Pro Bono

Schulte has a long history as a leader in pro bono legal work and a firm-wide legacy of contributing to the greater good. Today, under the leadership of Daniel Greenberg — a former president and attorney-in-chief of the Legal Aid Society and former director of clinical programs at Harvard Law School — we advise nearly 50 nonprofits with diverse missions, work hard to advance social justice, and provide high-quality legal aid to those who need it most.

We have been recognized for our work by the Innocence Project, Urban Justice Center, and Women’s Housing and Development Co., among others. Because of our enduring commitment to our pro bono practice, we were named one of the Top 10 Leading Law Firms for Pro Bono by Who’s Who Legal 2015.

Team efforts.

Our pro bono clients include Sanctuary for Families, which defends battered women; Hedge Funds Care, which raises money to support abused children; and Partners In Health, which provides health care in underdeveloped countries such as Haiti, Peru and Rwanda.

We also give a voice to people — and causes — that would otherwise go underserved. In 2015, for example, we served as co-counsel with the New York Civil Liberties Union in the historic settlement of Hurrell-Harring v. New York, which addressed the adequacy of standards, oversight, and resources in the indigent defense system. Schulte provided pro bono services to support the formation of the National Memorial for Peace and Justice and the accompanying Legacy Museum in Montgomery, Ala., which opened in April 2018. We also recently collaborated with the Bazelon Center, the National Disability Rights Network and the Autistic Self-Advocacy Network to release a newly updated voting rights guide called “Vote. It’s Your Right: A Guide to the Voting Rights of People with Mental Disabilities.” The guide serves as a resource to help preserve the rights of people with mental disabilities.

And in 2006, we prevailed in a lawsuit against FEMA, keeping more than 150,000 families in hotel shelters after Hurricane Katrina destroyed their homes. The Louisiana Bar Association awarded Schulte its Pro Bono Publico Award in appreciation of our team’s tireless efforts there.

A career cornerstone.

As part of our commitment to encouraging pro bono service, we place each Schulte summer associate in a one-week internship with one of the pro bono clients we represent — and we were one of the first firms to do so.

Additionally, we host an annual Pro Bono Awards Ceremony to celebrate the work of attorneys who devote more than 50 hours to pro bono projects and to recognize outstanding public interest organizations.

Recognized commitment.

Schulte and its individual attorneys are consistently acknowledged for their pro bono work:

• Who’s Who Legal 2015, Top 10 Leading Law Firms for Pro Bono
• Sanctuary for Families, 2015 Above and Beyond Award for Excellence in Pro Bono Advocacy
• Opportunity Agenda, 2015 Creative Change Award
• New York Law Journal, Lawyers Who Lead by Example, 2015 Pro Bono Award
• New York Council of Defense Lawyers, 2014 Norman Ostrow Award
• Women’s Housing and Economic Development Co., 2014 Pro Bono Leadership Award
• Lawyers Alliance for New York, 15 Year Circle, 2014 Cornerstone Awards
• Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, 2014 Robert F. Kennedy Justice Prize
• Urban Justice Center, 2013 Social Justice Award
• New York State Bar Association’s Committee to Ensure Quality of Mandated Representation, 2013 Award for Outstanding Achievements in Promoting Standards of Excellence in Mandated Representation
• National Legal Aid & Defender Award, 2013 Beacon of Justice Award
• Community Service Society, 2012 Pro Bono Award
• The Innocence Project, 2011 Pro Bono Award
• Sanctuary for Families, 2010 Law Firm Leadership Award
• Lawyers Alliance for New York, 2010 Cornerstone Award
• Public Justice, 2007 Trial Lawyers of the Year, Finalist
• Louisiana State Bar Association, 2006 Pro Bono Publico Award
• Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, 2006 Pro Bono Award
• National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty, 2006 Pro Bono Counsel Award