Brooklyn Defenders' Pro Bono Unit: Summer Update
Pro Bono Assistance
Brooklyn Defender Services Pro Bono unit is closing out another successful summer of partnerships. This summer, BDS partnered with Simpson Thacher & Barlett LLP, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP, and Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel LLP to assist parents and caregivers who have been impacted by the family policing system – often referred to as the child welfare system. Volunteers from Simpson Thacher, Skadden, and Kramer Levin received comprehensive training by BDS staff on how to best support our clients in navigating their family court cases and were educated on the damaging effects of system involvement for parents, caregivers, and children.
Simpson Thacher’s team of volunteers successfully assisted seven family defense clients in their effort to clear their names from New York’s Statewide Central Register of Child Abuse and Maltreatment (SCR). Skadden’s summer associates supported five family defense clients with filing motions to vacate their SCR findings. Kramer Levin’s summer associates represented two family defense clients in their administrative hearings to challenge their inclusion on the SCR. This work is imperative to combat systems of inequality in New York City and help families access all possible housing and employment opportunities. We are so grateful for these firms’ continued dedication and support, and we look forward to future collaborations.
In addition to their incredible SCR work this summer, Skadden volunteers provided assistance to one of BDS’ immigration clients, Ms. M and her son. BDS’ New York Immigrant Family Unity Project (NYIFUP) specializing in representing people in deportation proceedings. Ms. M fled her country of origin in 2012, leaving behind her son. In February 2024, Ms. M successfully obtained a T-visa, as a survivor of trafficking, and her son was granted a derivative visa, joining her in the US after 12 long years apart. Once reunited, Skadden filed a legal name change petition on behalf of Ms. M’s son, which would allow him to legally take his mother’s maiden name. A certified order was issued in August 2024, formally granting the name change. This was a vital step for both Ms. M and her son as they continue to rebuild their lives together in New York and could not have been accomplished without the help of Skadden.
Simpson Thacher continues to be a prized partner to our Immigration Practice. Since the start of 2024, volunteers from Simpson Thacher have completed over a dozen country conditions reports for BDS clients. Country conditions reports are documents that demonstrate the ways in which clients seeking asylum, withholding of removal, and Convention Against Torture (CAT) protections have an objectively reasonable fear of future persecution if returned to their country of origin. These compelling reports are an essential component when defending our client’s right to remain in the United States.
BDS’ Small Business Academy
In late May 2024, BDS partnered with Start Small Think Big and Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP to host Session Two of the Small Business Academy. The Small Business Academy is a joint pro bono effort that seeks to provide aspiring entrepreneurs and current small business owners with legal tools and resources to best support their business’ growth and advancement in the community. While planning for Session Three of the Small Business Academy, BDS’ Director of Pro Bono, Molly Meltzer, met with Kenneth Ebie, Executive Director and Chief Development Officer of Black Entrepreneurs NYC (BE NYC). Kenneth offered valuable insight and we look forward to potentially partnering with BE NYC on future sessions of the Small Business Academy.
BDS and Partners File Contempt Motion to Hold NYC Department of Corrections Accountable
On August 8th, 2024, Brooklyn Defender Services, The Legal Aid Society, and Milbank LLP filed a contempt motion against the NYC Department of Corrections (DOC) for their continued failure to provide incarcerated New Yorkers with adequate access to medical care. These delays and denials for medical care result in unnecessary pain, worsening of treatable conditions, and immense suffering for those who are incarcerated. The contempt motion seeks to impose a $250 fine for every missed medical appointment due to the DOC’s operational failures. In the event the DOC remains noncompliant, the motion requests that the court appoint a monitor to advise the DOC on how to properly fulfil their duty to provide access to healthcare for those incarcerated. “Incarcerated New Yorkers are an extremely vulnerable population,” said Russell Spivak, associate at Milbank LLP. “It is unconscionable that the delivery of priority healthcare services to these individuals, for which DOC is responsible, was compromised.” For more information, please read the full press release linked here.
Pro bono partnerships are a necessary part of advancing the mission of Brooklyn Defender Services and our goal of providing our clients with outstanding representation. There are many opportunities to collaborate on pro bono projects, ranging from short-term projects to more complex litigation. If your firm is interested in partnering with BDS, please contact Molly Meltzer, Director of Pro Bono, at mmeltzer@bds.org.
