Pro Bono Initiatives 2007
Pro bono service has long been an important part of the work of Sullivan & Cromwell. In keeping with this tradition, our lawyers engaged in a broad range of pro bono activities in 2007, achieving results for diverse groups of individuals in need of legal representation and for legal, charitable and government organizations. The Firm s work included both individual pro bono initiatives undertaken by lawyers and ongoing Firm signature projects.
Commitment and Leadership Since I arrived in October of last year, it has been my pleasure to serve as the Special Counsel for Pro Bono Initiatives at Sullivan & Cromwell. Having come from a background dedicated to public interest lawyering and clinical law teaching, I wasn t sure what pro bono would be like in a large firm. Marcia Levy, Special Counsel, Pro Bono Initiatives I knew that S&C had a long tradition of pro bono service on matters referred by many different legal services organizations, in impact cases such as Bivens v. 6 Unknown Agents, 403 U.S. 338 (1971), and through signature projects like the New York Hospital AIDS clinic. I liked the fact that pro bono wasn t mandatory, but was encouraged with respect for each individual s interests and that each and every pro bono matter was treated the same as a paying matter in terms of time, commitment and resources. I have discovered that pro bono and public service is infused throughout the culture of the Firm, making its impact felt not only on the clients whom we serve, but on the professional development of the lawyers who give of their time so generously. The last year has seen a tremendous growth in pro bono at the Firm. We have created even more pro bono projects, focusing on issues on which we can make an impact and ones that further the development of our lawyers as professionals. A new project with the New York State Division of Human Rights enables our lawyers to represent individuals who have claims of discrimination in administrative law hearings. The Appleseed project allows a team of lawyers to provide research and innovative legal approaches to the issue of affordable housing for NYC teachers. Our Transgender Name Change Clinic has provided legal representation to individuals who seek to have their names fit their chosen gender. 2
We continue to work closely with established providers to handle individual matters involving issues including asylum, social security, housing and post-conviction relief. We funded an Equal Justice Works fellow, who has devoted her work to victims of domestic violence. I have discovered that pro bono and public service is infused throughout the culture of the Firm, making its impact felt not only on the clients whom we serve, but on the professional development of the lawyers who give of their time so generously. In addition to this wide range of pro bono issues, the Firm takes a very broad approach to public interest work. So, in addition to pro bono representation, firm lawyers, paralegals and secretaries work on community projects such as mock trial competitions, do work on behalf of educational institutions and have sought to preserve election rights. Firm lawyers sit on boards of nonprofits. All of these efforts make a huge impact on those who might not otherwise have access to our resources. We have been honored for our efforts, but, more importantly, we feel honored to be able to serve our profession and the community by helping those who otherwise might go unserved. We are pleased to provide this report of our pro bono work in 2007. 3
Year in Review In 2007, Sullivan & Cromwell lawyers engaged in a broad range of pro bono activities, achieving results for diverse groups of individuals in need of legal representation and for legal, charitable and government organizations. The Firm s work included both individual pro bono initiatives undertaken by lawyers and ongoing Firm signature projects. The breadth of pro bono matters handled and the results achieved are representative of S&C s depth of expertise across a range of practice areas, including General Practice, Litigation, Tax and Estates and Personal matters. Sullivan & Cromwell devoted more than 54,000 hours, or roughly 82 hours per lawyer, to public service matters in 2007. There were 239 lawyers who spent 20 hours or more on qualified matters. The average number of pro bono legal service hours per lawyer was roughly 49. INDIVIDUAL PRO BONO INITIATIVES S&C lawyers handled a wide variety of pro bono matters this past year, spanning a number of timely social issues. Recent matters included the following: Asylum S&C lawyers successfully assisted on a pro bono basis numerous refugees from around the world in their efforts to obtain asylum from all nature of persecutions, including political, religious and gender-based persecution. The Firm s lawyers obtained asylum for immigrants from countries including Togo, Uzbekistan, Chad, Mali, Guinea and Nepal, among many others. Ongoing asylum matters include the representation of a Honduran lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and women s rights activist. The woman had been persecuted as a result of her sexual orientation and membership in feminist and gay activist groups and was forced to flee to the U.S. 4
Criminal Defense The Firm s lawyers are selected to serve pro bono on the Criminal Justice Act Panels in the U.S. District Courts for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York. As such, they represent indigent defendants in federal criminal cases pre-trial, at trial, and on appeal. The Firm s lawyers also represent pro bono clients around the country in various habeas corpus matters, in post-conviction death row proceedings and in federal narcotics prosecutions. In addition, S&C associates serve as Special Assistant District Attorneys in the Kings County District Attorney s Office Appeals Bureau. Working under the supervision of a full-time Assistant District Attorney in the Appeals Bureau, the associates who serve as Special Assistant District Attorneys represent the Office in criminal appeals filed in the New York State Supreme Court, Second Appellate Division. Discrimination S&C lawyers volunteer for the Employment Discrimination Pro Bono Mediation Panel for the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, through which lawyers represent pro se plaintiffs in mediating their employment discrimination claims. The Firm s lawyers have also entered into co-counsel arrangements with the ACLU LGBT Project on various sexual orientation discrimination issues. One relates to the availability of benefits at the NYPD, which has not offered the same benefits to officers same-sex domestic partners as it has to married officers spouses. Another relates to litigation alleging discrimination against students on the basis of sexual orientation. 5
Year in Review INDIVIDUAL PRO BONO INITIATIVES, continued Domestic Violence S&C lawyers represent and counsel battered women in conjunction with organizations such as inmotion, Inc., Sanctuary for Families and Refugee Assistance Center to help battered immigrant women and children gain legal residency under the federal Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) and provide representation in Family Court and in contested and uncontested divorce proceedings. Ongoing matters include, among many others, representing a woman from Latvia in seeking to reopen deportation proceedings by filing a VAWA petition, representing a client in seeking the continuation of a protective order and sole custody of her son, and representing a victim of domestic violence in seeking an uncontested divorce. Homelessness The Firm s lawyers are handling a corporate governance review for The Partnership for the Homeless, Inc., a not-for-profit organization that provides services to homeless persons in New York City and advocates for policies to help eliminate the root causes of homelessness. International Impact The Firm s lawyers handled the initial incorporation and organization of Rwanda Gift for Life, a not-for-profit organization that supports women in Rwanda who were raped during the genocide and are now living with AIDS. S&C lawyers are also assisting the Public International Law & Policy Group s Constitutional Committee in Baghdad on the drafting of a new constitution for Iraq. 6
SIGNATURE PROJECTS In addition to the individual pro bono matters handled by the Firm s lawyers, Sullivan & Cromwell sponsors several Firm pro bono projects and community activities. In 2007, the Firm sponsored several new projects including: Appleseed Teacher Housing Project, an exciting new initia- tive in which associates can work in collaboration with Appleseed, a nonprofit network of public interest justice centers in the U.S. and Mexico, to provide affordable housing for New York City teachers. This project is an important way to support public education in New York City, which has difficulty recruiting and retaining teachers, in part because of the lack of affordable housing. NYC Law Department Deposition Public Service Program, which allows S&C lawyers who have gone through the Firm s deposition skills training program to take depositions on behalf of the NYC Law Department s Brooklyn Tort Division. New York State Division of Human Rights (NYSDHR), which adjudicates discrimination claims brought under the New York Human Rights Law in employment, housing, credit, places of public accommodations and nonsectarian educational institutions based on race, national origin, age, gender, sexual orientation, disability, military status and other protected classes. S&C lawyers and paralegals participate in training and then represent individual complainants who have filed complaints with the NYSDHR at administrative hearings. Sanctuary for Families U Visa Project, which assists immi- grants, many of whom are victims of domestic violence and have cooperated with the district attorney s office in a prosecution, with their eligibility for U Visas and work permits. S&C lawyers and legal assistants interview the applicants, gather all relevant documents and complete and submit the applications. The Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund s name change clinic, which services low-income members of the transgender community in New York who are seeking to change their legal name to conform to their gender identity. 7
Year in Review S &C also continued its commitment to a broad array of programs, from mentoring minority students to earning top honors in blood drives and helping the environment. Highlighted below are just a few of the Firm s ongoing pro bono and community projects. AIDS Clinic 2007 marked the seventeenth year that Sullivan & Cromwell has hosted a weekly legal clinic at New York-Presbyterian Hospital s Center for Special Studies and its related Gay Men s Health Crisis satellite location in which the Firm s lawyers provide valuable estate planning services to impoverished AIDS and HIV-positive patients. Since 1989, the Firm has dedicated more than 11,000 hours to this project. The Pipeline Crisis/Winning Strategies Initiative The Pipeline Crisis/Winning Strategies Initiative was launched in 2006 by S&C, Goldman Sachs and Harvard Law School s Charles Hamilton Houston Institute for Race & Justice to address the social and economic conditions that have significantly reduced the number of young black men in the pipeline to higher education and professional endeavors. The event generated a remarkable level of interest and hope. On July 13, 2007, the Pipeline Crisis/Winning Strategies Initiative held its second summer forum in New York City. The forum focused on the widening achievement gap between young black men and the rest of society, and attracted over 1,000 people representing nearly every sphere of corporate and public life, including New York s legal, financial, business, government, academic and media communities. By reconvening, the Initiative, which has received considerable attention and support, has continued its momentum. 8
Equal Justice Works The Firm s Equal Justice Works Fellowships Program creates partnerships among public interest lawyers, nonprofit organizations, and law firm/corporate sponsors in an effort to provide underrepresented populations with valuable and effective access to the justice system. Under this program, the Firm supports a new lawyer in a two-year assignment at a nonprofit public interest organization where the lawyer implements projects that address critical community needs. The Firm s 2006-2008 Fellow, Vivian Lehrer, works with the Urban Justice Center s Domestic Violence Project, providing Latina domestic violence survivors throughout New York City with legal services, advocacy, outreach and community education on legal and immigration rights. Ms. Lehrer also oversees student interns in outreach efforts and offers pro bono opportunities to associates who are equally dedicated to providing support to victims of domestic violence. RECOGNITIONS S&C consistently ranks among the leaders of large firms in participation in pro bono and other public service activities. In 2007, S&C garnered top accolades for its outstanding commitment to pro bono work: The Firm was honored by the Legal Aid Society at its annual Pro Bono Awards Ceremony. The ceremony recognized 33 law firms that have provided significant pro bono support to the Legal Aid Society, and the individual lawyers who worked on particular cases. S&C was named as one of only nine law firms with more than ten attorneys who qualified as 2007 Empire State Counsel Honorees, each having provided at least 50 hours of pro bono service. STRIVE, Inc. honored S&C with its Corporate Angel Award for the Firm s efforts in developing the Pipeline Crisis/ Winning Strategies Initiative. STRIVE is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to preparing hard-to-employ individuals to enter the workforce and to finding them long-term employment. 9
The Firm s Full Support Sullivan & Cromwell s public service activities are coordinated by the Firm s Special Counsel for Pro Bono Initiatives, along with the Firm s five-partner Public Service Committee. In 2007, S&C created the position of Special Counsel for Pro Bono Initiatives to enhance the Firm s deep commitment to pro bono work and broaden the opportunities and types of pro bono matters. In addition, the Firm has designated a day-to-day coordinator of pro bono activities. The coordinators seek out challenging and rewarding public service opportunities. The Firm creates numerous opportunities for all lawyers, summer associates and legal assistants to participate in public service activities. In recognition of the varying interests of its lawyers, the Firm broadly defines public service to encompass pro bono litigation and legal advice, transactional representations, civil rights programs, bar association and related professional work, and governmental, legal, educational, charitable, cultural and religious endeavors. The Michael A. Cooper Award for Outstanding Pro Bono Service is an annual award made to the lawyer who has provided exemplary pro bono service in keeping with the Firm s tradition. In determining the recipient of the award, the Pro Bono Committee considers all facets of the pro bono work performed the number of pro bono matters handled, the complexity of the matters, the number of clients served, the results of the representation, the impact of the representation on the community and the consistency of the representation with the Firm s pro bono tradition. The Firm donates $5,000 in the name of the recipient to a charity of the recipient s choice. 10
Sources of Referrals and Cooperating Organizations Sullivan & Cromwell has developed strong ties with organizations that bring matters to the Firm s attention and/or cooperate with lawyers from the Firm in performing pro bono services. These organizations include: The American Civil Liberties Union Appleseed The Battery Conservancy The Brennan Center for Justice Bridges Community Ventures The Center for Reproductive Law & Policy The Children s Law Center City Bar Justice Center The Coalition for the Homeless Council of the City of New York Criminal Justice Act Panel, EDNY The Greater D.C. Cares Social Circle Housing Conservation Coordinators Human Rights First inmotion, Inc. The Innocence Project Kings County District Attorney s Office Lambda Lawyers Alliance of New York Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles The Legal Aid Society NAACP National Association for Social Workers New York City Gay and Lesbian Anti-Violence Project New York Civil Liberties Union New York Lawyers for the Public Interest New York Legal Assistance Group The Partnership for the Homeless Prisoners Legal Services Pro Bono Institute Pro Bono Net Pro Bono Panels of the Southern & Eastern Districts of New York Public Interest Law Initiative Public International Law and Policy Group Refugee Assistance Center Robin Hood Foundation Safe Horizon Domestic Violence Law Project Sanctuary for Families School on Wheels Tahiri Justice Center Transgender Legal Defense & Education Fund The Urban Justice Center Vera Institute of Justice Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts Volunteers of Legal Services 11
Claire Hunter: 2008 Recipient of the Michael A. Cooper Award for Outstanding Pro Bono Service Since first joining S&C as a summer associate, Claire Hunter has always made time for pro bono matters. She has been involved in post-conviction work on behalf of death row inmates, represented victims of domestic violence in uncontested divorces, participated in non-partisan election protection work and written an amicus brief in a case involving abortion rights. Since handling her first asylum matter, Ms. Hunter was hooked and she has developed a passion for and expertise in helping clients resolve the legal and personal issues that characterize asylum matters. In 2006, Claire handled the case of a young woman who had fled Togo, after being sold into slavery by her family and forced into prostitution by the Togolese military. After a sympathizer in Togo obtained a false passport for her, she fled to the U.S. with only a few dollars and the clothes on her back. Claire Hunter Then, in 2007, Claire represented a political activist from Togo, who had escaped the country after being persecuted on the basis of his affiliation with a government opposition party. As a result of his political activities, he had been threatened with death, and physically and sexually abused. Both of Claire s clients had been denied asylum at their initial interview, and their cases were referred to S&C at the merits hearing phase. After Claire represented them in immigration court, both were granted asylum. These cases are fascinating and so rewarding, Claire says. Pro bono provides a great training ground. The Firm, she stresses, has been 100% supportive providing everything from financial resources to guidance and moral support. 12
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