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The Best Time to Start Doing Pro Bono Work? Your First Day.

By William C. Silverman on September 5, 2019

Every year around this time, my colleague Erin Meyer and I can be found going through and carefully selecting pro bono opportunities for Proskauer’s incoming first-year associates.  Each of them will be assigned a pro bono matter on their first day at Proskauer.

Why have we made this a priority?  Assigning these matters sends a powerful message that pro bono work is important and a vital part of life at Proskauer.  The new matters encourage our lawyers, from day one, to look beyond the office walls to recognize both the tremendous unmet need for legal services in this country and the incredible difference each of us can make in our communities.

Lawyers who perform pro bono at the beginning of their careers are more likely to do so years later, creating a lasting effect on our new lawyers and strengthening the culture of the firm.

For the same reasons, the firm has made pro bono work a big part of its summer associate experience.

At the end of Proskauer’s summer program a few weeks ago, I received an email from summer associate Alyson Tocicki, which pretty much says it all. She had just volunteered through Proskauer with Public Counsel CARES in Los Angeles at one of the Department of Public Social Services offices to help individuals obtain and maintain their cash aid and food assistance. In her words, it was one of her “favorite experiences” of the summer, and “an important opportunity not only to give back to the community, but also to gain a more comprehensive understanding of the homeless crisis in LA. I was quickly reminded why I went to law school in the first place and inspired to seek out similar opportunities in the future.”

Posted in Corporate Social Responsibility, Pro Bono
Tags: Community, Department of Public Social Services, firm culture, first-year associate pro bono program, give back, homeless, homeless crisis, law school, Los Angeles, priority, Pro Bono, Public Counsel CARES, summer associates
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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.

Read more about William C. Silverman
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