Paul, Weiss is committed to providing impactful pro bono legal assistance to individuals and organizations in need. Our program is all-encompassing, spanning the core issues facing our society.
Pro Bono News
-
Pro Bono Clients Defeat Motion to Dismiss in Civil Rights Action Against White Supremacists
Paul, Weiss achieved a major victory in a civil rights action brought on behalf of two residents of the Battery Park neighborhood in Richmond, Virginia, against members of the Patriot Front, a white supremacist group, when the court denied the defendants’ motion to dismiss, allowing the case to move into discovery.
-
Paul, Weiss and Legal Aid Society Reach Settlement With New York City to Preserve Right to Shelter
As reported by The New York Times and numerous other news media, Paul, Weiss, alongside the Legal Aid Society, represented the Coalition for the Homeless in an important settlement that preserves the 42-year-old Right to Shelter consent decree, and ensures that single adults who are new arrivals from the Southern Border have access to shelter, basic necessities and case management to transition from shelter to housing in the community.
-
Paul, Weiss Files Landmark Fourth Amendment Class Action Against New York City Over Unlawful Searches by Children’s Services Administration
Paul, Weiss and co-counsel filed a class action lawsuit against the City of New York for violating the Fourth Amendment during the tens of thousands of home searches the Administration for Children’s Services (ACS) conducts every year.
-
Migrant Families Win Landmark Settlement Barring Future Family Separation, Offering Path to Asylum
As reported by The Washington Post, NBC and CBS, among others, the American Civil Liberties Union secured final approval of an historic settlement in Ms. L v. ICE, barring the future separation of migrant families, allowing parents the right to join their children in the U.S., and providing assistance to more than 5,000 families who were torn apart.
-
Paul, Weiss Secures Significant Settlement for Family Separated at Border
Paul, Weiss, working with the ACLU’s Immigrants’ Rights Project and other pro bono partners, secured a settlement for a father and son who had been separated from each other by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials at the U.S.-Mexico border.
-
Nearly 60 Paul, Weiss Lawyers Participate in Robin Hood Legal Health Check-Up Initiative
Paul, Weiss launched the second annual Legal Health Check-Up with the Robin Hood Foundation, New York City’s largest poverty-fighting organization supporting low-income families by fueling the most impactful nonprofits across all five boroughs.
-
Sandy Hook Families Secure Major Victory Against Conspiracy Theorist Alex Jones
Paul, Weiss won a major victory on behalf of families of the victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in the bankruptcy proceeding of right-wing conspiracy theorist Alex Jones.
-
Paul, Weiss Secures Important Jail Policy Reforms for Transgender Individuals
Alongside co-counsel at the Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund and the New York Civil Liberties Union, Paul, Weiss secured an important victory in a federal civil rights action brought by Makyyla Holland, a transgender woman who endured discrimination, abuse, harassment and denial of medical care while incarcerated in the Broome County, New York, jail.
-
Metropolitan AME Wins $1 Million in Damages Over Proud Boys’ Attack on Church
As widely reported in The Washington Post, The New York Times and dozens of other news outlets, Paul, Weiss obtained a landmark decision on behalf of Washington D.C.’s historic Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Church when the D.C. Superior Court held that the governing body of the all-male extremist group the Proud Boys must pay over $1 million in compensatory and punitive damages for their roles in a violent attack on the church and the destruction of its Black Lives Matter sign in December 2020.
-
Paul, Weiss Provides Immigration Assistance to Help Put Recent Migrants on Pathway to Lawful Employment
More than 60 Paul, Weiss lawyers, summer associates and paralegals kicked off a major New York City initiative to assist thousands of recently arrived migrants in applying for immigration relief that will get them on the path to obtaining lawful employment authorization.
-
Paul, Weiss and the Innocence Project Secure Exoneration of Wrongfully Convicted Man in New Orleans Double Murder Case
On January 20, prosecutors in a 2004 double murder case in Louisiana moved to dismiss all charges against our pro bono client, Darrill Henry, who had been convicted for the crimes in 2011 and sentenced to life in prison.
-
Paul, Weiss Overcomes Odds and Secures Green Card for Grandmother From Mexico
In a type of case widely thought to be unwinnable, Paul, Weiss overcame the odds and secured release from detention and legal status for our client, a Mexican mother and grandmother who has lived in the United States for over 25 years.
-
Paul, Weiss and Co-Counsel Secure Landmark Voting Rights Victory in Louisiana Redistricting Case
As reported by The New York Times, Politico and CNN, Paul, Weiss, together with co-counsel from the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, the ACLU, the ACLU of Louisiana, and Louisiana lawyers John Adcock and Tracie Washington, achieved a historic voting rights victory in Louisiana.
-
Paul, Weiss Assists With Launch of the Equitable Commute Project E-Bike Initiative
Over the course of July, a team of Paul, Weiss attorneys assisted in the launch of the Equitable Commute Project (ECP)’s E-Bike Initiative, a city-wide project that brings together environmental and public policy-focused nonprofits, private businesses and local NYC government agencies with the goal of expanding access to safe and reliable transportation for lower-income workers.
-
Paul, Weiss Secures Complete Restoration of Board of Correction’s Access to Video Footage From New York City Jails
Paul, Weiss secured an agreement with the New York City Department of Correction (DOC) to promptly and completely restore the 24/7 direct video access to city jails historically held by the New York City Board of Correction, an independent governmental body established under the city charter to provide oversight of the DOC and city jails.
VIDEOS
-
Our Pro Bono Partnerships: Making a Difference Together
In our video, Pro Bono Partnerships, leaders from our pro bono partner organizations discuss Paul, Weiss’s dedication and leadership in providing pro bono legal assistance and share how the firm’s expertise and commitment drives meaningful change on issues of urgent national concern.
-
Explore the Paul, Weiss Pro Bono Program
In our video, Pro Bono at Paul, Weiss, Paul, Weiss attorneys discuss the firm’s unwavering commitment to supporting the public interest and providing pro bono legal assistance to the most vulnerable members of our society, as well as the breadth and depth of our storied pro bono program.
-
David Brown (July 8, 1975 – October 15, 2022) Discusses Pro Bono Work on Exoneration
A few months before his tragic passing, litigation partner Dave Brown discussed his pro bono advocacy on behalf of clients who have been convicted of crimes they did not commit.
-
Audra Soloway Interviews Steve Banks, a Pioneering Advocate For New York City’s Poor, on His Move to Paul, Weiss
Litigation partner Audra Soloway interviewed pro bono special counsel Steve Banks about his decision to join Paul, Weiss and his work at the NYC Department of Social Services and the Legal Aid Society.
-
Hate Groups Held Accountable in Charlottesville: Paul, Weiss Lawyers Discuss Landmark Trial Win
Paul, Weiss, alongside co-counsel, secured a major victory in Sines v. Kessler on behalf of nine pro bono clients who were injured in the violence during the August 2017 “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. In this video, litigation partners Karen Dunn, Bill Isaacson and Jessica Phillips reflect on the landmark trial victory.
Spotlight: Racial Justice
For decades, Paul, Weiss has been at the forefront of legal efforts to promote racial justice. Assisting Thurgood Marshall in the seminal U.S. Supreme Court case Brown v. Board of Education, the firm’s lawyers were instrumental in effort to end racial segregation. Today, we continue to be a leader in nationwide efforts to use the law and advocacy to confront systemic racism.
» more
Spotlight: Voting Rights
Paul, Weiss’s advocacy in important voting rights cases dates back to 1963, when the firm won the landmark Supreme Court case Gray v. Sanders, which established the principle of “one person, one vote.” We remain steadfast in our commitment, supporting recent voting rights actions in several courts nationally as counsel of record or counsel to amici curiae.
» more
Spotlight: Gun Violence Prevention Efforts
We are deeply committed to combating the gun violence epidemic. Paul, Weiss took the lead role in forming the Firearms Accountability Task Force (FACT), an unprecedented effort by leading gun violence prevention organizations and law firms to use affirmative litigation to confront this national issue. The firm is spearheading a number of cutting-edge cases.
» more
Spotlight: Economic Empowerment
We are helping to create economic empowerment opportunities for small businesses, which reflects a commitment to ensuring that our transactional attorneys can participate robustly in our pro bono efforts. To address economic inequalities that disproportionately impact Black entrepreneurs, Paul, Weiss is committed to providing Black- and minority-owned businesses access to pro bono legal resources.
» more
Spotlight: Reproductive Justice
We have been involved in many consequential recent cases involving reproductive freedom, including broad-based challenges of recent state laws and regulations that have created unconstitutional barriers to a woman’s right to access safe, legal abortions.
» more
Spotlight: LGBTQIA+
Paul, Weiss has long been a leader in nationwide efforts to secure equal rights for LGBTQIA+ communities.
» more
Spotlight: Criminal Justice
We regularly represent indigent defendants in federal habeas-related investigations, petitions and appeals; have devoted tens of thousands of hours to capital cases; and have represented prisoners in landmark lawsuits challenging their treatment or conditions of confinement.
» more
Spotlight: Immigration, Refugees & Asylum
We have long focused on providing pro bono legal services to vulnerable immigrants, refugees and asylum seekers, as well as the organizations that serve these populations. In recent years, this work has become even more urgent given the rising number of assaults on the rights of our immigrant communities.
» more
Spotlight: Advising Nonprofits
We provide legal assistance and advice to a wide range of not-for-profit organizations. Our goal is to collaborate with and provide pro bono services to nonprofits that tackle issues aligning with our core pro bono focus areas: racial and civil rights, criminal justice, immigration, voting rights, reproductive justice, the arts, gun violence and LGBTQIA+.
» more