Justice Matters: Pro Bono Newsletter

July 2024

IN THIS ISSUE:
f Simpson Thacher and theSouthern Coalition for Social
Justice OverturnUnconstitutional North Carolina
Law Criminalizing Voting
f Simpson Thacher Obtains
Appellate Victory and Five Year
Final Order of Protection for
Domestic Violence Survivor Client
f Simpson Thacher Wins Two Year
Sentence Reduction for a Client
Suffering From Schizophrenia
f Simpson Thacher and Civil Rights
Groups Challenge Louisiana Law
Mandating School Posting of
Ten Commandments
f London Office Launches New
Weekly Clinic in Westminster
f Spotlight: 2024 Public Interest
Summer Fellow, Marissa Bucci
f Simpson Thacher Team
Completes Mississippi Trial inFirst Amendment Challenge
f Clinic Roundup
f Awards, Events and Mentions

Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP

Simpson Thacher and the Southern Coalition for Social
Justice Overturn Unconstitutional North Carolina Law
Criminalizing Voting
On April 22, 2024, Simpson Thacher and the Southern Coalition for Social
Justice (SCSJ) secured a decisive victory for their clients in a federal lawsuit inNorth Carolina District Court challenging a North Carolina law criminalizing
voting. The win overturned a racially discriminatory law that made it a Class I
felony for North Carolina residents to vote if they are on parole, probation or
post-release supervision for a felony conviction, even if they mistakenly believe
they are eligible to vote. Virtually every other election crime punishable as aClass I felony in North Carolina requires intent. Under this strict liability law,
there had been high-profile prosecutions which chilled countless eligible voterswith criminal convictions from exercising their right to cast a ballot. This fear ofprosecution impeded voter engagement efforts by the North Carolina A. PhilipRandolph Institute and Action NC, who were the Plaintiffs in the suit. The
lawsuit was originally filed in September 2020.
The team successfully argued that this law, which dates back to the nineteenth
century, violated the Due Process and Equal Protection Clauses of the
Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. In her decision, U.S.
District Court Judge Loretta Biggs found it “extraordinary and telling” thatthe state did not dispute the discriminatory origins of the law or its current
discriminatory impact on Black voters. She also noted that vagueness aroundthe strict-liability nature of the law, enabled North Carolina district attorneys to“pursue their personal predilections” in deciding whether to enforce the law.
After Simpson Thacher and SCSJ moved for summary judgment, the North
Carolina legislature amended the law on a prospective basis for elections
after January 1, 2024. The Simpson Thacher team included Partner Jon
Youngwood, Senior Counsel David Elbaum, Associate Jacob Lundqvist
and Pro Bono Attorney Nihara Choudhri.
1Simpson Thacher Obtains Appellate
Victory and Five Year Final Orderof Protection for Domestic Violence
Survivor Client
Simpson Thacher secured vital protections for adomestic violence survivor in a successful appeal
to the New York State Appellate Division: Second
Department, which resulted in entry of a final,
five year order of protection for the Firm’s client,
who suffered years of abuse at the hands of her
ex-husband. Simpson Thacher had appealed thelower court’s determination that only a suspended
judgment should be entered in petitioner’s case,rather than an order of protection, even though
the court had previously found the petitioner’s
testimony credible about the physical injuries
she suffered as a result of her ex-husband’s
attacks against her. These included when he useddangerous instruments to whip and strike her,sometimes in the presence of the parties’ child. On
appeal, the Second Department unanimously held,
as the Simpson Thacher team had argued, that theex-husband’s acts of abuse constituted “aggravating
circumstances” under the law, warranting entry ofa five-year final order of protection rather than thesuspended judgement.
Litigation Associate Alison Sher briefed the caseand appeared at oral argument in the Appellate
Division. The Simpson Thacher team also included
Litigation Partner Martin Bell, Associate Libbie
Hamner, and Pro Bono Counsel Susan Cordaro.
The case was referred to the Firm by Sanctuary for
Families.

Simpson Thacher Wins Two Year
Sentence Reduction for a Client
Suffering From Schizophrenia
On May 28, the New York Appellate Division, First
Department, reduced our client’s prison sentence
for manslaughter in the first degree from 12 years
to 10 years in the interests of justice. Our client
has suffered from severe mental health issues,
including schizophrenia, since he was a teenager.
After experiencing physical and emotional abuse byhis parents, he was placed in the foster care system.
He eventually became homeless and went years
without appropriate mental health treatment. He
instead attempted to ease his pain with drugs andalcohol.
In 2017, our client suffered a psychotic episodein which he believed that another homelessindividual had stolen his backpack containing his
identification documents. He hit that individual in
the head with a long metal object, which ultimately
led to the individual’s death. This incident was
extremely out of character for our client, who had
never previously been convicted of any violent
offenses. The team included Litigation Partner
Rachel Sparks Bradley, Pro Bono Attorney
Nihara Choudhri, and Associates Margerite
Blase and AJ Tagliaferri.

Simpson Thacher and Civil Rights
Groups Challenge Louisiana Law
Mandating School Posting of Ten
Commandments
Simpson Thacher, the American Civil Liberties
Union, the American Civil Liberties Union ofLouisiana, Americans United for Separation of
Church and State (“AU”) and the Freedom from
Religion Foundation (“FFRF”) filed a lawsuit
on June 24, 2024, challenging a new Louisiana
law requiring that the Ten Commandments bedisplayed in every public school classroom. The
Complaint for Roake v. Brumley, filed in the U.S.
District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana,
asserts that the newly enacted statute violates
longstanding U.S. Supreme Court precedent andthe First Amendment. The Complaint further
alleges that the new law “substantially interfereswith and burdens” parents’ First Amendment
right to direct their children’s religious education2

and upbringing, and that, in approving andmandating the display of a specific version of the
Ten Commandments, goes against the doctrine ofseparation of church and state.
The lawsuit, brought on behalf of a multi-faithgroup of nine Louisiana families with children in
public schools, highlights the religiously coercive
nature of the displays mandated by the new law.
The complaint seeks a declaratory judgmentthat the law is unconstitutional and a permanent
injunction to prevent its enforcement. The Simpson
Thacher team includes Litigation Partner Jon
Youngwood, Senior Counsel Janet Gochman,
and Associates Jordan Krieger and Nicholas
Prendergast.

London Office Launches New Weekly
Clinic in Westminster
The London Office launched a new clinic in thespring of 2024 in partnership with the South
Westminster Legal Advice Centre (SWLAC).
The SWLAC Clinic operates weekly on Thursday
evenings in Westminster and serves those livingin the area who earn the minimum wage or are inreceipt of benefits and cannot afford solicitor fees.
Clinic volunteers offer general advice on mattersrelating mostly to housing, employment and familylaw. Simpson Thacher Paralegal Tilda Santin
coordinates the Firm’s schedule and provides
invaluable assistance to the clinic’s operations.
Simpson Thacher volunteers thus far have included
Partners Clare Gaskell and Vasanth Padaki,Counsel Spencer Patton, Associates Sandy(Seungyeon) Anderson, Joe Donaghey,
Jennifer Falconer Hall, Camilla GelsonThomas, Edward Godwin, Ella Hammond,Ndjodi Ndeunyema and Amy Volz, andParalegals Alexander Clement, Melissa
Comyns, Harriet Hoban, Catrin Howells,
Munyiva Mbai, Denise Nantongo, James
Phillips and Tullis Ross.

Spotlight: 2024 Public Interest
Summer Fellow, Marissa Bucci
Summer Associate Marissa
Bucci will be working witha youth-focused Connecticut
nonprofit organization
called Domus as part ofher 2024 Public Interest
Summer Fellowship. Domus
aims to provide community
programs and training tosupport at-risk youth, with a particular focus on
workforce development, juvenile justice, youth
violence prevention, and education. As part ofher work, Marissa will conduct legal research
for a new Connecticut law that seeks to expand
access to diversionary alternatives for children
who commit minor crimes. She hopes to speakwith local attorneys in the immigration and publicdefense fields to gain insights on how the new law
could impact undocumented youth and the current
criminal legal system process. These opportunities
will enable Marissa to create a legal memo for the
new juvenile diversion law.

Simpson Thacher Team Completes
Trial in Mississippi in First
Amendment Challenge
Simpson Thacher and the ACLU of Mississippi
challenged a Lafayette County, Mississippi
permitting policy on First Amendment grounds.
The Lafayette County Courthouse grounds havelong been a site of protests, rallies and othercommunity activities, including in the summerof 2020 protests and counter-protests regarding
the Confederate monument on the Courthousegrounds. In July 2020, local documentary
filmmaker, photographer, visual artist andeducator, John Rash, applied for a permit to use the
Courthouse grounds for his evening PROJECT(ion)event, a part of the annual Oxford Fringe Festival.
Lafayette County subsequently amended its policies
to prohibit all nighttime activity on the Courthousegrounds, along with other limitations, anddenied Mr. Rash’s permit. We are challenging theconstitutionality of the permitting policies, seeking
to ensure that Mr. Rash and his fellow Lafayette
County citizens are afforded their full First
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Amendment rights to engage in political speech in a
public forum.

Clinic Roundup

In August 2020, the Northern District ofMississippi denied our motion for a preliminary
injunction. We subsequently amended thecomplaint and proceeded with discovery, including
taking the deposition of several Lafayette County
officials and law enforcement officers. In early2021 the parties filed cross motions for summary
judgment, which the court denied. After several
trial postponements, in October 2022 the parties
agreed to engage in renewed summary judgment
briefing. In August 2023, the case was reassigned toa new judge and a trial commenced in early March
2024. The team put on 10 witnesses, did opening
and closing statements and put in evidence. We
expect a decision after post-trial briefing concludes.
The team included Senior Counsel Janet
Gochman, Associate Allison Draikiwicz, andLitigation Partner Jon Youngwood, who called
the trial “An amazing adventure in what might
be the federal courthouse in the poorest possible
location in America.”

Simpson Thacher Hosts In-Person
Immigration Clinic in New York for 23
Community Members
On April 17, volunteers from Simpson Thacher,Morgan Stanley, and Apollo collaborated with
Catholic Migration Services and New York Lawyers
for Public Interest (NYPLI) to host a limited scope
immigration screening clinic to help determine
community members’ eligibility for various formsof immigration relief. The participating teams
were able to accommodate a range of different
languages–including English, French, Spanish,
Mandarin, Wolof and Pular. Together, volunteers
interviewed 23 community members, many ofwhom have now worked with Catholic Migration
Services to seek further assistance with theirasylum applications as well as additional referrals
and support.

Simpson, NYLPI and CMS staff at the clinic

Jon Youngwood, Janet Gochman and Allison Draikiwicz, with
Josh Tom from the ACLU of Mississippi and his colleagues

The Simpson Thacher volunteers included Partners
Mark Brod, Olga Gutman, Jaclyn Starr,
Associates Isaac Cattan, Raelissa GlennonZukoff, Adrienne Jang, Suzanne Kaufman,
Joann Kim, Lynnewood Shafer, Christine
Marshall, Cary Milanes, Juan Olavarria,
Gerardo Párraga, Melissa Vallejo, Rebecca
Wang, Khalia Williams, Amy Zhou, Evan
Zuckerman, Pro Bono Counsel Susan Cordaro,Staff Attorney Jorge Batlle and Senior Writer
Elizabeth Fuerstman. Paralegals Sydney
Denson, Rae Docherty, Will Langdon,
4Kate Margiotta, Maude Peters, Santiago
Valenzuela, and Pro Bono Coordinator Maria
Gonzalez, provided invaluable interpreting
assistance.

Washington, D.C. Office Legal Clinic
Assists Seniors with Life Planning
Documents

Houston Office Volunteers Attend
Veterans Clinic

Summer Associates Madison Zardiackas and Caroline Kincaid
speaking with their client

Houston Volunteer Lawyers (HVL) hosts a weekly
legal advice clinic for Veterans in Houston at the
VA Hospital where attorneys meet with veteransto provide advice and counsel on various issues
including estate planning, family law, and VA
benefit-related issues. Summer Associates
Katelyn Anderson, Tamesha Derkach,Thomas Gebremichael, Nikola Hew, Nima
Mohammadi, Sydney Shearouse, Erika
Sloan and Falyn Weiss all staffed the Veterans
Clinic this summer.

On June 25, the Washington, D.C. office hosted
a life planning documents clinic for low-income
seniors in the D.C. area to prepare wills, healthcare
and financial powers of attorney for the clientsreferred to us by Legal Counsel for the Elderly(LCE). Associates Toyin Edogun and Nathan
Gonzalez and Summer Associates John Cary,
Cait Corie, Stillman Hanson, Jr., TonyHowze-Edge, Caroline Kincaid, and Madison
Zardiackas participated in the Clinic.

Summer Associates Tony Howze-Edge and Stillman Hanson, Jr.
and associate Toyin Edogun working with their client

Los Angeles Office Clinic Provides
Family Law Advice to Veterans

Summer Associates Nima Mohammadi and Erika Sloan with
HVL volunteer attorney and their client

On May 29, Simpson Thacher partnered with
Levitt Quinn, an LA-based Nonprofit Family Law
Center, to support their efforts in interviewing
12 participants on issues including divorce,child support, custody and visitation, andmarital property. Volunteers also assisted incrafting personalized legal plans and referral
packets for clinic participants. Partners Chet
5

Kronenberg and Heidi Mayon, Associates
Jason Anterasian, Jesse Feng, Mariella
McCormack, and Madison Santoli participatedin the clinic.

expungement applications. The following Summer
Associates participated: Allison Abney, Maya
Bar, Matthew Chang, Iris Choi, Danica
Fong, Jacob Greenberg, Shahrukh Hameed,
Edward Lee, Fiona Sands, Lina Shim,
Isabelle Yuan, and Jared Zurong Tay.

New York Office Volunteers Prepare
Emergency Grant Applications for
Low-Income New Yorkers

Volunteers in the New York Office receive training before
meeting with their pro se asylum applicants

Volunteers in the New York Office
Prepare Pro Se Asylum Applicationsfor 11 Community Members
On June 5, in collaboration with Catholic
Migration Services and New York Lawyers for
Public Interest, teams from Simpson Thacher
and Morgan Stanley worked on the preparationof pro se asylum applications for 11 community
members with viable immigration claims. Simpson
Thacher volunteers included Associates Daria
Balaeskoul and Raelissa Glennon-Zukoff,
Summer Associates Brittney Ajaj, Timothy
Bajno, Rebecca Bitar, Ophelia Bonar, Collier
Curran, Chinwe Ihejirika, Ryo Kawashima,
Lindsay Mangines, David Marantes, Caitlin
O’Flanagan, Maya Schaer, Joseph Sciales,
Kelsey Shelofsky, Grace Shin, and SEO Law
Interns Dayo Adeoye, Audrey Ahn and Malik
Seelal, Paralegal Santiago Valenzuela, andBilling Supervisor Masha Vengerovskaya.

On June 25, Simpson Thacher teams partneredwith Legal Services of NYC to prepare emergency
grant applications, known as “one-shot deals,”that can prevent low-income tenants from being
evicted. Specifically, One-Shot Deals are a flexible
single-use grant provided by the City, which cancover various emergency expenses that directly
or indirectly lead to homelessness. This includes
expenses such as rent arrears, restoring electricity,
covering the cost of moving, or recovery from afire. Volunteers included Summer Associates Jane
Brandon Morrison, Isabella Bocardo, RaeDocherty, Mary Elbanna, Brent Larson,
Austin Sacker, Joseph Sciales, Nathaniel
Shulman, Benjamin Wackerman and SEO Law
Interns Dayo Adeoye, Thomas Gebremichael,and Malik Seelal.

Firm-wide Legal Clinics
The Firm and Volunteers of Legal Service joined
forces on June 18 to help renew 13 applications
for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival (DACA)
recipients. DACA status allows immigrants whoarrived in the U.S. as children with no status, toavoid deportation and secure a work permit, social
security number, and driver’s license, enablingthem to live and work in the U.S. openly andPalo Alto Office Hosts In-Office
Expungement Clinic
In the Palo Alto office, volunteers worked with
Community of Legal Services of East Palo Altoon June 25 to conduct interviews and draft
declarations in support of clinic participants’6

legally. Volunteers included Associates Adrienne
Jang, Leila Khamees and Alexandria
Vasques, Summer Associates Isabella Bocardo,
Marissa Bucci, Joseph Donohue, Claire
Fennelly, Danica Fong, Diana Gazaryan,
Claire Heckler, Jared Levine, Elaine Miao,
Matthew Molinsky, Caitlin O’Flanagan,
Cameron Oliver, Kamron Samiian, Charlotte
Simon, Erika Sloan, Emma Taylor, Benjamin
Wackerman, and SEO Law Intern Thomas
Gebremichael.
On June 20, volunteers worked with Brooklyn
Defender Services on drafting letters and otherlegal materials to clear applicants’ improper
records of child maltreatment from the Statewide
Central Register, which may expand their accessto employment opportunities among many otherbenefits. We thank for their participation Associates
Toyin Edogun and Adrienne Jang, Summer
Associates Aishat Adekunle, Collier Curran,
Mary Elbanna, Elaine Miao, Cameron Oliver,
Benjamin Wackerman, Sophie Yanez, SunnyYao and SEO Law Intern Dayo Adeoye.
On June 26, volunteers from multiple Simpson
Thacher offices came together remotely to assist
applicants referred by the Philadelphia Lawyers
for Social Equity in completing 14 Philadelphia
pardon applications, aiming to provide relief
from the challenges that result in receiving acriminal conviction. We thank Counsel Meredith
Dodd, Associates Erin Camia, Hannah
Daniels, Alan Fenyes, Nathan Gonzalez andSpencer Goodson, Summer Associates Caylea
Barone, Travis Box, Marissa Bucci, Blair
Buchanan, Marie Ceske, Isabella Cheng,
Tamesha Derkach, Abigail Finn, Hixon
Frank, Jasmyne Hinson, Anna Kilby, Allison
Kunstler, Lindsay Mangines, Collin Mitchell,
Benjamin Olson, Cecilia Poston, Maddie
Regulska, Joe Reinhardt, Joshua Strong,
Falyn Weiss, Gianni Whiteside and Will
Wood III.
Finally, On May 16, May 30, and June 27, we
hosted Safe Passage Project clinics, screening
unaccompanied immigrant children for legal
relief, along with corporate clients includingBlackRock, Blackstone, Link, and Pfizer. Simpson
Thacher participants included Partners Jaclyn

Starr and Borja Marcos, Senior Counsel
Beate Krieger, Associates Emelyn Avina,
Ariana Bagherian, Alexis Capati, Rebecca
Carroll, Gilles Delporte, Raelissa GlennonZukoff, Libbie Hamner, Adrienne Jang,
Jeana Johnston, Suzanne Kaufman, Leila
Khamees, Joann Kim, Wale Oriola, Taliah
Rodriguez, Amanda Torres-Dietrich,Alexandria Vasques and Taylor Wettach,
Summer Associates Aishat Adekunle, Timothy
Bajno, Rebecca Bitar, Marie Ceske, Corina
DeFeo, Tamesha Derkach, Mary Elbanna,
Chinwe Ihejirika, Aujin Kim, Elaine Miao,
Jane Brandon Morrison, Jennifer Park,
Ruhy Patel, Charlotte Simon, Erika Sloan,
Benjamin Wackerman, Falyn Weiss andSunny Yao and Senior Writer Elizabeth
Fuerstman.

Awards, Events andMentions
New York Office’s Toiletry Drive
Supports Migrants and Other Food
Insecure New Yorkers
In May, the Firm’s STB United for JusticeCommunity Engagement Committee launched its
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first toiletry drive in the New York Office to support
the NY Common Pantry, an organization providing
services to hundreds of thousands of migrants,
and others in New York City, who face hunger,
food insecurity, and homelessness. Running in
the month of May, the collection was valued at$1,200, which when added to the larger springcollection efforts, served roughly 800 families.
Associate Nicolle Heagney, and professional staff
Alison Melaugh, Lorna Haughton and Mehall
Moloney organized and facilitated the drive.

Simpson Thacher Has 24 Attorneys on
the 2023 Capital Pro Bono Honor Roll
Twenty-four Simpson Thacher lawyers were
included in this year’s Capital Pro Bono Honor
Roll for their pro bono efforts in 2023. This honor,
bestowed on behalf of the District of Columbia
Courts in partnership with the DC Access to JusticeCommission and the DC Bar Pro Bono Center,recognizes lawyers who have contributed 50 hours
or more of pro bono work to those who cannot
afford legal counsel. The additional distinctionof High Honor Roll is given to individuals who
contributed 100 or more hours.
The following Simpson Thacher lawyers wererecognized in this year’s Capital Pro Bono Honor
Roll for high honors: Partners David Blass andVanessa Burrows, Associates Claire Cahoon,
Allison Davido, Claire DiMario, Laurel
Fresquez, Noah Gimbel, Nicole Palmadesso,
Nicholas Prendergast, Samantha Sergent,
Christine Tillema, Elizabeth Trask, Andrew
Ward and Tina Zheng. The following Simpson
Thacher lawyers were recognized with honors:
Partner Rajib Chanda and Associates Kelsey
Henderson, Sherif-Robert Hesni Jr., EboneeJohnson, Michael Kalinin, Kate Lambroza,and Brice Stewart.

Please sendnews items, comments
or suggestions regarding
the Pro Bono Program toHarlene Katzman at
hkatzman@stblaw.com.

8SimpsonThacherWorldwide

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