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Pro Bono
- Description
- Our award-winning Pro Bono practice has been an effective force in the fight to ensure underprivileged and underserved populations have a voice in court and equal protection under the law.
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Pro bono service is integral to Kramer Levin’s practice and culture. We encourage our lawyers to pursue the pro bono work most meaningful to them, and their passions have fostered broad involvement and positive change in our communities.
Through our award-winning pro bono program, Kramer Levin’s lawyers apply their skills and dedication, offering life-changing legal services to those most in need. We serve low-income populations, fight injustice and ensure that our clients have equal access to the courts and protection under the law. We have championed the rights of immigrants, veterans and victims of domestic violence, filed amicus briefs in landmark civil rights and civil liberties cases, and played a leading role in securing equal marriage rights for same-sex couples.
Kramer Levin’s attorneys have made a substantial commitment to the firm’s multidisciplinary Racial Justice Initiative, which is dedicated to improving civil rights and access to justice for all Americans. Kramer Levin has taken on impact litigation to support civil justice, preserve voter rights and combat racially discriminatory changes to immigration laws. Our lawyers staff a monthly pro bono clinic to help low- and lower-income entrepreneurs in Upper Manhattan and the Bronx, help individuals file complaints with the Civil Complaint Review Board related to improper arrests, and assist with Article 78 appeals to prevent the names of individuals from being wrongfully included in gang databases. We also negotiated the lease for the Universal Hip Hop Museum in the Bronx. Our pro bono areas include:
- Political asylum, immigration and human rights
- Impact litigation
- First Amendment issues, civil rights and civil liberties
- LGBTQ+ rights
- Family law issues, including domestic violence, divorce, custody and family court clinics
- Civil and criminal trials and appeals and landmark Supreme Court litigation
- Board service and transactional advice to nonprofit groups and microentrepreneurs
- Intellectual property counseling for artists and nonprofits
We also have a rich history of pro bono service in partnership with leading nonprofit legal service providers, including The Legal Aid Society, Legal Services NYC, Human Rights First, Brooklyn Legal Services, Volunteers of Legal Service and the New York Legal Assistance Group as well as other community-based, cultural and religious nonprofits. Through our Attorney Service Program, our lawyers fill a full-time position at Brooklyn Legal Services representing low-income clients in Family Court.
If You Need a Pro Bono Lawyer
Kramer Levin does not accept direct requests for pro bono representation. Our pro bono clients are typically referred to us through community agency partnerships. If you are in need of pro bono legal representation, we suggest that you consider the following organizations:
For more information about our Pro Bono practice, visit our Pro Bono and Community Service page, or contact Jamie Porco, Director of Professional Development and Pro Bono Programs, at 212.715.7529.
Defining Matters
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Kramer Levin Files Supreme Court Brief For Religious Organizations Supporting Application of Title VII to Bar Anti-LGBTQ Discrimination
Kramer Levin has filed an amicus brief on behalf of numerous major religious organizations and over 700 individual faith leaders in the consolidated cases now pending before the U.S. Supreme Court addressing whether Title VII’s prohibition of discrimination on the basis of sex bars employers from making hiring and firing decisions based on sexual orientation and gender identity. -
Kramer Levin Represents Women Who Have Had Abortions in Supreme Court Challenge to Louisiana’s Anti-Abortion Law
On Dec. 2, 2019, Kramer Levin filed an amicus brief in support of abortion providers in Louisiana who are challenging a law designed to shut down the state’s abortion clinics. -
Kramer Levin Obtains Asylum for Pro Bono Client from Central African Republic
Kramer Levin obtained asylum for a pro bono client from the Central African Republic who suffered persecution due to his imputed political opinion of supporting a well-known government dissenter.
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Kramer Levin Files Suit to Compel Long-Overdue Asylum Interviews
Partnering with Legal Services NYC, Kramer Levin filed a mandamus suit to compel the United States government to conduct asylum interviews for five refugees. All five are transgender women who suffered transphobic violence and sexual assault in Mexico and now seek asylum in the United States. -
Kramer Levin Secures Parole for Client Sentenced to Decades-Long Prison Term During the Mid-90s Incarceration Boom
Kramer Levin helped secure parole for a pro bono client who was unjustly sentenced to 32.5 to 65 years’ imprisonment for committing three robberies in 1994, where he stole less than $100. -
Kramer Levin Successfully Overturns Immigration Judge Decision Denying Asylum to a Pro Bono Client
Kramer Levin successfully overturned an Immigration Judge decision denying asylum to a pro bono client. The case was particularly challenging because our client, a gay man from Columbia, applied for asylum approximately four and half years after arriving in the United States, which is well beyond the one year deadline to file for asylum. -
Kramer Levin Assists in Gun Regulation Victory
The Wisconsin Court of Appeals reinstated a lawsuit against operators of a website that facilitated the purchase of a gun used in a mass shooting. Kramer Levin filed an amicus brief in support of this important victory. -
Kramer Levin Obtains Pre-Trial Release for Client as Part of the Firm’s Bail Reform Project Efforts
Kramer Levin obtained the pre-trial release of an indigent defendant on an unsecured bond in Kings County Supreme Court as part of the firm’s ongoing efforts in the Bail Reform Project in partnership with the Brooklyn Defender Services.
Practice Contacts
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Christopher S. Auguste
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- Partner
- Chair, Diversity Committee; Co-Chair, Pro Bono Committee; Co-Chair, Equity Capital Markets and Public Companies
- New York
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Aaron Frankel
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- Partner
- Co-Chair, Pro Bono Committee
- New York
- vcard
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- Yasmeen Al-Bader
- Christopher S. Auguste
- Michelle Ben-David
- Daniel Ross Berman
- Colin Bumby
- Boaz I. Cohen
- Rachel Czwartacky
- Rita Celebrezze D'Souza
- Aaron Frankel
- Barry Herzog
- Gilbert K.S. Liu
- Nada M. Llewellyn
- Daniela C. Manzi
- Danielle Moody
- Laurence Pettit
- Andrew Pollack
- Jacqueline Ryu
- Robert T. Schmidt
- Norman C. Simon
- Lauren Tapper
- Jeffrey S. Trachtman
Recognition
- Year
- 2021 — 2023
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- Law360 Pulse Annual Pro Bono Rankings
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Top 2 program among midsized firms
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- 2022
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- The Legal Aid Society's Honorable Jonathan Lippman New York Pro Bono Publico and Public Service Law Firm Award
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- 2022
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- Financial Times Innovative Lawyers Awards: Innovation in Equity and Racial Justice
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Standout Firm: Litigation to protect the constitutional right of children and indigent adults to counsel in family and criminal courts in New York City
- Year
- 2020 - 2022
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- Am Law Pro Bono Scorecard
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Top 25 ranking for Pro Bono (2020, 2021, 2022)
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- 2020
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- Staten Island Legal Services: Eighth Annual Hon. Vito J. Titone Award
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- 2020
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- Her Justice Commitment to Justice Law Firm Award
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- 2019-2020
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- Vault Law Firm Rankings
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Top 10 Best Law Firm for Pro Bono (2019-2020); Top 25 for LBGTQ Diversity (2019)
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- 2019
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- Myanmar American Medical Education Society’s Pro Bono Award
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- 2019
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- Legal Aid Society’s 2019 Pro Bono Publico Awards
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Outstanding Service to the Legal Aid Society and its Clients
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- 2019
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- Lawyers Alliance Cornerstone Award
- Year
- 2019
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- Am Law 2019 Summer Associate Survey
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Ranked #1 in in all areas of summer associate satisfaction
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- 2019
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- Chambers Associate Survey
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Top 3 for Pro Bono; Top 10 for Diversity
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- 2018
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- Vault Law Firm Associates Survey
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Top 5 Best Law Firm for Pro Bono; Top 20 Best Law Firms to Work For; Top 20 Firm for LGBT Diversity
- Year
- 2018
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- NYSBA President's Pro Bono Service Award
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Large Law Firm Category for firm’s involvement in the Bail Project
- Year
- 2018
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- Legal Aid Society’s Pro Bono Publico Award
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Recognized for "Outstanding Service to the Legal Aid Society and its Clients"
- Year
- 2018
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- Chambers Associate Survey
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Ranked for Pro Bono and Diversity
- Year
- 2017
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- The American Lawyer
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Profiled as One of 2016’s 17 Pro Bono Matters that Big Law Championed for Touro Synagogue
- Year
- 2014-2017
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- Legal Services NYC
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Received Pro Bono Leadership Award
- Year
- 2016
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- Legal Aid Society
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Received the Pro Bono Award for Outstanding Advocacy in Championing the Rights of the Accused
- Year
- 2015
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- Catholic Legal Immigration Network Inc.
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Received CLINIC’s Pro Bono Award
- Year
- 2013
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- Legal Aid Society
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Received the Pro Bono Publico Award for Law Firms
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- 2013
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- American Bar Association Pro Bono Publico Award
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- 2008-2012
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- Legal Services NYC
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Recognized as a Pro Bono Visionary
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- 2012
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- Cause Effective
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Received the Legacy of Service Award
- Year
- 2012
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- Sylvia Rivera Law Project
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Recognized for Outstanding Service to New York’s Transgender Community
- Year
- 2012
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- Empire State Counsel
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Received the Gold Supporter Award
- Year
- 2009
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- Legal Aid Society’s Pro Bono Awards
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Recognized for Assistance in Launching the Society’s Criminal Defense Pro Bono Project
- Year
- 2009
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- Empire State Pride Agenda
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Received the Equality @ Work Award
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- 2008
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- Northside Center for Child Development
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Honored for Commitment to Pro Bono Work
- Year
- 2007
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- American Bar Association
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Received the John Minor Wisdom Public Service and Professionalism Award
- Year
- 2004
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- Legal Outreach
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Received the Institution of the Village Award
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