Patterson Belknap celebrates 20 years of 100% of the firm’s attorneys participating in pro bono projects. In 2023, attorneys contributed 114 hours on average to pro bono service, and 8.9% of attorney billable time was devoted to pro bono work.

Working with pro bono partner, The Center for Constitutional Rights, Patterson Belknap secured a groundbreaking $42 million verdict on behalf of three former detainees who were tortured at the Abu Ghraib Prison in Iraq. This was the first case brought by Abu Ghraib survivors to have made it to trial, and the first verdict holding a government contractor legally responsible for torture at the infamous prison. The victory came after 16 years of litigation, including more than fifteen attempts by CACI to have the case dismissed, five appeals, and a mistrial following a hung jury in May 2024. More than 22,000  hours were dedicated to this pro bono matter.

Click here to learn more about the case and victory in an article from The New York Times.

The International Refugee Assistance Project (IRAP) honored Patterson Belknap with its award for “Excellent Litigation Team” during its 2024 Pro Bono Appreciation Week. Firm honorees were noted as being "thoughtful and smart in how they approached these issues and helped IRAP improve its template for future cases. Having partnered on over 25 cases since 2017, IRAP is “grateful for the dedication and hard work” of the firm and its ongoing collaboration on refugee advocacy.  

Our long-standing pro bono client, the Museum of Chinese in America completed the $51.1M acquisition of its new building in Manhattan's Chinatown following a devastating fire in February 2020 and a tumultuous contract negotiation period amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.

Partnering with the ACLU, Patterson Belknap represented Jesse Hammons, a transgender man who sued the University of Maryland Medical Center for denying him surgery based on an unconstitutional and discriminatory application of religious doctrine. The successful result in the anti-discrimination lawsuit protected equal access to healthcare for Mr. Hammons.

Patterson Belknap, with co-counsel Kaufman Lieb Lebowitz Frick LLP, represents the parents of Tyshon Jones, a young Black man killed by the Rochester, NY Police Department (RPD). The suit alleges that on the night he died, Mr. Jones had been in acute mental distress and rather than accommodate his disability, the RPD exacerbated it, shooting Mr. Jones five times. A Rochester federal court denied the City of Rochester’s motion to dismiss in its entirety, finding that each claim asserted by the family on behalf of Mr. Jones’ estate could continue.

Click here to learn more about the decision on Law360

Patterson Belknap filed an amicus brief in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, where the Supreme Court was asked to overrule Roe v. Wade. The brief was filed on behalf of Catholics for Choice, the National Council of Jewish Women, Muslims for Progressive Values, and more than 50 other faith-based organizations.

Patterson Belknap was recognized by Benchmark Litigation as “New York Firm of the Year” and “Pro Bono Firm of the Year.” The firm was specifically honored for its pro bono representation of a union of federal asylum and refugee officers employed by the Department of Homeland Security who opposed government restrictions on refugees seeking to enter the country.

Click here to read the press release

Patterson Belknap partnered with the City Bar Justice Center’s Planning & Estates Law Project to provide free, remote legal assistance to New York City front-line healthcare workers in preparing simple life-planning documents, including wills, powers of attorney, designations of standby guardians, and health care proxies.

Working with the Legal Aid Society, Patterson Belknap filed a lawsuit against the City of New York for failure to provide essential services and shelter to homeless and runaway youth, in violation of their federal rights, the New York City Human Rights Law, and the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act of 1978. In 2020, the case settled, requiring the City of New York to enhance and maintain residential program beds and services, provide mental health services, better publicize the existence of the shelters, and provide a process for residents to challenge involuntary discharge.

Click here to learn more about the case in an article from The Imprint

In an LGBTQ+ rights case before the U.S. Supreme Court, Patterson Belknap filed two separate amicus briefs in support of the plaintiff employees, two gay men and a transgender woman, who had been discriminated against in the workplace. The first brief represented an intersex advocacy group, and the second brief was on behalf of a coalition of Muslim organizations. The Supreme Court issued a 6-3 decision holding that LGBTQ+ employees are protected from discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, a landmark victory for LGBTQ+ rights.

Patterson Belknap represented the sister of Karl Taylor, an inmate with mental illness at New York State’s Sullivan Correctional Facility, in a lawsuit alleging that Mr. Taylor was beaten and choked to death by corrections officers in retaliation for striking officers during a fight. Prison officers initially suggested he had died of a heart attack. Patterson Belknap settled with New York State for $5 million for Mr. Taylor’s estate and an agreement with the NYS Department of Corrections to install recording equipment throughout the prison.

Click here to learn more about the case in a feature piece from The Atlantic

In January 2019, nearly 100 longtime residents who lived in three buildings on Grand Street in Manhattan’s Chinatown received settlement checks, eight years after a devastating seven alarm fire destroyed their homes and personal possessions. With Patterson Belknap’s help, the tenants were awarded $900,000 in property damages after years of negotiations with the owner of 283-285 Grand St., Fair Only Real Estate, and its insurance carrier. Combined with an earlier settlement with the owners and managers of the third building, 289 Grand St., the tenants succeeded in recovering more than $1 million for their losses. The firm also secured an important victory with the assistance of the New York Attorney General’s Office in recovering the tenants’ unlawfully withheld security deposits, with some tenants receiving refunds of several thousands of dollars. Patterson Belknap worked with Asian Americans for Equality (AAFE) to advocate on behalf of the residents.

A panel of judges in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina ruled for the first time in U.S. history that a state’s congressional map is an unconstitutional partisan gerrymander. Patterson Belknap represented Common Cause, the North Carolina Democratic Party, and 14 North Carolina voters in the lawsuit, which included four separate counts against North Carolina’s 2016 Congressional Redistricting Plan and each of its 13 congressional districts. The counts cited the gerrymander as a violation of the First Amendment, the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment, and Article I, sections 2 and 4 of the Constitution relating to the way representatives are popularly elected.

Click here to learn more about the victory in an article from The New York Times

Working with the Legal Aid Society, Patterson Belknap represented six nail salon workers whose employer had unlawfully deprived them of overtime pay and other amounts. When the N.Y. Department of Labor brought an administrative proceeding, the nail salon transferred assets to another business and filed for bankruptcy. The firm and Legal Aid exposed the improper bankruptcy and commenced litigation in the U.S. District Court against the employer. The action was settled and over $260,000 was procured for the salon workers.

Working with Mobilization for Justice, Patterson Belknap successfully represented residents in “three-quarter” housing who suffered fraud and abuse by the housing operator. Following an investigative piece in The New York Times, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio formed an emergency task force to investigate three-quarter house operations. The class action lawsuit, brought on behalf of all former and current tenants of the operator’s houses, sought relief based on the misconduct detailed in the Times article. The lawsuit asserted claims against the operator and his operation for deceptive business practices and unlawful eviction. The court awarded the full relief requested on behalf of the class members, including monetary damages and a permanent injunction barring the defendants from further deceptive actions involving three-quarter houses.

Our work on this impactful matter was recognized by Mobilization for Justice as an outstanding contribution to justice.

Learn more in the investigative article from The New York Times

Patterson Belknap represented the Islamic Society of Basking Ridge (ISBR) and its president in a lawsuit regarding Bernards Township, NJ’s denial of a permit to build a mosque following a four-year public administrative approval process. The firm filed an action in federal district court, alleging claims of religious discrimination. Six months after a landmark ruling in favor of ISBR, Bernards Township and ISBR signed a settlement agreement with the Township agreeing to pay $3.25 million to ISBR and to allow the mosque application to proceed.

Click here to read the full article from the New York Law Journal

Patterson Belknap represented Mancer L. Barrington, III in a petition for commutation of his mandatory life prison sentence for nonviolent drug offenses. The firm drafted a petition for Mr. Barrington under the Fair Sentencing Act, worked with the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the Clemency Project, and helped Mr. Barrington publish a Huffington Post op-ed about his experience. President Obama granted executive clemency, commuting Mr. Barrington’s sentence to 180 months, most of which he had already served.

The firm and its partner, the Pro Bono Committee of the New York County Lawyers Association, have handled clemency petitions for several other deserving clients who have made strong efforts to turn their lives around while incarcerated and whose sentences were ultimately commuted by New York Governor Andrew Cuomo. 

Click here to read the press release

Patterson Belknap has had a longtime engagement with the Microenterprise Project at Volunteers of Legal Service, which provides legal assistance to new and existing small business owners. From entity formation, to contracts, intellectual property assistance, educational workshops and more, the program supports small local business owners as they build their businesses and invest in their communities. The firm's Corporate Department has long been a dedicated champion of this work and continues to address complex legal issues for local microentrepreneurs.

In 2016, the program expanded to launch a commercial leasing initiative for microenterprises, and Patterson Belknap was one of the first firms to sign on.

Patterson Belknap successfully represented a group of New Orleans students with disabilities in a lawsuit against the Louisiana Department of Education. The plaintiffs alleged that the students had been denied their right to receive a fair and appropriate education and that the state directly caused this by failing to exercise their duties under the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Rehabilitation Act, and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Patterson Belknap, along with co-counsel from the Southern Poverty Law Center, the Southern Disability Law Center, and the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, reached an agreement, which included provisions related to training and technical assistance for New Orleans schools, as well as ongoing monitoring and additions to the charter renewal and extension process that aims to ensure that all schools are ready to serve students with disabilities.

Patterson Belknap partnered with the New York County Lawyers Association to implement a Veterans Discharge Upgrade program to assist veterans that received discharge characterizations other than Honorable, often as a result of undiagnosed post-traumatic stress disorder or traumatic brain injuries. The firm has worked to ensure that the totality of veterans’ circumstances are considered, enabling access to important healthcare benefits and education programs.

Since the program's launch, the firm has successfully amended the discharge status of many veterans and has expanded our partnership to include the Veteran Advocacy Project.

Patterson Belknap partnered with the New York County Lawyers Association to progress its State Central Register (SCR) project, which represents individuals who have been wrongfully or unfairly reported to the NYS Central Register of Child Abuse and Maltreatment. The threshold for inclusion on the SCR is extremely low, and once an individual’s name is on the SCR they may be denied employment in many fields. The firm has worked to secure numerous “unfounded” report labels and sealed records for its clients, allowing low-income New Yorkers to pursue careers and care for their families.

Since 2012, the firm has successfully helped remove over 35 individual pro bono clients from the NYS Central Register. The project was recognized with the New York State Bar Association's  2014 Bar Leaders Innovation Award.

Patterson Belknap and the Legal Aid Society reached a settlement that prohibited the City of New York from continuing practices that cause children in its care to languish in psychiatric hospitals longer than medically necessary. The agreement came less than a year after a class action lawsuit was filed alleging the NYC Administrative of Children’s Services had violated laws requiring children to be placed in the least restrictive and most homelike environments possible. The settlement required the City to comply with applicable federal and state laws, and provided for substantial reforms, including requirements to more closely monitor foster care children in psychiatric hospitals, enforce staff training, and provide detailed reports on its agencies’ compliance with the policy. The settlement award included attorney fees, which were given to the Legal Aid Society.

The firm received the Legal Aid Society's Innovative Pro Bono Award for its "exceptional work" on this case. 

Click here to learn more about the case and settlement in an article from Probono.net

Patterson Belknap obtained an asylum grant for a deaf, non-verbal, and illiterate couple from Colombia in New York federal immigration court. The couple was forced to flee their home country to avoid persecution for being disabled and applied for asylum in the U.S. Initially many law firms declined to take on the couple’s case, due to communication barriers with the couple and the difficult legal arguments associated with their asylum claim.

Patterson lawyers accepted the challenge—locating a Colombian Sign Language interpreter, finding an expert who could attest to the difficulties the couple faced in Colombia, and writing a persuasive legal brief based on many different areas of asylum law.

After two years of zealous and persistent advocacy, the judge granted the couple asylum in the U.S., ensuring their safety.  

Patterson Belknap was honored with the Legal Aid Society's Pro Bono Publico Award for its commitment to the organization and its clients. The award is given by the Legal Aid Society to major New York City law firms that show a commitment to providing justice to low-income children, families, and individuals.

Patterson Belknap argued before the U.S. Supreme Court that, under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), public school districts could not escape their obligation to offer free appropriate public education to every child with a disability who sought a public school placement, regardless of what educational services the child had previously received. Through a referral by the New York Lawyers for the Public Interest, the firm represented the father of a child with disabilities who petitioned the NYC School District for reimbursement of the cost of his son’s private school tuition, which is a remedy provided to parents of children with disabilities under IDEA. As a result, the firm’s Second Circuit Court of Appeals victory was affirmed.

Patterson Belknap received the New York State Bar Association President’s Pro Bono Service Award for large law firms. The firm was nominated by several public service organizations with whom its lawyers have worked.

Click here to read the press release

Mobilization for Justice established a Patterson Belknap Fellowship in honor of the firm’s pro bono contributions in New York. As part of a two-year fellowship, each fellow provides free civil legal assistance to disadvantaged clients and addresses areas of emerging legal need for underserved New Yorkers.

The firm was matched with Metropolitan Hospital as part of Volunteers of Legal Service’s Children’s Project. Through the project, a dedicated team of firm lawyers advocated for under-resourced families with sick children, who were especially vulnerable to unhealthy housing conditions. The multi-faceted work included housing proceedings, benefits access, medical accomodations, hospital toy drives, and delivering donated household items to clients in need.

Patterson Belknap represented 24 mentally ill residents of the Leben Home for Adults in Queens, NY, who were coerced into having unnecessary surgery in a medical scheme that generated thousands of dollars in government fees. Partnering with Mobilization for Justice, the firm filed a lawsuit against the home, resulting in a nearly $7.4 million settlement, which was distributed amongst the patients and at the time represented one of the few instances where mentally ill adult home residents were compensated for mistreatment.

Click here to learn more about the case and award in an article from The New York Times

In 2004, 100% of the firm’s attorneys participated in pro bono projects - a major milestone that reflects the firm's dedication to pro bono.