SRZ has a long history as a leader in pro bono with a myriad of initiatives to its credit. In 2005 it took another groundbreaking step when it hired Daniel Greenberg, who was formerly Attorney-in-Chief of The Legal Aid Society and Director of Clinical Programs at Harvard Law School, to fill the newly created position of Special Counsel for Pro Bono Initiatives. A year later, the Louisiana Bar Association awarded us its Pro Bono Publico Award for prevailing in a lawsuit against FEMA, keeping more than 150,000 families in hotel shelters after Hurricane Katrina destroyed their homes.
Currently we are co-counsel with the New York Civil Liberties Union in challenging the adequacy of standards, oversight and resources in the indigent defense system. In addition to this test case litigation, the firm has been an innovator in representing not-for-profit organizations on their business affairs. We regularly advise more than two dozen such entities with diverse missions, including Sanctuary for Families, (defending battered women), Hedge Funds Cares (raising money to support abused children), and Partners In Health (provision of health care in underdeveloped countries such as Haiti, Peru and Rwanda). The non-litigation support ranges from business transactions to intellectual property, real estate, tax, employment and general corporate matters. This allows the not-for-profits to focus their energies on their mission-driven advocacy rather than the business end of its operations. We also represent a number of immigrants in asylum cases.
Schulte was also the first firm to place its summer associates in one-week internships with public interest organizations.
Representative Experience