Mayer Brown Achieves Pro Bono Victory In Gun Case

Mayer Brown litigators in Chicago obtained a not guilty verdict in a possession of guns case on behalf of a young woman who had never been arrested. After a bench trial, the judge ruled that the defendant did not knowingly possess one of the guns, did not possess the second gun long enough for it to be a voluntary possession, and that the woman had been forced to take the gun. The defendant had received an emergency phone call to come to an apartment where her then-boyfriend stayed. After rushing to the apartment and finding blood all over, two gang members forced the guns into her purse and shoved her out of the door where police were already waiting. The team included partner Lori Lightfoot, associate Emily Cohen Rossi Vermylen and Pro Bono Advisor Marc Kadish.