Paul, Weiss Summer Program Concludes With Impactful Pro Bono Work

The Paul, Weiss 2021 virtual summer program offered summer associates the opportunity to enhance their substantive legal skills and experience while contributing meaningfully to work on life-changing matters for our pro bono clients. Associates were engaged in impactful pro bono legal assistance to individuals and organizations in need across a broad range of public interest matters.

During their time at Paul, Weiss, nearly 75% of our summer associates worked on a pro bono matter. They assisted on matters ranging from assisting with transgender name changes alongside the Transgender Legal Defense Fund and low-income New Yorkers in applying for rent relief through the Emergency Rental Assistance Program, to advocating for victims of domestic violence with the Courtroom Advocates Project alongside Sanctuary for Families.

Additionally, our bi-monthly Pro Bono Summer Café lunch-and-learn series offered summer associates the chance to learn about the core focuses of our pro bono program. As part of the series, associates and legal service organizations presented on key issues important to Paul, Weiss, including on our work with BIPOC-owned businesses, litigations against white supremacists, assistance to immigrant families forcibly separated at the border or seeking asylum, and gun control efforts, as well as on our leading role in the nation’s most pressing reproductive rights cases.

Substantive pro bono assignments were fundamental skill-building tools for both transactional and litigation summer associates. “Not only did I learn and receive great experiences on both teams, but I also loved that, even as a summer associate, I could help make a difference on two issues that I am extremely passionate about,” said Bree Johnson, a 2021 New York summer associate who worked alongside the litigation team and Metro AME Church in a lawsuit against the Proud Boys, and alongside the corporate team and New Yorkers Against Gun Violence in assisting with research on gun laws in the State of New York.

Even in a virtual format, our summer associates were able to truly connect with our pro bono clients and provide essential work and legal services. Reece Lazarus, a 2021 New York summer associate, called his pro bono experience “one of the most rewarding parts of the [summer] program. I was able to do meaningful work for the New York City community, while improving my lawyering skills through contract drafting and consulting with clients.”