Sanctuary for Families’ Pro Bono Project has the honor of working with hundreds of extremely dedicated and expert pro bono attorneys annually. As part of our Pro Bono Spotlight, we highlight some of the great work done by Sanctuary pro bono attorneys! *Please note that this blog contains descriptions of abuse that could be triggering* We first connected with Nicholas (“Nick”) A. Butto, Litigation Associate and member of the pro bono committee at Mintz, in November 2022. Since then, he has thrown himself into both coordinating pro bono partnerships between Mintz and Sanctuary and taking on a he ..read more

Sanctuary for Families’ Pro Bono Project has the honor of working with hundreds of extremely dedicated and expert pro bono attorneys annually. As part of our Pro Bono Spotlight, we highlight some of the great work done by Sanctuary pro bono attorneys! *Please note that this blog contains descriptions of stalking and physical and sexual abuse that could be triggering* Latham & Watkins Advocates Secure Asylum Victory for Domestic Violence Survivor Sanctuary for Families is thrilled to highlight the outstanding work of a London-based team of attorneys from Latham & Watkins comprised of pa ..read more

At this year’s Above & Beyond Awards, Sanctuary for Families is pleased to honor Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer’s Timothy Howard, Xiaoxi Tu, and Nate Montalto, and Weil Gotshal & Manges’ Steven A. Reiss, Adam C. Hemlock, Rachel Crosswell, Selma Haveric, and Liz Klinger for their team’s work representing a mother in federal court for several years, in the face of repeated threats by her ex-husband and his associates and the kidnappings of her children.  Rachel[1] is the daughter of the founder of an extremist religious sect and the mother of six beautiful children. The group exerts ..read more

Sanctuary for Families is pleased to honor accomplished trial lawyer Joseph Sanderson of Steptoe & Johnson LLP with an Above & Beyond Award for his tireless, inspired, and compassionate advocacy on behalf of Sanctuary’s client in a retaliatory defamation case. Joseph is a well-known and accomplished litigator who has generously shared his expertise and experience to help Sanctuary’s client achieve a just outcome in a retaliatory defamation lawsuit. As Sanctuary’s client explained in her affidavit, her ex-husband—an NYPD officer—had physically and sexually abused her during their marria ..read more

At this year’s Above & Beyond Awards, Sanctuary is honoring a team from Paul, Weiss, including partners Audra J. Soloway and William B. Michael, counsel Robert N. Kravitz, and former associates Arianna Markel, Paige Geier, Michael Bass, Randall Bryer and Melika Hadziomerovic for their compassionate and devoted pro bono representation of “Mary” to obtain a favorable decision in a complex and highly contested order of protection (OP) case. In 2019, “Mary,” a mother of two young children, fled her abusive husband to live in a domestic violence shelter, filed for custody, and obtained a tempor ..read more

At this year’s Above & Beyond Awards, Sanctuary for Families will honor teams from Linklaters LLP and Covington & Burling LLP for representing “Jonah” and “James” in obtaining asylum status. The teams consisted of Associates Nina Hrushko and Rebecca Zeldin of Linklaters, and Associate Lauren Shor and former Associates Jack Nelson, Katherine Onyshko, and Elisa Solomon of Covington. Jonah and James are Russian gay men and LGBTQIA+ activists. As openly gay men in an incredibly homophobic country, James and Jonah consistently experienced threats and violence. James’s family in particular w ..read more

At this year’s Above & Beyond Awards, Sanctuary for Families will be honoring a team from Gibson Dunn for their dedication to representing “Ms. N” from El Salvador in a defensive asylum case. The outstanding team representing Ms. N included associates Alexandra Perloff-Giles and Ana Lopez, and former Gibson Dunn associate Philip Shapiro. Ms. N is a survivor of childhood sexual abuse. As a young teenager, her mother sold her to a MS-13 gang member and she was forced to become his girlfriend. During the course of their “relationship,” the man verbally, physically, and sexually abused Ms. N ..read more

Established 26 years ago by Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP, Sanctuary for Families, and Columbia Law School, the Abely Awards honor individuals who have made a difference in the lives of survivors of gender violence and who embody Maryellen Abely’s compassion, zeal, energy, and dedication. This year, we are thrilled to present the 2023 Abely Leading Women and Children to Safety Award to the Honorable Fernando M. Camacho. INTRODUCING JUDGE CAMACHO The Honorable Fernando Camacho is an Acting Justice of the Suffolk County Supreme Court in the Tenth Judicial District of New York, where he presides ..read more

Established 26 years ago by Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP, Sanctuary for Families, and Columbia Law School, the Abely Awards honor individuals who have made a difference in the lives of survivors of gender violence and who embody Maryellen Abely’s compassion, zeal, energy, and dedication. This year, we are thrilled to present the 2023 Abely Pro Bono Award to Dara Sheinfeld. INTRODUCING DARA Dara Sheinfeld is Counsel and Head of Pro Bono Litigation at Davis Polk & Wardwell, where she leads pro bono litigation initiatives focusing on trial work and matters assisting survivors of domestic vi ..read more

At this year’s Above & Beyond Awards, Sanctuary is honoring a team of attorneys from Simpson Thacher & Bartlett (“Simpson Thacher”) for their patient and compassionate pro bono representation of “Sylvia” in obtaining T Nonimmigrant status. The team consisted of Partner, Leanne Welds; Of Counsel, Mark J. Stein; and former Associate, Suzy R. Yaster. At the age of 13, Sylvia was forced into an arranged marriage—an event that commenced years of forced labor and abuse in and between Sylvia’s home country and the United States. Following the marriage, Sylvia was immediately taken out of scho ..read more