Highlights

Through our longstanding pro bono practice, Cravath lawyers are making high‑impact contributions that are advancing justice and improving clients’ lives. In 2023, Cravath dedicated more than 35,000 hours to pro bono service. Highlights from recent years include:

United States v. Jefferson County: Four Decades of Justice

After nearly 40 years of dedication from generations of Cravath attorneys, the Firm brought to a close its representation of African American and female plaintiffs in pro bono litigation related to employment discrimination in Birmingham, Alabama. Our work started in 1983 led by the late Bob Joffe, a former presiding partner. In 1992, then-partner Rowan Wilson took over the case, which he led until 2017 when he joined the New York Court of Appeals. In December 2020, under the leadership of partner Damaris Hernández, the court granted the parties’ motion to terminate the last remaining piece of the litigation—a consent decree with Jefferson County—following years of negotiation and tangible strides by the County toward ensuring future hiring and promotion occur without discrimination.  For more history and information on this case, please click here.

Clearing the Path for New Yorkers with Disabilities

On July 23, 2019, Cravath and Disability Rights Advocates (“DRA”) announced that the Honorable Judge George B. Daniels of the Southern District of New York approved a historic class action settlement that establishes a comprehensive remedial plan to dramatically improve sidewalk accessibility for New York City’s disability community. The settlement stems from and resolves two separate class action lawsuits filed in 1994 and 2014. Cravath, alongside DRA, represented seven disability rights organizations that signed onto the agreement, which requires a comprehensive citywide survey to identify which corners need curb cuts installed or upgraded, and a comprehensive schedule for completing the necessary work. An outside monitor will oversee the agreement.

On February 4, 2020, in a suit brought by Cravath and Disability Rights Advocates (“DRA”) on behalf of Disabled in Action of Metropolitan New York, the Brooklyn Center for Independence of the Disabled and individual plaintiffs, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York ruled that the New York Police Department violated federal law under the Americans with Disabilities Act by failing to make police stations accessible to individuals with mobility disabilities. The victory could result in expanded access and accommodations at police stations throughout the city.

A Class‑Action Lawsuit on Behalf of Juvenile Offenders

Cravath is representing eight “juvenile lifers”—individuals sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after committing homicide offenses in New York when under 18 years of age—in a class action suit against the Commissioners of the New York Board of Parole. The suit claims the Parole Board violates the class members’ constitutional rights by making parole determinations that are not based on “demonstrated maturity and rehabilitation,” as is legally required for juvenile lifers. On September 20, 2019, the Honorable Judge Vincent L. Briccetti of the Southern District of New York denied the Board’s motion to dismiss the first two counts of the plaintiffs’ complaint: the Eighth Amendment (cruel and unusual punishment) claim and the Fourteenth Amendment (due process) claim, while granting defendants’ motion to dismiss the third count of the complaint, the Sixth Amendment (right to trial by jury) claim. This means the class action will go forward on the first two counts and will now enter the discovery phase, an important step toward securing justice for the original eight plaintiffs and other class members.

Groundbreaking Work on LGBTQ+ Civil Rights

Cravath filed amicus curiae briefs on behalf of members of Congress in landmark LGBTQ cases in federal courts of appeals across the country. The briefs are in support of several individuals filing LGBTQ civil rights litigation, including an openly gay man who was routinely harassed at work and a transgender boy prohibited from using the boy’s bathroom at his school. The Supreme Court granted certiorari in two of the cases, Bostock v. Clayton County and Altitude Express, Inc. v. Zarda, and oral arguments were heard on October 8, 2019. The cases present the question whether Title VII’s prohibition on discrimination “because of sex” covers discrimination because of sexual orientation. With a circuit split on the issue (the Seventh Circuit and the Second Circuit agreeing with the EEOC that Title VII protects sexual orientation, and the Eleventh Circuit holding that it does not), the decisions in these cases will significantly impact the way the courts interpret Title VII of the Civil Rights Act and Title IX of the Higher Education Act. Cravath filed an amicus curiae brief in this matter on July 3, 2019.

On May 30, 2019, Cravath, Lambda Legal, ACLU and South Carolina Equality Coalition sued the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and South Carolina for discriminating against same‑sex and other foster parents on the basis of religion The lawsuit asserts that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the HHS Administration for Children and Families, certain HHS officials, South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster, and the Director of the South Carolina Department of Social Services are violating the Establishment, Equal Protection and Due Process Clauses of the U.S. Constitution by authorizing and enabling the use of religious criteria by Miracle Hill, a government-funded foster care agency, to screen out would‑be foster families because of their faith or sexual orientation. Our clients, a married lesbian couple, applied to foster with Miracle Hill and were denied because they failed to meet the agency’s religious criteria, which excluded prospective foster parents who are not evangelical Protestant Christian or who are same‑sex couples of any faith.

Critical Assistance to Individuals Fleeing Persecution

Cravath provides legal assistance to individuals seeking asylum from around the world. Just last year, Cravath won asylum in cases involving political opinion, opposition to female genital mutilation, sexual orientation and HIV status. In addition, Cravath provided legal services to immigrants transferred from federal detention facilities on the border to the Albany County Jail. In partnership with the New York Immigration Coalition, Cravath organized a group of lawyers to go to Albany and meet with individual detainees to prepare them for their credible or reasonable fear interviews. Also, in response to ongoing family separations at the border, Cravath partnered with the Immigration Justice Campaign to help reunite families detained in the El Paso, Texas region.

Protecting the Rights of Children in Foster Care

Cravath, with co‑counsel from A Better Childhood, Inc., represents a group of 19 children who have spent time in foster care in New York City, on behalf of a putative class of similarly situated children. The lawsuit alleges systemic deficiencies in New York City’s foster care system, including defendants’ failure to oversee the voluntary agencies that provide foster care in NYC, resulting in maltreatment of children at an alarming rate. Plaintiffs bring constitutional and statutory claims. In 2016, the court denied in part the City defendant’s motion to dismiss, holding that certain provisions of the Adoption Assistance and Child Welfare Act are privately enforceable by Plaintiffs. More recently, Cravath won motions on two key procedural issues, prevailing against a partial motion for summary judgment and a motion to dismiss adult “next friends” bringing suit on behalf of Plaintiffs. Cravath has taken extensive discovery in support of a class certification motion that was filed in July 2019; the motion will be decided in 2020.

Safe Haven for Sick Children: Children’s Hospital Program

In 2002, Cravath formed an interdisciplinary team with doctors and social workers at the Children’s Hospital at Montefiore in the Bronx and Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital of New York‑Presbyterian in Manhattan to address the needs of children and their families. We have handled almost 400 cases ranging from obtaining a humanitarian visa to negotiating housing needs and public assistance to facilitating special education—legal issues that directly affect children’s medical conditions.

Protecting Prisoners’ Rights

Cravath represented a former inmate in a federal civil rights suit, together with the Legal Aid Society. Our client, “Jane Doe,” was repeatedly raped and sexually abused by two New York City Department of Correction (“DOC”) officers while she was a pre‑trial detainee on Rikers Island. Because our client preserved physical evidence, one of the DOC officers was convicted of a criminal sex act, a felony charge. We filed the civil lawsuit in August 2018 against the City of New York and the DOC Officers, in both their individual and official capacities. Cravath assisted the client in reaching a substantial monetary settlement.

International Child Custody Case

On March 5, 2014, the United States Supreme Court ruled unanimously in favor of Cravath client, Diana Montoya Alvarez, in an international custody dispute which made new law regarding application of equitable tolling to treaties in general and in particular to the “now settled” defense to a child’s return to her home country under the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction. Cravath took the case as part of the pro bono work it regularly provides for Sanctuary for Families.

Landmark Homeless Families Litigation

In 2008, Cravath won a landmark settlement on behalf of homeless families with children. In this settlement, New York City finally acknowledged, after 25 years of litigation, that homeless families have a state constitutional right to shelter, and has agreed to an enforceable judgment that sets the legal parameters for emergency shelter for homeless people. A team of Cravath and Legal Aid Society attorneys achieved this landmark judgment. In honor of this important work, the Legal Aid Society presented Cravath with the 2008 Pro Bono Publico and Public Service Law Firm Award. Additionally, 15 Cravath partners, associates and paralegals received individual awards in recognition of their contributions to this matter.

School Partnership

In 2004, we sponsored and helped create a law‑themed public high school, the School for Law & Justice (SLJ), as a partner with The Urban Assembly, a groundbreaking organization that is rethinking and reorganizing inner‑city education in New York. SLJ graduated its first class in 2008, and in 2009 was ranked as the #1 unscreened high school in New York City by The New York Post. Our lawyers helped create the curriculum and continue to remain active in school life. They act as mentors to SLJ students, teach SAT preparation classes, judge moot court competitions and participate in the Lunch with Lawyers program - a discussion group on current events and issues. We also helped form the Adams Street Foundation (ASF), a 501(c)(3) corporation that uses funding from foundations and other sources to provide enrichment programs, summer internships and educational activities for SLJ students. One of our partners is on the ASF Board.

Representation to Individuals in Need

Cravath associates provide outstanding legal representation to individuals who do not have the means to hire counsel. In recent years they have:

• Obtained a six‑figure settlement and career resumption for a U.S. Postal Service worker who had faced racial discrimination and wrongful termination
• Reinstated Social Security benefits for a child with disabilities whose payments had been rescinded
• Facilitated the release of a prison inmate from solitary confinement, after he was wrongfully blamed for an incident in which corrections officers assaulted him
• Successfully defended a domestic violence survivor fighting vexatious litigation from her abusive ex‑boyfriend
• Obtained a substantial settlement for a worker with disabilities whose employer refused to restore her job after she returned from medical leave
• Convinced a judge to appoint their client as the executor of a grossly mismanaged estate
• Secured a travel visa for a child to come to the United States to be able to donate bone marrow to their sibling
• Helped a mother recover her deceased son’s wrongfully terminated benefits
• Secured a fixed automatic‑payment plan for a single mother whose ex‑husband had stopped paying child support
• Represented Muslim victims of hate crimes in civil litigation

Corporate Advice to Non‑Profit and Charitable Organizations

In addition to representing individual pro bono clients, associates also provide a wide range of free legal services to non-profit and charitable organizations. Recently they have:

• Provided governance advice to a non‑profit dedicated to helping youth aging out of the foster care system
• Helped incorporate a yoga non‑profit that offers free yoga classes to New Yorkers in underserved communities
• Represented a community‑development organization in contract negotiations with a larger, more powerful entity
• Created a template contract for an education non‑profit to use in its agreements with contributors, collaborators and clients
• Provided transactional advice to non‑profit organizations that provide services in developing countries
• Facilitated the consolidation of two charitable organizations that work on behalf of military personnel and their families
• Provided financing advice to a foundation that addresses the needs of orphans around the world by providing education, medical care and psycho‑social services
• Helped incorporate a non‑profit that promotes awareness of pediatric organ donation issues and funds related medical research
• Provided general corporate advice to a non‑profit that connects artists to charitable causes
• Provided real estate advice to an economic development organization that provides advocacy and services to businesses in Brooklyn neighborhoods to grow and create employment opportunities for local residents
• Helped incorporate a non‑profit that offers innovative solutions for women and girls living with obstetric fistula in sub‑Saharan Africa
• Negotiated a subcontract between a non‑profit and an architecture and urban design firm to explore multi‑scale, physical, and programmatic interventions to create safe neighborhoods within New York City