Pro Bono Spotlight: Nate Converse

When the call went out during Operation Metro Surge for attorneys to represent detained immigrants seeking habeas relief, Nate Converse answered it. The senior associate at Fredrikson & Byron, PA, was no stranger to habeas work. 

For the past five years, he has been volunteering with the Great North Innocence Project and the Mwalimu Center for Justice (in Louisiana) to represent people in capital and noncapital post-conviction cases. One case challenging the purported science behind a shaken-baby syndrome diagnosis is headed to trial this fall, where Converse and his co-counsels at GNIP hope to prove their client’s innocence.

During Operation Metro Surge, in addition to habeas work, he also volunteered with the ACLU of Minnesota, assisting with federal First Amendment lawsuits. Converse credits Fredrikson’s strong commitment to pro bono work for making it easy for him to balance his private law practice with pro bono.

Converse has experience in white collar criminal and regulatory defense and was a federal clerk. But his dedication to criminal legal system reform is more than just an alignment of experience and interest, it’s also about impact. 

“Everybody deserves an attorney—no matter the circumstances or accusations,” he explains. “All too often historical wrongs and power imbalances cause this system to break down, and justice is not served. Cases that deal with systemic breakdowns present the opportunity to achieve justice not only for the individual, but for the entire system.”

Pro bono work is also about giving back for him.

“When working with legal observers during Operation Metro Surge, I was told time and again how nonlawyer community members saw the time and effort put in by Minnesota attorneys behind the scenes, and how deeply it was appreciated,” he remembers. “I’ve never been so proud to be a member of the Minnesota bar.”