Cleary Gottlieb’s Director of Pro Bono Practice Testifies at Hearing on Access to Civil Legal Services

Jennifer Kroman, Director of Pro Bono Practice at Cleary Gottlieb, was invited by the Task Force to Expand Access to Civil Legal Services in New York to present testimony at the first of four public Hearing Panels convened by Hon. Jonathan Lippman, Chief Judge of the State of New York, to evaluate unmet civil legal services needs throughout the state and assess the resources required to meet those needs. Today’s Hearing Panel also included Presiding Judge Luis A. Gonzalez, Chief Administrative Judge A. Gail Prudenti and New York State Bar Association President Glenn Lau-Kee.

Kroman’s testimony outlined the critical relationship between private bar pro bono work and civil legal services organizations. She noted that Cleary Gottlieb, whose New York lawyers logged more than 50,000 hours of pro bono work last year, and law firms across the city and state dedicate the time and talents of their attorneys to assist vulnerable communities of New Yorkers. Their efforts expand the capacity of civil legal services organizations while the nonprofit agencies provide invaluable training and expert guidance to pro bono lawyers throughout the lifecycle of a case, Kroman said. In her testimony, Kroman also highlighted her own initiation into pro bono work as an illustration of the importance of involving young lawyers in pro bono work at the outset of their careers in an effort to foster a lifetime commitment to ensuring that justice is equally accessible to all people.

The complete text of Kroman’s testimony can be viewed here.

Jennifer Kroman was recently selected by New York Law Journal as a lawyer who leads by Example in the Pro Bono category for her outstanding record of providing legal services to poor or nearly poor New Yorkers, particularly of human trafficking. Please click here to view the full announcement.