Cleary Gottlieb is advising The Bail Project in its $30 million effort to roll out nonprofit bail funds in 40 jurisdictions over the next five years.
Each night, more than 400,000 defendants (often charged with only minor offenses) sleep in jail cells because they can’t afford bail amounts that may be only a few hundred dollars. The Bail Project hopes to reach many thousands of those with nonprofit revolving bail funds that will help allow relatively low-risk clients to remain free pending the disposition of their cases. Founded by Robin Steinberg (who founded the Bronx Defenders and led a pioneering nonprofit bail fund there), the new venture will be chaired by Fortress co-founder Mike Novogratz.
Cleary lawyers are advising on corporate and nonprofit matters, and will work with The Bail Project in analyzing bail legislation nationally to target jurisdictions for intervention. The Bail Project was recently featured in The New York Times.