Kasowitz recognizes the importance of providing pro bono services to individuals and organizations unable to afford quality legal representation and is committed to providing the same aggressive and effective representation of its pro bono clients as any other firm clients. The firm encourages its attorneys to take on pro bono and other public service matters in which they are interested. In addition to handling pro bono matters, our attorneys serve on the boards of legal services organizations and are involved in advising various community and not-for-profit organizations. Legal experience obtained and hours worked on pro bono matters are treated comparably to experience and hours on other client matters in making advancement and compensation determinations. The firm’s pro bono matters are coordinated by
David J. Abrams, a litigation partner in the New York office.
The firm handles matters referred by various legal services organizations and courts, including, among others, The Legal Aid Society, inMotion, New York Lawyers for the Public Interest, Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts, Human Rights First, Immigration Equality, the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (HIAS), the Veteran Advocacy Project (affiliated with the Urban Justice Center), Kids in Need of Defense (KIND) and the SNDY Pro Se Office. The firm is also proud to be one of the Legal Aid Society’s Sustaining Law Firms, as well as a Corporate Sponsor of inMotion.
Kasowitz attorneys have handled pro bono cases involving a wide array of issues, including child custody and support, uncontested divorces, political asylum, immigration, landlord-tenant, government benefits, employment discrimination, special education and civil rights. In the last two years, as its pro bono program has expanded, the firm’s ranking in the annual AmLaw Pro Bono Report has improved by almost 20%. In addition, the firm has recently been honored by The Legal Aid Society as one of the recipients of its Pro Bono Publico Award for outstanding service to The Legal Aid Society and its clients.
Examples of some of the pro bono matters recently handled by the firm’s attorneys include the following:
- Representing refugees from Tibet, Bhutan, Sudan (Darfur), Brazil, Guinea and other countries in applying for political asylum and handling related immigration issues, including family reunifications. In the summer of 2009, the firm worked with HIAS to successfully reunite a Darfuri family caught in an immigration loophole. More recently, Kasowitz attorneys have successfully reunited several additional Darfuri families with their young children who were originally not eligible to come to the U.S. Click here for more information on these joyful reunifications.
- Representing refugees from Jamaica, Sri Lanka, Brazil and other countries who were persecuted on account of their sexual orientation in applying for asylum in the United States.
- Representing unaccompanied immigrant children facing removal from the United States to apply for asylum or special immigrant status.
- Representing victims of domestic abuse and other disadvantaged mothers in obtaining custody orders, divorces and additional child support in conjunction with inMotion. Click here for a thank you note from a pro bono client.
- Representing disabled and low-income veterans in child support and custody proceedings and other matters.
- Representing public housing tenants in defending against proceedings to remove them from NYCHA housing.
- Representing Holocaust survivors who lived in a German-controlled ghetto in an ongoing screening and clinic program to apply for reparations under a recent program funded by the German Government and under a recently-reopened additional reparations program.
- Representing a victim of pregnancy discrimination. The Kasowitz attorneys who worked on this matter were presented with a 2010 Pro Bono Award by The Legal Aid Society.
- Representing an inmate, who was allegedly beaten by prison guards, in obtaining a favorable settlement. The Kasowitz attorneys who worked on this matter were presented with a 2008 Pro Bono Award by The Legal Aid Society.