Proskauer honored its lawyers and staff who have made significant contributions to the Firm’s pro bono and corporate social responsibility programs this year at its 12th Annual Golden Gavel Awards ceremony on January 22. The following is a list of recipients alphabetically by project. Protecting Immigrant Youth Watch now Team New Orleans: Catholic Charities-Archdiocese of New Orleans – Special Immigrant Juvenile Status In collaboration with Catholic Charities-Archdiocese of New Orleans, this team successfully represented…

Last week, Proskauer obtained a critical victory for our client—a grandmother acting as guardian for her two learning-disabled grandchildren—in an appeal to the Appellate Division, First Department.  The appeal challenged a lower court holding that an amendment to New York’s Kinship Guardianship Assistance Program (“KinGAP”) did not apply retroactively to beneficiaries, such as our client’s grandchildren, who entered the program before the amendment took effect. KinGAP, established in 2011, enables foster-care children for whom…

When I volunteered in Mexico last spring with two Proskauer colleagues alongside the Institute for Women in Migration (IMUMI), I witnessed a growing humanitarian crisis. The U.S. “Remain in Mexico” Policy – officially called the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP) – requires asylum seekers at the southern border to wait in Mexico for the duration of their U.S. immigration proceedings, a requirement that puts thousands of people in danger. A report issued last week…

My father, Colonel John J. Cassidy is a highly decorated Vietnam veteran. Last Wednesday, I celebrated his birthday and honored his service by volunteering at the Los Angeles County Bar Association’s Veterans Legal Services Project clinic. It was a coincidence that Proskauer’s sponsorship of the clinic fell on my dad’s birthday, but the connection between my father and my involvement in the clinic has deep roots. I participate in the clinic because of my dad…

Last month, the U.S. state with the highest rate of incarceration (in the country with the largest prison population) took steps to reduce its incarceration of non-violent offenders. Oklahoma’s Governor Kevin Stitt (Republican) commuted the sentences of over 500 inmates. All of these individuals were non-violent offenders with an average age of less than 40. This decision points to a larger shift in conventional wisdom concerning mass incarceration and its effect on public…

Every year, a staggering number of bright minds do not attend college as a result of their family’s financial circumstances.  Minds Matter confronts this issue head on by offering a comprehensive and highly successful three-year program that empowers young people from low-income families to achieve college readiness and success. With 13 chapters and approximately 1,900 volunteers nationwide, Minds Matter provides students with a variety of resources, including, among other things, individualized mentor support, ACT prep,…