Pro Bono: Layla F. Husen

Associate, Thompson Coburn

St. Louis

Layla F. Husen remembers that she wanted a law degree because it could be such a powerful tool to help others. 

“It betters your life and the world,” she said. “You can do a lot with it.” 

Husen has certainly done a lot with hers. She was involved in the battle to free Christopher Dunn, a man who spent nearly three-and-a-half decades behind bars before his murder conviction was finally overturned. The effort involved a contentious fight with the office of Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey which lodged a flurry of appeals to keep him in prison. The issue was precipitated by the state legislature, which closed a loophole that allowed no recourse for wrongfully convicted people to be exonerated in many cases. 

“That was probably the best case of my entire life,” said Husen, a Saint Louis University graduate. “That was really important to me and I hope I get the opportunity to do more of them.” 

Husen said she has always had a passion for pro bono work, especially when it comes to civil liberties and issues related to marginalized people. She also likes to do pro bono landlord/tenant cases. 

At Thompson Coburn, her niche includes white collar crime defense and investigations. 

“Everybody is entitled to a defense and I love high-stakes litigation,” she noted, “so it is the perfect place to be.” 

She feels the same about the firm where she is building her career. 

“One of the best pieces of advice I got when I was looking for where I wanted to work was don’t just look at the makeup of women in the associates,” Husen said. “Look at the partners and find a place where you really feel like they put women at the forefront of mind.” 

She thinks things are improving for females in the legal field but parity hasn’t yet been achieved. 

“There’s work to be done and we all have to do it,” she said.