Winston & Strawn Honored for Outstanding Pro Bono Work in the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals

Working with the Family Defense Center, Winston & Strawn donated in excess of 3,400 pro bono hours to two cases challenging certain child removal decisions made by employees of the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services. Both cases sought to establish limitations on DFCS' authority to keep children from their parents, and both led to favorable settlements for the families. In one case, the settlement was reached following a successful appeal that set out new guidelines for when DFCS may take and retain custody of children and held that DFCS-initiated "safety plans" are not per se voluntary but rather must be reviewed for their circumstances. The decision has become one of the most significant in the field of child welfare law.