Videos

Daniel W. Borneman: So I was actually very recently overwhelmed with the firm’s support on a pro bono matter that I brought into the firm myself. A contractor who was detained by ICE, they were looking for an immigration lawyer, and I talked really briefly to Natalie and to Alex Shalom, and they said, “This seems like an illegal detention,” and then they threw like the weight of their whole department behind me. It was really great to see them not only trust me to bring in a case, but also just completely support the execution of it. And we got them out.

Markiana J. Julceus: So, I am the child of immigrants, and so working in the immigration space has like always been really important to me. And so, a lot of my pro bono work centers itself in that space. That happens to be a place where the firm has a niche.

Noemi S. Schor: The firm does a lot of representation of immigrant youth who come to this country and then apply for what's called Special Immigrant Juvenile Status. And these are folks who have been abused, or neglected, or otherwise mistreated in their home countries. And they're not only seeking asylum here from those countries, but also from difficult personal circumstances that were happening to them in those countries. So, our firm does a lot of individual representation for those clients.

So, we brought a class action with four co-counsel firms and organizations--so a huge lawyer team representing about 200,000 class members who are under the age of 21--so that was a real
team effort. It was an incredible opportunity to work not only with other firms, co-counsel, of course with other attorneys within the firm, but also with some nonprofits that are really the subject matter specialists in the area. And it was just extremely inspiring and impressive to see how dedicated and devoted they are to their clients and really take the time to use everyone's respective expertise to get the best results for our clients.

Nigeria S. Parrott: The Name Change Project; I think it’s very important for people to be recognized for who they are. The whole process, from being with those types of clients, because we get to see from beginning to end the results. We actually get to go to court with them. Just being there for them, I think it's very important, so I love that, especially at the end when they're given their final judgment, so you see the smiles on their faces, and it's just so rewarding and so meaningful to me.

Matthew R. Hintz: For the legal name changes for the transgender women and men, when someone gets the legal recognition of their chosen name, we've had tears. We've had people telling us it's the best day of their life, that they can move forward on their life, and live their life, and that's not the usual reaction we get with a lot of our other clients. That's the work that always stands out.

Carolina G. Gordon: In January of 2025, we got offered the opportunity to work with this organization called Partners. They're a nonprofit law firm that helps individuals of domestic violence and sexual assault. I was able to participate in taking calls, going through voicemails, getting back to these prospective clients, and doing the intake interviews for them.

Parimal Garg: Lowenstein represented a consortium of groups, including the New Jersey Institute for Social Justice and several other social justice advocacy groups, who submitted a brief supporting the state's position, and their rationale was that the Attorney General's ability to take over troubled police departments is really important for communities of color who might not have representation at the local government level, and they ultimately need protections from the state Attorney General, who's the Chief Law Enforcement Officer of the state, who can identify if there are racial disparities in policing and can act to rectify them. That was an important victory for those groups.

Crystal McDonald: I’d say working with the Rising Tide program has been particularly rewarding. I like to kind of see a company start from the very beginning and help it grow. So, I thought that was a great opportunity to kind of see, you know, an individual who might not have a lot of financial means to start a business and are looking for legal help, to help make sure entrepreneurs are getting the resources that they need in order to keep their business going and kind of stay afloat.

Jeffrey M. Shapiro: It was bringing together pro bono type nonprofit organizations that lacked the resources to continue to further their mission in the same way that they had wanted to, but pairing them up with a healthier organization that was able to sustain, at least in a good measure, the mission. And so, at the end of the day, it felt rewarding that you were able to find a way that the mission of supporting those in need could continue under a different roof.

Diane Claussen: I recently assisted a Chapter 7 bankruptcy client who was a veteran and amputee. He was saddled with medical debt as a result of his medical injuries, and he was living in a garage apartment, and unable to pay his bills. We were able to get him a full discharge of all of his debts in bankruptcy, and he was able to get a fresh start and was incredibly grateful for the result.

Peter Quinn: The firm is representing just under 20 transgender individuals in federal custody in the Bureau of Prisons. That case has really been omnipresent for me the past year and a half, and it's also been the source of, probably, my greatest personal satisfaction.

David Cassidy: All of my pro bono matters have been a positive experience, and I think that probably the most positive aspect of working with the Center for Public Interest is the diversity and the range of matters that I've gotten to engage in. There's something for everyone to engage in. It's not about any sort of politics, any sort of perspective on the world. It's just there's good to be done here through this firm and through this department, and there's something for everybody.