Holwell Shuster & Goldberg Marks Fifth Anniversary with Major Financial Commitment to Pro Bono Partner Her Justice
NEW YORK—Commemorating five years of operation, Holwell Shuster & Goldberg LLP has committed to giving $50,000 over a three-year period to Her Justice, a non-profit organization that provides legal services to women and families in New York City. Since its founding in 2012, HSG has grown from five lawyers to more than 75 lawyers and staff, and in 2016 was named New York Law Firm of the Year by Benchmark Litigation.
“The last five years have been tremendously rewarding,” said HSG co-founder Judge Richard Holwell, who stepped down from a lifetime appointment as a federal judge in the Southern District of New York to launch the litigation boutique with Mike Shuster, Dan Goldberg, and Dorit Ungar Black. “We are deeply thankful to our clients and talented team members for their confidence in us, and we are grateful to assist an organization providing vital legal services to those in need.” The commitment will establish HSG as a corporate partner of Her Justice, which receives financial support and donations of legal services through law firms in New York.
“This act of giving back is consistent with our original conception of Holwell Shuster & Goldberg as something much more than a business,” said co-founding partner Mike Shuster. “We founded our firm not only to provide the finest legal representation to our corporate clients, but also to contribute to the profession and society.”
In its first five years, HSG has actively supported a variety of pro bono causes. This month, partner Vince Levy and a team of associates secured a federal ruling preventing the enforcement of the Trump administration’s February travel ban against the family of their client, a Syrian refugee granted asylum last year. In 2016, HSG counsel Hannah Sholl was named a New York Law Journal Lawyer Who Leads by Example for her extensive pro bono work on behalf of the National September 11 Memorial & Museum, for those who have been exonerated of crimes, and most recently alongside the ACLU in a groundbreaking workplace discrimination case for pregnant and breastfeeding pilots. Among many other active contributors of pro bono service, Dan Sullivan, who like Levy is one of two former Supreme Court clerks to become partners at HSG, has represented New York Civic in an appeal over the alienation of New York City parkland.
“While our lawyers will continue their diverse pro bono activities, with today’s commitment to Her Justice, we are creating a true partnership that will extend beyond a one-time donation,” said co-founding partner Dan Goldberg. “Our collaboration with Her Justice will serve as a focal point of our pro bono program going forward.”
HSG has designated partner Blair Kaminsky as its corporate representative to Her Justice. In that position, Kaminsky will help to broaden awareness of the critical work of Her Justice, encourage volunteer engagement within and outside of HSG, and secure monetary and other support for Her Justice.
About Holwell Shuster & Goldberg LLP
Holwell Shuster & Goldberg is a litigation boutique focused on the representation of clients in complex commercial, securities, antitrust, intellectual property, and bankruptcy litigation, as well as related civil, criminal, and regulatory matters.
About Her Justice
Her Justice is a nonprofit organization that takes a ‘pro bono first’ approach to the provision of legal services to low-income women in crisis in all five boroughs of New York City. The staff of 18 lawyers and legal assistants ensures that more than 3,000 women every year receive free legal assistance in family, divorce and immigration matters. Approximately three-quarters of Her Justice clients are mothers, over 80% are victims of domestic violence, half are Latina, one quarter are African-American and 15 percent are Asian or from another minority group. Last year, 11 Her Justice staff attorneys trained and mentored 1,490 pro bono lawyers who provided 72,292 hours of donated services, valued at more than $34M, to obtain safety and financial security for some of New York City's most vulnerable families.