2023 Commitment to Justice Awards

Every year Her Justice celebrates the New York City legal community’s commitment to volunteerism, highlighting the very real impact legal relief can have for New York City families.

Thank you so much for following along last week as we celebrated the outstanding New York City legal community during our Commitment to Justice Awards!

30 Years of Her Justice Award + the 20th Annual John K. Geiger Award

What an amazing week of celebration recognizing the New York legal community’s commitment and dedication to the provision of high-quality legal services for all.

This year marks the 30th Anniversary of Her Justice!  

Today, we are celebrating two individuals who have played a special role our 30-year history. Her Justice honors these individuals who have shown up time and time again to support the Her Justice mission over our organization’s history:

Christopher Wm. Dagg
Brooklyn Legal Services

Drew S. Fine
Milbank LLP

Additionally, Her Justice is thrilled to present the 20th Annual John K. Geiger Award to:

Danica Brown
Sidley Austin LLP

This award was established in 2002 in memory of John K. Geiger, who volunteered at Her Justice for many years, first as a paralegal, then as an attorney. For two thirds of our organization’s history, the award has been given annually to those attorneys, like John, whose unyielding compassion and dedication towards their clients is truly outstanding.

System Changers Award

Today’s award category is the…System Changers Award!

This award is given to partners that have worked to shift the power to our clients at organizational, city, and state levels using their unique talent and resources.

Her Justice honors these individuals and groups who play an integral role helping the organization to change the systems to work for our clients, rather than against them:

Aditi Bhattacharya
New York City Anti-Violence Project

Michelle Cameo León, MSW
Violence Intervention Program

Melissa Correa
Violence Intervention Program

blair doroshwalther
Safe Horizon

Madeline García Bigelow
Urban Justice Center’s Domestic Violence Project

Teal Inzunza
Urban Resource Institute

Lorena Kourousias, LMSW
Mixteca Organization, Inc.

Marisa Menna
CAMBA Legal Services, Inc.

Britt Reid

Erika Sussman
Center for Survivor Agency & Justice

Sara Wee
Center for Survivor Agency & Justice

Naomi Young
Her Justice

Pro Bono All-Star Awards

Today’s award category is…Pro Bono All-Star Awards!

This award is given to volunteers whose dedication to their clients this past year went far beyond the scope of their legal representation.

Her Justice honors three individuals and one organization who have truly embodied the mission of Her Justice:

AIG

Deb Colon
Nixon Peabody LLP

Allison N. Skopec
Holland & Knight LLP

Andrea M. Thompson
Cohen Clair Lans Greifer & Simpson LLP

Legal Team Awards

This award is given to teams of volunteer attorneys who go above and beyond for their clients, whether it’s obtaining much-needed financial support for their clients, creating legal precedent, or finding an ingenious way of prevailing.

Her Justice honors four legal teams for their extraordinary dedication to reaching the best possible outcome for their clients:

Joseph Badtke-Berkow, Jorge Coronel Hamilton, Rebecca Stubbs, and Michelle Wang
Allen & Overy LLP

Sol Czerwonko and Emily Rebecca Hush
Debevoise & Plimpton LLP

Mallory Chandler, Itai Y. Raz, and Laura Baer
Pryor Cashman LLP with FTI Consulting, Inc.

Sasha H. Kawakami, Ralph M. Levene, Joseph S. Tobin, and Emma Sydney Stein
Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz