Taft Minneapolis partner Aaron Thomas and associate Trish Palermo were recently recognized by the Great North Innocence Project (GNIP) for their pro bono work supporting exonerated client Marvin Haynes as he pursues justice following his wrongful conviction.

Thomas and Palermo are contributing their legal acumen and passion for justice pro bono to ensure that Haynes is eventually able to access important resources after nearly two decades of wrongful imprisonment. Palermo worked on Marvin’s case during her second and third years of law school at the University of Minnesota as part of the university’s Innocence Clinic. To read the article, visit here.

Since its inception in 2001, the Great North Innocence Project has represented people who were wrongfully convicted for crimes they did not commit. GNIP also educates attorneys and criminal justice professionals on best practices and works to reform the criminal justice system to prevent wrongful convictions and other unjust results in criminal cases.

Thomas is a partner in Taft’s Commercial Litigation practice and serves as the Minneapolis litigation group chair. He represents a broad range of corporate clients in all manners and phases of high-stakes and complex commercial litigation. Palermo focuses her practice on all aspects of commercial litigation. Prior to joining Taft, she worked as a summer law clerk for the Neighborhood Justice Center and as a judicial extern to the Hon. Nancy E. Brasel, District of Minnesota.