Paul, Weiss Supports SDNY’s Federal Prison Reentry Program

Paul, Weiss is participating in the Southern District of New York’s Reentry through Intensive Supervision and Employment (RISE) Court program, which helps recently incarcerated individuals reenter the community after serving time in federal prison. The program is administered and presided over by SDNY judges, probation officers, pro bono attorneys and other stakeholders.

At a recent dinner for participating law firms hosted by U.S. District Judge Denise Cote, who leads the RISE Court program, corporate associate Deniz Gurbuz delivered a presentation on Paul, Weiss’s contributions. Paul, Weiss has helped pro bono clients in RISE establish LLCs to help them gain economic independence, including enabling one client to earn a living as an artist by developing template contracts for painting murals in restaurants and clubs. Other work includes resolving outstanding traffic tickets to help clients regain driver’s licenses in order to secure employment, and resolving educational debt and child support arrears.

In addition to Deniz, the Paul, Weiss team involved in this ongoing effort includes litigation associate David Wechsler, corporate associates Ruel Jerry, Kelsea Schimmel and Joelle Rosen, special counsel Steven Banks and pro bono attorney Jeremy Benjamin. The team is supervised by firm chairman Brad Karp.