Pro Bono

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Our longstanding, non-profit partner, The People Concern, is one of Los Angeles County’s largest social services agencies, providing a wide array of wrap around services for those with nowhere else to turn, including mental and medical health care, housing, domestic violence services, substance abuse treatment and free care for those with furry companions. They meet the challenges inherent in homelessness and domestic violence with evidence-based solutions and, in so doing, transform lives with care and compassion.

Last week, the Proskauer community gathered for the 17th Annual Golden Gavel Awards ceremony to celebrate and honor those lawyers and staff members who went far above and beyond to contribute to the Firm’s pro bono, corporate social responsibility and community building efforts in 2024. Congratulations and thanks to the following colleagues for their extraordinary commitment to public service.

We have seen a dramatic increase in housing insecurity among our pro bono clients in recent years. Unfortunately, it’s part of an alarming nationwide trend. According to a recent report issued by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), homelessness reached a record high in 2024. Indeed, the report found that the number of people experiencing homelessness in the United States – more than 770,000 – grew by 18% from the previous year, while the number of people in families with children experiencing homelessness increased by 39%. In a post-pandemic economy that is generally considered to be doing well, it seems counterintuitive that we would now be experiencing such growing hardship. The report points to several factors driving these numbers:

According to a National Disability Institute report (available here), adults living with disabilities need 28% more income on average to achieve the same standard of living as those without disabilities. There are some tools designed to address this disparity, including Achieving a Better Life Experience (“ABLE”) accounts, a potentially overlooked but useful resource available through state-run programs for individuals with disabilities.

Just before the 2024 U.S. Election, Proskauer’s Reproductive Rights Steering Committee hosted a panel discussion addressing the current state of reproductive rights two years post-Dobbs.

I was honored to lead this conversation with the panel, which included two lawyers from the Center for Reproductive Rights, an organization where I previously served as a senior litigation attorney. The Center for Reproductive Rights is a global human rights organization that uses the law to advance reproductive freedom as a fundamental human right. During the conversation, Bella Pori, state legislative counsel in the U.S. Policy & Advocacy division, and Alex Wilson, a staff attorney with the Center’s U.S. Judicial Strategy team, outlined the ways the Center’s attorneys and advocates have challenged abortion bans and unnecessary maternal health restrictions, supported expansive policies protecting access to reproductive healthcare, and pushed for access to assisted reproduction. These actions describe some of the many ways the Center seeks to further its mission of ensuring that reproductive rights are protected in law as fundamental human rights for the dignity, equality, health and well-being of every person.