A sidebar with … Heidi Naasko

Listen to this article

For her work in poverty law in one of the busiest eviction courts in the nation, Dykema Gossett PLLC attorney Heidi A. Naasko was selected as the 2018 Pro Bono Attorney of the Year by the United Community Housing Coalition.

Naasko was chosen primarily for her support of the UCHC’s 36^th District Court Eviction Defense Clinic. She also recruited other attorneys to volunteer their time to take eviction cases to help increase the representation of defendants in eviction proceedings to reduce homelessness in Detroit.

Naasko, who is based in Ann Arbor as Dykema’s pro bono and diversity counsel, spoke with Michigan Lawyers Weekly to discuss her career in pro bono.

When did you decide to make pro bono work such a priority in your career?

I’ve been doing this since 2006, but I started at the firm as a bankruptcy associate. The partner who was managing pro bono activities was not doing it on a full-time basis. She ran a busy commercial practice then managed the pro bono practice on the side. That’s a tall order for anyone.

I was a brand-new lawyer, but I loved her job and I wanted it. In 2005, when I saw her at a retirement party, she said they were hiring a full-time pro bono counsel. She told me to apply and I did.

What hooked you into the area of poverty law over others?

I went to law school to help represent battered women. I felt like the legal system really could be used as a tactic of abuse by batterers, and I wanted to use my degree to assist survivors of domestic violence. I was very active in poverty law, specifically in women’s issues related to domestic violence while in law school.

One of the big reasons why I picked Dykema when I came out of law school and became a commercial bankruptcy lawyer at Dykema was that they had a very robust pro bono practice. That’s what initially attracted me to the law firm and what’s kept me there.

What work goes into leading the firm’s pro bono program on a national basis?

It’s very similar to a practice group leader. I manage a budget, I supervise lawyers who are doing pro bono work nationally and manage our relationships with referral sources for impactful pro bono opportunities as well.

I liaison with our counterparts around the country to make sure that Dykema is doing community-relevant and impactful work that is responding to the unmet needs of the communities that they serve.

You also have a separate caseload outside of your pro bono work, can you explain what that entails?

I also have my own substantive set of case law that I do on my own. Part of it is doing these eviction cases and the domestic violence cases that I do. I also have a pretty vibrant immigrants’ rights practice and I represent a lot of immigrant youth human trafficking victims.

My practice has developed in response to those needs that community leaders have come to me and Dykema and asked to become involved in. If they say we need lawyers, my job is to see how Dykema can best respond. Part of that response is for me to take part as one of the first volunteers so I’m best able to help our lawyers volunteer and hopefully recruit other people in the community to volunteer as it’s appropriate.

What is the impact that your work with the UCHC can make on the community?

When you’re able to inject a volunteer attorney in the process of eviction court, you can literally interrupt the cycle of homelessness by stopping an eviction. While it seems somewhat daunting to me as a non-real estate lawyer and other lawyers, it’s really inspiring and I felt compelled to act and get involved.

What do you get out of focusing your career on pro bono work as opposed to a more traditional legal practice?

I firmly believe in fairness, equity and justice. Those are principles that have always driven my life.

One of the reasons I was attracted to this profession in the first place is that your bar card is one of the most powerful cards in your wallet. I really believe it’s very powerful in equalizing the arms of justice when they need to be equalized. I feel very fortunate to not only work with a firm that shares my values but also allows me to express those values through my work.