Each May, hundreds of the best and brightest second year law students from all over the country come to New York City to spend their summers working at the City’s top law firms. Continuing the City’s rich tradition of performing legal work pro bono publico (for the public good) many of the City’s top firms incorporate pro bono work as a major part of their summer programs. For a summer associate, staffing a pro bono matter gives a law student the opportunity to gain important legal skills at the beginning of a legal career, and helps to bridge the justice gap.

Hughes Hubbard & Reed LLP summer associates Adam Weinstein and Kate Aufses (left) with their Legal Aid housing client and Hughes Hubbard & Reed LLP associate Matt Reynolds (right)

For several decades, The Legal Aid Society has collaborated with a number of partnering firms to present summer associates with discrete pro bono opportunities representing individuals the Society would otherwise not be able to assist. The 2014 summer associate class assisted clients in conjunction with the Society’s Disability Advocacy Unit, Housing Unit, as well as the Access to Benefits (A2B) Helpline. Additionally, the Society expanded the Summer Associate Project this summer to include a unique mock trial opportunity with the Criminal Defense Practice.

Supplemental Security Income/Social Security Disability Administrative Matters

Working with the Society’s Disability Advocacy Unit summer associates represented 15 low-income New Yorkers with physical and/or mental disabilities who had been wrongly denied Supplemental Security Income and/or Social Security Disability benefits, at administrative appeals hearings. Acting as lead counsel, under the supervision of their firm and The Legal Aid Society, summers had the opportunity to gather and review medical evidence, prepare clients for direct examination, submit letter briefs, and participate in hearings before administrative law judges. Participating firms included summer associates from Cahill Gordon & Reindel LLP, Debevoise & Plimpton LLP, Hughes Hubbard & Reed LLP, Kaye Scholer LLP, O’Melveny & Meyers LLP, and Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP.

New York City Housing Authority: Public Housing & Section 8 Administrative Matters

The Society’s Queens Housing Unit collaborated with summer associates who collectively helped 5 low-income New York City Housing Authority (“NYCHA”) tenants facing the threat of homelessness with their administrative housing hearings. Working with a Legal Aid mentoring attorney and a firm associate supervisor, summer associates conducted client interviews to gather facts, reviewed documentary evidence, engaged in negotiations, prepared their clients to testify, and represented clients before administrative law judges. Participating firms included summer associates from Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP, Cahill Gordon & Reindel LLP, Hughes Hubbard & Reed LLP, and Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP.

Access to Benefits Helpline

Answering the Access to Benefits (“A2B”) Helpline calls, summer associates assisted clients with immigration, health, government benefits, and employment law matters. Working with Jean Marie-Miranda, the A2B Helpline Supervisor, summer associates identified questions and legal issues and provided advice, referrals, and appointments to callers seeking legal assistance. Participating firms included summer associates from Hughes, Hubbard, & Reed LLP and Kasowitz, Benson, Torres & Friedman LLP.

Criminal Defense Practice Trial Advocacy Program

This summer The Legal Aid Society offered a unique volunteer opportunity that provided assistance directly to the staff of our Criminal Defense Practice. The Society’s first year Criminal Defense attorneys participated in a weeklong Trial Advocacy Program that concluded with a series of mock trials. This provided these new attorneys an opportunity to apply the skills they learned during the program to a courtroom setting. Summer associates, acting as jurors, deliberated openly and offered feedback to our criminal attorneys from their perspective as jurors. Although it did not qualify for pro bono credit, volunteer jurors were a crucial part of the training program. Participating firms included summer associates from Arnold & Porter LLP, Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP, Debevoise & Plimpton LLP, Fish & Richardson P.C., Kasowitz, Benson, Torres & Friedman LLP. Kaye Scholer LLP, McDermott Will & Emery, Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler LLP, Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP, Proskauer Rose LLP, Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP, Sullivan & Cromwell LLP, Sutherland Asbill & Brennan LLP, and Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP.

The Summer Associate Project is an important component of the Pro Bono Practice because it educates future lawyers about the importance and value of pro bono and provides the Society with the opportunity to inspire the next generation of pro bono attorneys.