Videos

Parimal Garg: I've always been drawn to public service, and pro bono work I see as very much in that tradition of public service, because you're doing work on behalf of the public interest.

David Cassidy: Involvement with the pro bono work here at the firm begins as a summer associate. It's a great way to integrate with the firm as a summer, because you get assigned to a partner or someone who's more senior than you, and you get to work with these individuals right away, and you get introduced to some of the pro bono opportunities that exist within the firm; and Lowenstein made a point of not only putting us on billable accounts or putting us on pro bono matters immediately.

Daniel W. Borneman: I partially chose to come to this firm because the pro bono program is a fantastic organization, and it is taken seriously by the firm. The firm really does value and prioritize the pro bono work.

Gary M. Wingens: Actually, one day as a first-year associate–actually a first-month associate; I had not even passed the bar yet–Alan Lowenstein came to my office and had a lease in his hand for a pro bono client, and he said, “I hear you want to be a real estate lawyer. Here, review this lease.” And that was my first pro bono assignment.

Markiana J. Julceus: When I was a Summer, I helped prep a survivor of domestic violence for a final restraining order hearing, and that was one of the very first times I was in a position to help participate in a client interview, and kind of learn that skill of fact gathering, particularly with somebody who has experienced a traumatic event, and that requires kind of its own level of empathy. Basically, as a Summer, I was kind of given full reign to join in anything that piqued my interest.

Nigeria S. Parrott: Meeting Denise Panzer, and working very closely with her on some of my ERGs (Employee Resource Groups), she asked me, “was I interested?” And I was like, “of course!” That was my first introduction to the pro bono Name Change Project. I also worked on the estate planning through Volunteer Lawyers for Justice.

Diane Claussen: My very first experience was as a second-year paralegal. I was approached by an attorney who was partnered with Children's Rights. I reviewed case files and depositions, and that's just what got my foot in the door with pro bono work.

Peter Quinn: The first real pro bono work that I did was a name change for a low-income trans person. One great thing about the Summer Associate program is you get exposed to kind of a little bit of everything, and that includes pro bono. And I remember sitting in orientation and there was a specific pro bono component of, “What interests you? What do you care about?” And we can kind of give you this menu of options that the firm has so much of.

Geena M. Caporale: From day one, I got involved in pro bono work as a Summer Associate. The first ever pro bono project I worked on was assisting a veteran in preparing his will and testament. That was a really meaningful experience because the veteran actually still sometimes reaches out to me today.

Noemi S. Schor: I came to the firm as a pro bono fellow. The Pro Bono department is really what drew me to the firm itself. So, for a full year, I got to just work on the firm's pro bono docket, doing all different kinds of big and small types of cases, getting to work with not only the lawyers and staff in the Pro Bono department, but also the lawyers and staff across the firm.

Kristin V. Taylor: One of the things that really attracted me to Lowenstein to begin with was the firm's really open and unabashed commitment to providing pro bono services.

Çagla Yetis: Myself and another Summer Associate met with a senior person who was getting their affairs in order, wanted to talk about how to set up certain documents for their kids, have like a health directive in place. So, we helped them with preparing all of those documents. It exposed me to an area that I don't normally work in.

Carolina G. Gordon: When I joined the firm, I was soon asked to start helping the department with interpretation since I speak both English and Spanish. So that was my way to get intopro bono with immigration matters and some other matters that we had here at the firm.

Matthew R. Hintz: I first got involved with pro bono matters very early on. The Pro Bono group had started a workshop with the Name Change Project to do the legal name changes for the transgender women and men, and they had a big program for that. And I said, “you know, that's something I definitely want to work on.”

Laura Cicirelli: Everyone was reaching out to me with different pro bono opportunities, which I thought was really awesome. And one of them that really piqued my interest was the Tenancy Clinic. And so, I tried my first one that spring right when I got here, and I enjoyed it so much, and I've stayed involved ever since.

Daniel A. Suckerman: Right when I first started, it was obvious to me that it wasn't just sort of a “check the box requirement.” It was very much favored, very much desired, and tons of opportunity. As a transactional attorney, sometimes it's hard to find good transactional pro bono work. But here, the Center for Public Interest presents those opportunities to us.

Yelky Perez: So, I first got involved as a Summer Associate. One of my first assignments was working with a veteran to prepare his will. And what stood out to me was how much support there was internally to ensure that we had all of the structure and support to make sure we got it right from the very beginning. Pro bono work felt intentional, real, and it was one of the highlights of my summer.

Jeffrey M. Shapiro: My first pro bono project was a merger involving a long-standing nonprofit that I think Alan Lowenstein actually had had helped form decades ago, and it was a merger. And so, my role as a corporate lawyer was to assist--just as I would any for-profit client--I became interested in pursuing more of it after that, because I recognized that my skillset could be so helpful to organizations like that that are trying to further their own mission, but don't necessarily have the resources in house to do it.

Jonathan C. Wishnia: When you look at some of our pro bono or community efforts, we are constantly partnering people understand us, understand Alan's vision of what the firm should be, and seeking to bring that out into the world.

Gary M. Wingens: Alan often would talk about why he started his law firm and what the core values were of his firm, and what was important to him. He thought it was incredibly important to always be very involved in community activities, in civic activities, and give back to the community with the legal expertise that he had accumulated through actual pro bono work, and that was a core part of why he started this firm. We are the inheritors of that legacy.