With over two million Americans behind bars, this country has the highest incarceration rate in the world.  Our society pays a big price for that distinction, not only in the staggering cost of incarceration itself but in the long-term effects – most notably in terms of employment and housing  – on previously incarcerated individuals and their families.  As part of our pro bono efforts, Proskauer has helped clients through a recently enacted New York law (CPL 160.59) that enables the sealing of certain old convictions.  From this work, two things have become clear: it is an important, impactful law, but for many of our pro bono clients it does not offer relief.

Under the statute, an individual may seal up to two prior convictions, only one of which can be a felony, provided at least 10 years have elapsed since release from prison.  Convictions such as violent felonies and sex offenses are not eligible for sealing.  In partnership with New York Lawyers for the Public Interest (NYLPI) and the Community Service Society of New York (CSSNY), we started several months ago taking on these matters.  The clients have turned their lives around but continue – a decade or more after serving their sentence – to suffer real consequences.

One client, in particular, who made an indelible mark on us: a soft-spoken man who in the 10 years since serving a prison sentence, started a wonderful family and built a successful business.  For him the relief offered by this statute was important not simply because his prior convictions (all low-level drug offenses) made it difficult for him to obtain a loan.  The need for relief went deeper – it was a matter of self-esteem.  He made mistakes in his youth, took full responsibility for them, changed his life, and now desperately wanted to let go of the embarrassment and shame of being labeled a “criminal.”  Unfortunately, there was nothing we could do for him because, as it turned out, he had a second felony conviction from many years ago.  Anyone with more than two misdemeanors or more than one felony and one misdemeanor (unless the multiple convictions are tied to the same incident) is automatically disqualified. While the need to place some restriction on eligibility is important, the law currently offers no recourse for our client and so many like him.

We are now assigning a number of similar matters to our new associates.  For every client we help, however, there will be a number of people we have to turn away because of the statute’s limited reach.

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Photo of William C. Silverman William C. Silverman

William C. Silverman is a partner responsible for leading Proskauer’s global pro bono efforts, which provide assistance to individual clients and nonprofit organizations in litigation as well as transactional matters. He focuses on identifying and securing pro bono opportunities and partnerships for Proskauer…

William C. Silverman is a partner responsible for leading Proskauer’s global pro bono efforts, which provide assistance to individual clients and nonprofit organizations in litigation as well as transactional matters. He focuses on identifying and securing pro bono opportunities and partnerships for Proskauer lawyers and ensuring widespread participation in these projects.

Bill has robust private and public sector experience and a strong criminal and civil background. He has worked extensively on government investigations and white collar criminal matters, as well as complex civil litigation in federal and state courts. He also served as an assistant U.S. attorney in the Southern District of New York, where he led criminal investigations, conducted trials and handled Second Circuit appeals.

Throughout his career, Bill has dedicated himself to the promotion of equal access to justice through pro bono service, particularly in the area of family court, anti-trafficking, and immigration.

Bill spearheaded a partnership among several law firms, corporations and the New York City Family Court to provide free legal advice to pro se litigants. The New York City Family Court Volunteer Attorney Program now has more than 400 volunteer attorneys from 40 major firms and corporations. Bill also helped build a coalition of organizations in a successful effort to secure additional Family Court judges in New York. He is now part of an effort spearheaded by Chief Judge Janet DiFiore to simplify the New York Court System from 11 trial courts to three.

Bill serves as counsel to the New York State Anti-Trafficking Coalition. In that capacity he has been a strong advocate for changes in the law and public policy to protect victims of human trafficking and bring perpetrators to justice. He also represents individual clients in this area, including a successful federal lawsuit brought on behalf of a trafficking victim against her traffickers. For his work, he was named by domestic violence nonprofit Sanctuary For Families as one of “New York’s New Abolitionists.”

Bill has spoken at numerous conferences and events, including New York Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman’s Hearings on Civil Legal Services and the American Bar Association’s Equal Justice Conference. In 2014, he attended a meeting at the White House with Vice President Joe Biden and other policymakers on the need for access to legal services in immigration proceedings.

Bill has been recognized for his public service with the Abely Pro Bono Leadership Award from Sanctuary For Families and Columbia Law School (2019); the Special Leadership Award for All-Around Excellence in Corporate Social Responsibility & the Law from City & State Reports (2015); the Commitment to Justice Award for Outstanding Partner from inMotion (2008); and the Matthew G. Leonard Award for Outstanding Pro Bono Achievement from MFY Legal Services (2007).

Outside of his work at the firm, Bill serves on various committees and non-profit boards. Bill is currently chairman of the Fund for Modern Courts, a non-partisan citizen organization devoted to improving New York State courts, and is formerly chairman of Legal Information For Families Today (LIFT), an organization devoted to unrepresented litigants in Family Court.