Pro bono spotlight: Amy Conway

Attorneys play a vital role in ensuring access to justice, and Amy Conway, a partner at Stinson LLP, exemplifies this through her dedication to pro bono work, including more than 15 years volunteering with Children’s Law Center of Minnesota (CLC). “I started volunteering at CLC as a law student,” she recalls, “filing physical papers—the case progress reports that are now electronic!—in client files.”  Conway’s commitment to CLC’s mission has continued since her time at the University of Minnesota Law School. She now volunteers alongside other attorneys, representing children and youths as they navigate Minnesota’s child protection system. 

For Conway, ensuring access to justice is crucial. She emphasizes the need for everyone to have access to the legal system, noting that it doesn’t function effectively otherwise. “There are so many valuable and important pro bono causes, but I particularly love working with children because I want them to be able to see that their voice matters early on. I also love being able to just be a mentor and hopefully a consistent adult resource in these kids’ lives.” 

Conway’s pro bono work involves guiding clients through the intricacies of the child protection system, from initial removal from their homes to finding a safe, permanent solution if reunification isn’t possible. “One of the most rewarding parts of these cases is seeing when a child finds or can return to a safe, stable, and happy home.  

“I’ve learned how important it is to keep learning and doing things that make you remember why you wanted to be an attorney in the first place. I know a lot of lawyers go to law school because we want to help people, and then get stuck doing one pretty narrow thing that might not always feel like helping people.” Conway’s work with CLC gets her outside the comfort zone of her regular practice and keeps her on her feet. More importantly, she notes, volunteering positively impacts the community in a tangible way. Conway attributes her ability to make time for pro bono to “a lot of caffeine.”

A notable aspect of CLC’s mission that Conway highlights is advocating for what the children themselves want, rather than assuming the role of a guardian ad litem. “CLC believes firmly, as do I, that the child should have a seat at the table when adults in a courtroom are talking about what happens to them. As CLC says, the smallest voice in the courtroom should be the loudest.”