What, No Oscar?

Pro Bono Update:
What, No Oscar?
A lot has happened since we went to press with Pro
Bono Snapshots, including two major national awards
recognizing Kramer Levin’s pro bono accomplishments.
As they say at the Academy Awards, it’s nice to be
honored, but what really matters is the work, and
these recognitions are based on some pretty
impressive efforts.
John Minor Wisdom Award: An Unprecedented Honor
Kramer Levin was selected by the ABA’s
Section of Litigation to receive its prestigious
John Minor Wisdom Public Ser vice and
Professionalism Award, the first New York firm
to win this honor named for the legendary 5th
Circuit judge. The firm was recognized for its
outstanding and varied pro bono achievements
in 2006, which included cutting edge cases on
ABA Litigation Section Chair voter registration and LGBT rights, as well as its
Kim Askew presents Wisdom long-standing commitment to policies that
Award to Jeff Trachtman.
encourage all of its lawyers to participate in pro
bono and public service work. Pro Bono Committee Chair Jeff Trachtman
received the Wisdom Award on behalf of the firm at the Litigation Section’s
2007 annual meeting in San Antonio, Texas, dedicating it to our late firm
Chairman and pro bono leader, Judge Marvin Frankel.
National Law Journal Award: Marking a Victory for Voting Rights
Louis Lanzano
The National Law Journal selected Kramer
Levin from among scores of nominees to
receive one of the publication’s four Pro Bono
Awards for 2006. The award recognized the
firm’s “singular achievement” in litigating a
high-profile federal case that was the first to
Erin Walter, Eric Tirschwell, and
Craig Siegel, from left, took on hold that private voter registration drives are
an onerous Florida voter- protected by the First Amendment. League of
registration law.
Women Voters of Florida v. Cobb, 447 F. Supp.
2d 1314 (S.D. Fla. 2006). The Law Journal reported how partner Eric
Tirschwell and associates Craig Siegel and Erin Walter helped the Brennan
Center for Justice win a federal injunction striking down a burdensome and
discriminatory Florida law that had shut down most nonpartisan voter
registration efforts in that state.
Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel LLP
More Updates:
Standing Up for Equality, Due Process,
and Fundamental Rights
Kramer Levin’s recent pro bono activities have
continued to run the gamut from individual poverty
law cases to class actions to criminal defense to
transactional work for nonprofits. Some of our most
exciting work, however, has continued to focus on
two areas — international human rights and civil
rights, with a particular emphasis on LGBT rights.
Fighting for the Right to Marry
Kramer Levin has been on the forefront of the
battle for equal marriage rights for same-sex
couples. We served as co-counsel with Lambda
Legal Defense and Education Fund in
Hernandez v. Robles, in which the New York
Cour t of Appeals ultimately rejected a
Kramer Levin partners Jeff
challenge to the constitutionality of New York’s
Trachtman and Norm Simon (L)
with Lambda Legal co-counsel exclusion of same-sex couples from civil
Susan Sommer and Alphonso marriage. While this outcome was disappointing,
David (R)
the case sparked a statewide debate and set
the stage for legislative action to eliminate marriage discrimination,
including the recent initial vote by the New York State Assembly to approve
an equal marriage rights bill. The same Kramer Levin team that worked on
Hernandez — led by partners Jeff Trachtman and Norm Simon — has also
joined with Lambda Legal on a series of cases seeking recognition within
New York State for marriages entered into by same-sex couples in other
jurisdictions. In one such case, the firm represents a retired Nassau
County schoolteacher who married his partner of 43 years in Canada but
was denied the spousal health insurance benefits to which he was
entitled. This case led to a change in policy requiring more than 800 public
employers to recognize valid out-of-state marriages of same-sex couples.
Hernandez plaintiffs, from left: Mary Jo Kennedy, Jo-Ann Shain, and daughter Aliya; Daniel
Hernandez and Nevin Cohen; Donna Freeman-Tweed, Lauren Abrams, and sons Micah and
Elijah; Curtis Woolbright and Daniel Reyes; and Douglas Robinson, Michael Elsasser, and sons
Zachary and Justin.
www.kramerlevin.com
Seeking Fairness for Guantánamo Detainees
Kramer Levin attorneys brought two federal
habeas proceedings on behalf of five detainees
held by the U.S. military in Guantánamo Bay,
Cuba, and obtained the release of three of the
clients in May 2006. All of the detainees were
Uighurs, a Turkic Muslim minority group native
to Western China that has been brutally
Michael Sternhell (second from
oppressed by the Chinese government. Our
left) with three released clients.
clients had been held, virtually incommunicado, for over four years without
basis, without charge, without access to counsel, and without being
afforded any fair process by which they might challenge their detention.
Subsequent to the filing of our first habeas petition, the government
acknowledged that three of our clients were not enemy combatants.
Shortly after 9/11, they had been abducted by Pakistani bounty hunters,
sold to the U.S. military, and later imprisoned in Guantánamo. While the
military acknowledged that these men were innocent, our clients could not
be returned to China where they were likely to face torture or execution.
Members of the Kramer Levin team, led by partner Paul Schoeman and
associate Michael Sternhell, have traveled to Guantánamo to meet with
the clients and even to Albania, where three of them were sent upon
release, to assist in their resettlement. Our efforts continue on behalf of
the two remaining detainees.
Racking Up Asylum Wins
Leslie Nguyen, along with Matt Abbott,
secured asylum for a victim of female genital
mutilation from Cote D’Ivoire who rescued her
12-year-old daughter from the same fate.
Darren Cohen obtained asylum for a
transgender woman from Malaysia who faced
persecution if returned home based on her
sexual identity and orientation.
Pictured above, left to right,
attorneys Leslie Nguyen, Matt
Abbott, Darren Cohen, and
Jennifer Haber
Jennifer Haber won asylum for a victim of
domestic violence, abandoned by her boyfriend
with three children, who faced state-tolerated
“honor killing” at the hands of her own family if
returned to her native Pakistan.
Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel LLP
100+ Hours of Service
Involvement in pro bono and community service at
Kramer Levin is broad — involving the majority of our
lawyers — but it is also deep. In 2006, 52 attorneys
each devoted over 100 hours to projects benefiting
the community. While the firm salutes all of our
colleagues who build pro bono work into their busy
lives, we owe special thanks to those who do the
most to help us meet our pro bono commitments:
Pictured above, left to right, Matthew Abbott, Alexandra Alberstadt, Shoshanna
Altschuler, Arthur Aufses, Heather Chase, Darren Cohen, Keith Donoghue, Charlotte
Fischman, Aaron Fleisher, Aaron Frankel, Sarah Gleit, Bob Heller, Gregory Horowitz,
Christiaan Johnson-Green, Darren LaVerne, Marissa Leung, Ezra Levin, Adina Levine,
Sandy Lindenbaum, Michael Mayerfeld, Tom Moreland, Abigail Mulligan, Leslie
Nguyen, John Novogrod, Parthena Psyllos, Bruce Rabb, Mae Rogers, Abe Safdie, Seema
Saifee, Jeremy Saks, Silvia Salvadori, Paul Schoeman, Ilyssa Sena, Craig Siegel, Norm
Simon, Michael Sternhell, Joel Taylor, Eric Tirschwell, Jeff Trachtman, Erin Walter, Julie
Weiswasser, and Christos Yatrakis. Not pictured are Wells Dixon, Emily Groendyke,
David Landman, Elliot Lowenstein, Grace O’Hanlon, Jay Park, Joseph Schwartz, Alison
Sclater, Tracy Sigal, and Jason Stowe.
www.kramerlevin.com