Paul, Weiss Pro Bono Victory Named “Win of the Week” by NACDL

Paul, Weiss was recognized by the Compassionate Release Clearinghouse of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL) with a “Win of the Week” for securing the compassionate release of our pro bono client following oral argument before Senior Judge Leo Glasser in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York.

In the oral argument, litigation associate Daniel Negless successfully argued that compassionate release was warranted because our client’s asthmatic condition placed him at grave risk if he remained incarcerated during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, and that the relevant sentencing factors weighed in favor of his release, including his model behavior while incarcerated, his status as a nonviolent offender, and his carefully coordinated release plan. Our client was originally scheduled to be released from the Federal Bureau of Prisons custody in June 2021.

In recognizing the win, the NACDL noted that “Daniel Negless and a great team from Paul Weiss won freedom for their client. Very interesting features of this case include a nail-biting hearing in front of a very tough judge.” Just two days after the oral argument, held on September 16, our pro bono client was released from federal prison and safely returned home to his family in Queens.

The Paul, Weiss team included litigation counsel Justin Lerer and associates Daniel Sinnreich, Daniel Negless and Alexander Atkins. Litigation partner Roberto Finzi supervised the matter. Litigation associate Eunice Hong also provided assistance.