PRO BONO SPOTLIGHT

Marc Hearron

Senior Counsel at the Center for Reproductive Rights

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Win Now or Survive to Fight Another Day

The bombshell that was the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization stunned many in the United States and around the world. But Marc Hearron, Senior Counsel at the Center for Reproductive Rights, together with his colleagues, had been preparing. Marc has fought to protect legal access to abortion for years. “After such a big shock to our jurisprudence, we’re now thinking long term about rebuilding reproductive rights in the U.S. from the ground up,” Marc says. With so much uncertainty about state-by-state abortion restrictions, the Center is also fielding healthcare providers’ questions on complying with onerous constraints. “Partly, clients just want to know if someone will help if they get sued,” Marc says. “We tell them of the whole litany of lawyers already standing up for them, which gives them some assurance.” Marc joined the Center in 2019 and now helps lead a team of 20 litigators challenging U.S. laws that restrict reproductive rights. Current cases contest state trigger bans (laws that banned abortion once Roe was overruled), as well as laws that forbid telemedicine and ban qualified clinicians from performing abortions. Marc and his colleagues, in partnership with Morrison Foerster, recently filed a groundbreaking case against the State of Texas on behalf of five women who were denied abortion care after facing severe and dangerous pregnancy complications. The Center maintains offices worldwide and in New York and Washington, D.C., and often partners in litigation with other reproductive rights and justice organizations. The Center has long partnered with Morrison Foerster in litigation in Texas and Louisiana, including three cases that went to the U.S. Supreme Court. “We work in every continent to ensure maternal health and expand access to contraceptives and abortion. As the U.S. moves backward, Latin America and therest of the world are moving forward,” Marc says. “So, we’re looking to apply the lessons learned in Ireland, Argentina, Colombia, and Mexico to the U.S.”

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We work in every continent to ensure maternal health and expand access to contraceptives and abortion. As the U.S. moves backward, Latin America and the rest of the world are moving forward..."

Bringing the fight to each battle Marc brings seasoned firepower to each battle. In November 2021, Marc argued Whole Woman’s Health v. Jackson in the U.S. Supreme Court, which challenged Texas SB 8, a six-week abortion ban enforced through civil lawsuits seeking $10,000 or more against anyone who performs or assists an outlawed abortion. Then after the Dobbs ruling, Marc partnered with Morrison Foerster to maintain abortion access in Texas for as long as possible. “We got an injunction after Dobbs that allowed abortion providers to perform services for just three days, but that gave our clients and their patients some semblance of control in the middle of all the chaos,” Marc says. Now, Marc and his team are addressing an ongoing health crisis. Hospitals are denying or delaying treatment to patients who have dangerous, emergent obstetrical conditions because of state abortion bans. Doctors in Texas fear up to 99 years of imprisonment if they provide an abortion in reliance on the state ban’s medical emergency exception, even though offering termination may be the standard of care. Cross-border issues can also get tricky. “We are in the midst of the first state legislative sessions after Dobbs,” Marc says. “Some state legislatures are considering enacting laws that would prevent patients from accessing healthcare in a different state.” Right now, Marc and his colleagues at the Center are engaging in what may be a decades-long process to restore abortion rights state by state and eventually at the federal level. Thankfully, he received the best training a lawyer can get. The best legal training possible “Pro bono work at MoFo is the best legal training a lawyer can get at a firm,” Marc says. “It can give you an opportunity to run the case, deal directly with clients, and even as an associate or junior partner, get to do the oral argument.” Marc took on many pro bono cases regarding reproductive rights, LGBTQ+ rights, and other issues as a partner in MoFo’s Appellate & Supreme Court practice from 2015 to 2018 and an associate from 2007 to 2014. In the Ninth Circuit, Marc successfully argued in National Abortion Federation v. Center for Medical Progress, which affirmed an injunction barring the release of secretly recorded videos activists leaked to smear abortion providers. “That was rewarding,” he says. “It was my first experience directly working with abortion advocates and seeing some of the underhanded tactics in the anti-abortion movement.” In the Fifth Circuit case June Medical Services v. Gee, Marc represented Hope Medical Group, opposing a Louisiana law that would have shut down most of the state’s clinics. The case resulted in a U.S. Supreme Court victory in 2020. At MoFo, Marc initially worked with Beth Brinkmann, Brian Matsui, and Ketanji Brown Jackson. Ruth Borenstein was a great friend and mentor whom Marc knew would always listen and talk through any issues. Marc found mentorship in Joe Palmore, and Deanne Maynard was his most significant mentor. “Working with such smart people, you must think very deeply,” Marc says. Eleven years of rigorous challenges from brilliant colleagues and mentors also sharpened Marc’s writing skills, which he now uses to help junior lawyers hone their writing.

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Pro bono work at MoFo is the best legal training a lawyer can get at a firm. It can give you an opportunity to run the case, deal directly with clients, and even as an associate or junior partner, get to do the oral argument.

Answer when opportunity knocks Marc attributes his career success to a policy of saying yes to opportunities. “Jump at every opportunity, even if it’s a stretch,” Marc says. He once spent six weeks in Morrison Foerster’s Tokyo office helping people develop writing skills, jumping on a plane only five days after being asked. He credits Deanne Maynard for his outlook after she offered him advice that Justice Stevens had given her: “When you are thinking about your next plan, don’t be thinking about two jobs down the road. Do what sounds fun.” “If an opportunity sounds fun, go do it, and make the most out of it,” Marc explains. “You can’t predict where your opportunities will come from. But doing something rewarding right now is in your control. And if you’re enjoying your work, you’ll dive into it, and then you’ll be fine in the future.” Working with many people in multiple practice areas at MoFo, including Michael Jacobs and Rachel Krevans, also gave Marc insight into different types of clients and areas of the law to build his career. “Sometimes, the work may seem uninteresting, but it’s opening the door for the next opportunity. It’s building important relationships,” Marc says. It’s a lesson he benefited from firsthand after leaving MoFo.

Relationships open doors After MoFo, Marc worked for a short time as Senior Counsel for Ranking Member Dianne Feinstein on the Senate Judiciary Committee. Then, when an opportunity arose at the Center, true to his philosophy, Marc said yes, leading to the next phase of his career. At the Center, Marc enjoys working with a team and interacting with clients, calling it the most rewarding part of the job. “I even discovered that depositions are really fun to take,” he jokes. Yet Marc also brings a highly skilled perspective to the role, saying, “Much of the work is strategic. We’re thinking about how to shape the law. My federal appellate court expertise helps in preparing cases at the trial court level for successful appeals.” Once again, Marc is relying on tactics he learned while at MoFo. “I interacted with intensely talented people at MoFo to develop strategies for turning what appears to be a likely loss into a win—or losing the right way, so you live to fight another day.”

Marc has many more days of fighting ahead. Currently, the Center needs help from lawyers with state court experience, as well as criminal lawyers to assist with compliance issues. Learn how you can get involved.

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