The firm honored the teams and individuals who made extraordinary pro bono contributions in the past year at our 30th Annual Pro Bono Awards on July 19, 2022, at the Hudson Yards office. The event was hosted by Pro Bono Counsel Anthony Perez Cassino, Deputy Pro Bono Counsel Rebecca Heller and Atara Miller, a partner in the Litigation & Arbitration Group and a member of the firm’s Executive Committee. Milbank attorneys, summer associates and business services professionals attended the hybrid event, with many others joining the celebration virtually.
Lawyers were recognized for a wide range of pro bono achievements, such as addressing inequity in the criminal justice and immigration systems, supporting efforts that promote women’s rights, civil rights, anti-discrimination, healthcare and debt relief, and providing COVID-related assistance. The evening’s program also recognized an Honor Roll of 122 lawyers and legal assistants who contributed 100 or more pro bono hours over the past year.
In 2021, the firm provided more than 57,000 pro bono hours worldwide and worked on nearly 700 matters. In the United States, our lawyers contributed an average of 72 hours per lawyer.
Milbank is ranked 19th in The American Lawyer 2022 Pro Bono Scorecard, which grades the top 200 US law firms based on pro bono hours contributed and breadth of commitment; the firm was ranked 24th in last year’s list. Milbank also rose to 13th, from 15th last year, in the “breadth of commitment” category, which is based on the percentage of US lawyers with more than 20 hours of pro bono service.
In her introductory remarks, Ms. Miller discussed Milbank’s tireless focus on pro bono over the past 30 years. “Ours is probably one of the longest-running pro bono programs of its kind at any law firm,” Ms. Miller said. “The numbers are staggering – more than 1.25 million hours and 4,500 cases through the decades. We should be proud of what we’ve built here, together, and of the commitment to public service we’ve engrained in our firm.
Mr. Cassino presented personalized awards to the honorees for their accomplishments. The past year’s notable matters include:
- An amicus brief in the US Supreme Court in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization – the case that overturned Roe v Wade – in support of reproductive justice scholars regarding the relationship between the right to an abortion and racial justice. Team: Gary Frischling, Erin Culbertson, Lena Bruce, Elvira Razzano, Rachel Wolf.
- The resentencing of a man sentenced to life without parole for a crime that he committed when he was a child. He had served more than 25 years in the Louisiana State Penitentiary. Team: Errol Taylor, Erin Culbertson, Tom Quinn, Peter Rosania, Dani Lee, Grace Green, Jim McGuire.
- The resentencing of Bart Stewart, who had served decades in the Louisiana State Penitentiary for a murder he committed at the age of 16. Team: Alexander Lees, David Gelfand, Matthew Grier, Joseph Kammerman, Christopher Almon, Joseph DaSilva, Vanessa Gonzalez-Ahmed, Ashley Satterlee, Jordan Anderson, Chassity Bobbitt, Lyndsey Pere, Isabel Pitaro.
- The dismissal of a murder conviction and subsequent freeing of an innocent man after 16 years in prison. Team: Alan Stone, Matthew Laroche, Will Denker, Marguerite O’Brien, Jordan Fernandes, Barrett Mills, Sandhya Ramaswamy.
- Winning the battle to provide medical services to incarcerated New Yorkers. Team: Sean Murphy, Katherine Fell, Chassity Bobbitt, Jamie Bircoll, Michael Dauber, Catherine Cerbone, Grace Green, Lisette Leon.
- Successfully appealing a marriage fraud ruling for an immigrant spouse. Team: Stacey Rappaport, Jonathan Lamberti, Sohee Rho, Christopher Almon, Haley Ling.
- Discharging student loan debt for a US Army veteran facing undue hardship. Team: Dennis Dunne, Edward Linden, Matthew Laroche, Lauren Knoke, Jamie Bircoll.
- Harnessing the power of music to help those with cognitive conditions. Team: John Franchini, Max Goodman, Alexander Shapos, James Beebe.
- Successfully negotiating a settlement for loans made by a nonprofit that offers small business loans to startup and existing small-business owners in underserved areas of Los Angeles. Team: Mohammad Tehrani, William Schumacher, Allan Marks, Huanbo Zeng.
- Assisting an organization in New York City that supports local artists with its lease-related matters. Team: Erwin Dweck, Elliot Ganchrow, Kevin Mu.
- Helping long-time client Public International Law & Policy Group (PILPG) to prepare a legal handbook to advise South Sudanese civil society organizations on gender mainstreaming in transitional justice. Team: Blair Tyson, Pinky Mehta, Christina Welch, Hannah West, Christine Qin, Kei Kitatani, Fatima Bazzi, Francesca Allegra, Zhen Kua, Flora Wang, Zoe Ng.
- Successfully representing a client in a criminal appeal in New York’s First Department of the Appellate Division. Team: Sandhya Ramaswamy, Aaron Renenger, John Estep, Julia Duke.
