Pro Bono
At Zuckerman Spaeder, the ability to perform legal work pro bono for those in need is central to our mission. We hold steadfastly to the idea that everyone deserves the opportunity for justice, and that with our familiarity with the courts, understanding of each individual’s legal rights, and ability to craft effective legal strategies, we have a responsibility to advocate on behalf of those without the means to hire an attorney. We also believe that pro bono is an opportunity to be involved in the local communities where our offices are located – New York, Washington, DC, Tampa, and Baltimore.
The vast majority of our pro bono work involves direct representation of low-income or under-represented individuals or the organizations that represent them. We work closely with federal and state courts as well as legal service providers, to identify and engage on representations that present important issues of law, have the potential to benefit a large number of people, or are particularly challenging. In recent years, this work has focused on issues relating to civil rights, immigration law, matters of compassionate release and criminal justice, child welfare, employment discrimination, health care, and ethics counseling to non-profit organizations.
Though we view philanthropy and volunteer work as independent of our pro bono efforts, we work tirelessly to align these initiatives, empowering our clients and our causes with the greatest access to life-changing resources. Through our philanthropic program, we support legal services and other organizations in various cities.
Zuckerman Spaeder’s tradition of pro bono service is recognized nationally and locally for its innovation and high impact.
- Pro Bono Law Firm of the Year from the District of Columbia Bar
- Beacon of Justice Award from the National Legal Aid and Defender Association
- Servant of Justice award from the District of Columbia Legal Aid Society
- Pro Bono Publico Award from the American Bar
- Daniel M. Gribbon Award for Pro Bono Advocacy from the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia
Additionally, our team members have maintained active leadership roles in numerous pro bono-focused organizations – as founder, president, chair, vice chair, members of the boards of directors or boards of trustees, and mentors, among others. A non-exhaustive list is below.
- American Bar Association’s Task Force on Building Public Trust in the American Justice System
- Counsel for Court Excellence
- Crossroads for Florida Kids
- Families Against Mandatory Minimums
- Gideon’s Promise
- Job Opportunities Task Force
- Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law
- Legal Aid Society of DC
- Legal Counsel for the Elderly
- Maryland Legal Aid
- Mid-Atlantic Innocence Project
- National Health Law Project (NHelp)
- Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia
- Rising for Justice (formerly DC Law Students in Court)
- Strive
- The Equal Justice Associates
- Washington Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs
Child welfare
Zuckerman Spaeder attorneys in Tampa have frequently acted pro bono on behalf of children and young adults through Crossroads for Florida Kids. We serve as primary attorneys for children in foster care and assist the public defenders of others who are contending with delinquency and criminal matters. Most of these kids have suffered the trauma of abuse, neglect, or abandonment, causing mental health issues.
Criminal justice
Drawing on one of Zuckerman Spaeder’s known strengths, we help our pro bono clients through a multitude of criminal justice challenges. Our work runs the gamut from counseling on expungement to death penalty work, representing clients on compassionate release motions, to undertaking pro bono criminal cases. The firm’s commitment to criminal justice work only grew during the pandemic, which threw into harsh relief the necessity for representation of incarcerated individuals who are elderly, very sick, or at heightened risk of COVID-19, and do not pose a danger to the community. Our team has fought tirelessly on behalf of these pro bono clients to return them to their families and has done so with great success on more than a dozen of occasions.
Health care
Zuckerman Spaeder LLP has a strong health care practice that represents clients in an array of matters. The National Health Law Program, which educates, advocates, and litigates health care issues, turns to our health care team for representation in lawsuits in which it is a party or a friend of the court. The firm also provides pro bono representation in ERISA health care cases, complementing our national plaintiff’s health care practice.
Housing law
As part of our commitment to ensuring that members of our community have equal access to justice, we devote time pro bono to working with clients, who for any variety of reasons, are facing homelessness. Whether counseling clients through issues of unjust eviction, housing violations including unhealthy living conditions, or communications challenges due to language barriers or reading comprehension, our lawyers have meaningfully assisted numerous pro bono clients in securing exceptions, extensions, or payment to protect their access to safe and stable housing.
Immigration law
The firm works actively on immigration matters in a number of different areas. Zuckerman Spaeder has provided legal ethics advice to a national provider of legal services to immigrants. Firm attorneys actively work on a number of special immigrant juvenile status cases. Firm attorneys have also secured political asylum for a victim of torture and secured a reduced bail for an immigrant who was arrested and detained.
Legal Aid Society Appellate Advocacy Project
Since 2004, Zuckerman Spaeder has helped to create, and has worked in partnership with, the appellate project of the Legal Aid Society of the District of Columbia to advocate on behalf of those in greatest need. Focusing on public benefits, housing, family, and consumer law, the Barbara McDowell Appellate Advocacy Project provides high-quality representation to people who cannot afford a lawyer in civil appeals before the District of Columbia Court of Appeals. Through this partnership, firm attorneys provide representation to clients before the D.C. Court of Appeals and further assist Legal Aid and its partners in preparing and mooting appeals. This legal aid appellate project is one of the first in the nation.
News
Meet the team
Naomi B. Bates
Associate
Brian J. Beaton, Jr.
Associate
Gregg L. Bernstein
Partner
Leila Bijan
Associate
Dwight P. Bostwick
Partner and Firm Co-Chair
Blair G. Brown
Partner
Graeme W. Bush
Partner
Bobbi Camp
Paralegal Manager & Office Manager
Alyssa Howard Card
Associate
Trillium Chang
Associate
Jay Chen
Senior Paralegal
Courtney L. Christensen
Associate
John J. Connolly
Partner
Jason S. Cowart
Partner
Nicholas M. DiCarlo
Associate
Margaret "Peggy" Dotzel
Partner
Catherine S. Duval
Partner
Mark J. Feaster
Associate
Jack E. Fernandez
Partner
Adam L. Fotiades
Partner
Devon Galloway
Partner
Andrew N. Goldfarb
Partner
Melody L. Harness
Staff Attorney
Melinda Harris
Staff Attorney
Marcos E. Hasbun
Partner
Steven N. Herman
Partner
Martin S. Himeles, Jr.
Partner
Samantha Miller Kavanagh
Associate
Lisa M. Kilbride
Staff Attorney
Jason M. Knott
Partner
Janice Lee
Staff Attorney Manager/Staff Attorney
Christopher R. MacColl
Associate
Kirk E. MacKinnon Morrow
Associate
Ezra B. Marcus
Associate
Joshua T. Mathew
Associate
M Moore
Associate
Daniel P. Moylan
Partner
Ariella E. Muller
Associate
Conor B. O'Croinin
Partner
Margarita K. O'Donnell
Partner
Antoinette Pick-Jones
Associate
Bryan Reines
Associate
David A. Reiser
Counsel
Monica F. Sharma
Associate
Cy Smith
Partner
Sophia Stefanović
Associate
Bryan D. Thomson
Associate
Ivano Ventresca
Associate
D'Ann A. Vermilye
Senior Paralegal
Michael R. Waxman
Associate
Morris "Sandy" Weinberg Jr.
Founder of the Tampa Office and Senior Counsel
David Wong
Staff Attorney