked to spearhead an initiative to help new arrivals in Denver obtain employment authorization documents—a relatively straightforward application that has an outsized impact. Helping eligible immigrants obtain work permits enables them to find lawful employment, line up secure housing, and begin planting roots in the United States. This, in turn, also frees up local resources needed to help more recent arrivals, making the Denver area more resilient and better able to welcome additional newcomers.

Together with the Justice and Mercy Legal Aid Center (“JAMLAC”), a nonprofit organization that provides full civil legal representation, legal consultations, advocacy, and legal workshops to low-income individuals in Denver, we conducted monthly in-person and remote work authorization clinics for new arrivals. At these clinics, Gibson Dunn attorneys met with immigrant families and helped them complete their applications for employment authorization documents. In total, 150 Gibson Dunn attorneys—including 50 attorneys in the Denver office alone—devoted 1,365 hours to these clinics, helping more than 1,500 immigrants obtain employment authorization documents in 2024. The Denver attorneys who participated in this initiative included:

Hague Convention Case (Cross-Office)

A Gibson Dunn team represented Ms. D, a U.S. citizen who fled her abusive husband after his years-long domestic violence caused her to be hospitalized from physical abuse, in a recent Hague Convention case. The Hague Convention seeks to protect children from international abductions by establishing procedures for their prompt return to their place of habitual residence. After Ms. D and her children fled from Armenia (where the family had been living for four months) to the United States, her husband alleged that she had undertaken a multi-year scheme to abduct their children. He sought the return of their children to Armenia, which he claimed was their place of habitual residence. In October 2024, less than two months after taking the case, the team secured a dismissal with prejudice of the petition. The team dedicated 2,400 hours to obtaining this result over the course of a couple of months of expedited proceedings.

During the course of discovery, Gibson Dunn learned that Petitioner had misrepresented facts that go to a key element of a wrongful removal claim under the Hague Convention. Specifically, Petitioner misrepresented the length of his assignment to Armenia as being a five-year fixed assignment, instead of just a one-year fixed term. This was a critical misrepresentation, because his employment was the only evidence that their children allegedly “habitually resided” in Armenia. The team also uncovered several documents showing that Petitioner continuously claimed to his employer that his place of habitual residence was Portugal, his country of nationality. Finally, the team unearthed and catalogued evidence of spoliation by Petitioner, who deleted over one hundred messages evidencing years of psychological, emotional, and domestic abuse against our client and their children.

In parallel, the team prepared its pre-trial briefing, proposed conclusions of law, and findings of fact. Gibson Dunn argued that Petitioner’s affirmative case on the “habitual residence” element was entirely meritless, and that the “grave risk” exception applied because Petitioner had a long history of domestic violence. Under this exception, a court need not order the return of a child if it would expose the child to a grave risk of physical or psychological harm. In an unusual move, Petitioner filed a motion to continue trial, seeking to delay trial until well into 2025. Gibson Dunn opposed, arguing that delay would be prejudicial to our client and their children, and was not necessary under the circumstances. The Court agreed, ordering the parties to be prepared for trial on October 29.

In light of these filings, and with the Court signaling it would make some adverse inferences against Petitioner and/or Petitioner’s counsel, Petitioner voluntarily moved to dismiss his case with prejudice one week before trial. Gibson Dunn opposed, arguing that trial should proceed or that the dismissal with prejudice should be with conditions. The Court ultimately agreed, and we were able to secure additional conditions that would not ordinarily have been available following trial, including that Petitioner must not seek return of the children to Armenia and that Petitioner would be subject to stay-away and other orders to protect Ms. Dias and her children.

The Gibson Dunn team included attorneys in the Los Angeles and San Francisco offices: Thad Davis, Danielle Hesse, Rommy Flores, Will Feldman, Aaron J. Cheung, Nicole Waddick, and Monica K. Van.

Texas Parole Team (Cross-Office)

In 2024, a Gibson Dunn team from the Dallas and Houston offices obtained parole for Ms. W, a woman who had been incarcerated as the result of a nonviolent crime she committed after several cycles of domestic abuse and while dealing with addiction. This was the Firm’s inaugural matter in a new partnership with the University of Texas Law School’s Parole Project, an initiative in which we provide direct representation to women incarcerated in Texas as they seek parole. Houston associate Janiel Myers and Dallas associate Arjun Ogale, together with Dallas partner Christine Demana, prepared a parole packet that included an in-depth explanation of the client’s background both before and during her time in custody, a detailed and customized reentry plan, family/friend/community leader letters of support, and other materials.

After wading through bureaucracy and red tape to obtain education and medical records, spending hours on the phone with our client and her family and supporters, drafting a compelling letter brief, and compiling letters of support and other hearing materials, the team filed the complete packet with the court. Subsequently, they prepared witnesses (including one of Ms. W’s children, a successful young adult) to speak and represented Ms. W at her hearing.

Soon after the hearing, the team learned that the panel had voted in favor of parole, pending Ms. W’s completion of a treatment program. Ms. W and her family are thrilled with the outcome of this representation, and she is excited to put the G.E.D. she earned while incarcerated to good use upon her release.

Staff Award Winners

Lidia Meza (Los Angeles) Lidia Meza, a secretary based in Los Angeles, has demonstrated exceptional dedication, compassion, and resourcefulness in supporting pro bono efforts within the Firm. She has consistently gone above and beyond in assisting attorneys with pro bono matters, particularly immigration matters, often taking on roles that extend far beyond the typical responsibilities of a legal secretary. For example, Lidia frequently offers live interpretation assistance on matters for Spanish-speaking clients—even offering to interpret at off-hours when more convenient for the client and team. To ensure clients feel comfortable, she has taken the initiative to read up on local expressions and terminology that might come up in the discussion. She also has taken the initiative to arrange transportation, coordinate meetings, and ensure clients are able to attend important events and receive important documents timely despite logistical and financial hardships. Her attention to detail and proactive approach have significantly reduced barriers to access for clients who might otherwise be unable to participate fully in their legal proceedings. Finally, Lidia is a joy to be around and has served as a compassionate point of contact for clients, truly going the extra mile to ensure clients feel heard, understood, and supported throughout their legal journeys.

Martha Rivas (Palo Alto) Martha Rivas, an office services clerk in Palo Alto and native Spanish speaker, regularly volunteers to help attorneys conduct meetings with Spanish-speaking pro bono clients. Martha has been particularly helpful with reassuring pro bono clients during stressful times, and she has helped explain complex topics for our clients. She has even been willing to share her own personal experiences to help connect with clients and ensure they feel comfortable speaking to our attorneys. In one case, for example, Martha played a lead role in communicating with an unaccompanied minor client. Many of our conversations with this client touched on sensitive topics and traumatic experiences, which made it difficult for the client to open up. Despite these challenging topics, Martha succeeded in building a relationship with the client, fostering an environment where the client felt comfortable sharing candidly about her experiences. Martha has provided invaluable contributions to Palo Alto office’s culture and pro bono work, serving as a prime example of how all members of the Firm can come together to support our clients.