Jodi Soucek is a paralegal at Fish & Richardson, and a part of the pro bono team working with GNIP on the case of innocent, incarcerated client, Jennifer Baldwin. She provides critical legal support to the entire team as they together pursue justice for Jennifer, who has been wrongfully incarcerated since 2019.
Great North Innocence Project: Tell us about yourself.
Jodi Soucek: I was born in the tiny farm town of Ortonville, Minnesota, moved to Florida with my family when I was 7, and made a solo return to Minnesota shortly after graduating college with my paralegal degree. I came in October when the leaves were vibrant hues of orange and yellow and I fell in love with fall. Then winter came and I realized I did not love it quite as much.
My intention was to spend “a couple years” here, get my first real adult job in the legal field, gain some professional and life experience, and move back to Florida to be closer to family. 26 years later . . . I’m still in Minnesota, still a paralegal, still loving fall, and still not loving winter.
I am a mom to two beautiful daughters, 19 and 16, who occupy my time outside of work, and the personal servant to two very spoiled cats that eat up any remnants of my spare time.
GNIP: What do you do as a pro bono volunteer with GNIP?
JS: I am a litigation paralegal with Fish & Richardson, an intellectual property law firm. Those skills, and my 26 years’ experience as a paralegal, transfer seamlessly to my pro bono role on this post-conviction case. I am tasked with ensuring that all documents are timely drafted and filed, all deadlines are met, all hearing and witness logistics are handled, and that the proverbial train stays on the track.
GNIP: How did you learn about GNIP and what made you want to volunteer with the organization?
JS: GNIP and Fish & Richardson had an existing pro bono relationship when I joined the firm. The post-conviction case I am assisting with was an active case, and a colleague assigned to it asked if it was something I would be interested in. After the very first discussion, wherein I learned what GNIP’s mission was and briefly reviewed our file materials and the facts of the case, I was on board and committed to doing whatever it took to seek justice for our client.
GNIP: What about GNIP’s mission and work speaks to you?
JS: When you allow yourself to process the fact that, even if only 1% of the inmates in American prisons were wrongfully convicted, that would mean there are roughly 12,300 innocent individuals sitting in prison - missing their children and their families, facing the same exact punishment created for the guilty, unable to live freely in the “Land of the Free” – it is heartbreaking. But when you realize that number is very likely MUCH higher, it is gut-wrenchingly difficult to sit silently to the side and allow it to happen.
GNIP provides hope for a few of those 12,300+ innocent people. They are the hand on their shoulder letting them know that there ARE people willing to fight for them – so that they can live with the same liberties and freedoms that I get to live with; so that they can watch their children grow or have the opportunity to start a family; so that they can get an education and/or a job and contribute to society; and so that they can again be afforded the right to become active participants in the legislative system – in order to ensure that their voice will be heard to enact change in the hopes that innocence projects across the country run out of cases. That is what speaks to me and that is why I invest my time and emotional energy in pro bono work for GNIP – for the opportunity to help provide even the smallest of chances that an innocent mother, father, daughter, son, brother, or sister, will get to live the life I live.
GNIP: What has been the most meaningful part of your pro bono experience so far?
JS: Having the opportunity to meet the client, to really listen to their story, and to get to know the person behind the case. So often in the legal field, we get caught up in the day-to-day grind of deadlines and documents, and it’s easy to lose sight of the big picture; but, with this case I have the opportunity to really feel the impact of my contributions and know exactly what I’m doing it for. I am always keenly aware that there is a person sitting in prison, waiting for a whisper of good news. And I want to keep fighting so I can be part of the reason we can deliver that good news.