The City Bar Justice Center Honors the Past and Looks Ahead to the Future with 20th Annual Gala

The City Bar Justice Center held its 20th Annual Gala, Building Bridges | Brighter Futures, on Wednesday, April 9 at the New York City Bar Association. For the first time ever, three honorees were recognized with City Bar Justice Awards – JPMorganChase, Sidley Austin LLP, and former U.S. Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch. 

The City Bar building was transported back to the 1920’s, from dance performances to the cocktail menu – in honor of the Justice Center’s 20th Gala.  

The program opened with remarks from executive director Kurt M. Denk about the Justice Center’s services that benefit more than 27,000 New Yorkers each year.  

Cassandra Celestin, the Justice Center’s Director of Pro Bono Initiatives, introduced two of the honorees – JPMorganChase and Sidley Austin LLP. Both were recognized for their commitment to pro bono work, which was highlighted in a pre-Gala clinic for women entrepreneurs hosted by the Neighborhood Entrepreneur Law Project.  

Mike Schmidtberger, executive committee chair at Sidley, accepted the award on the firm’s behalf. Sidley committed more than 167,000 hours to pro bono work in 2024 alone, assisting individuals both domestically and abroad.  

JPMorganChase was represented by executive director and assistant general counsel Leslie Harris. Under their Legal Pro Bono Initiative, the financial services company connects employees with legal expertise to organizations such as the City Bar Justice Center to strengthen communities, empower families, and advocate for vulnerable individuals.  

The middle of the program featured an auction, as guests were encouraged to raise their paddles and pledge donations to the Justice Center. A record-breaking amount of more than $1.265 million was collected by the end of the night to help New Yorkers access the justice system.  

The main festivities were capped off by a powerful speech from former U.S. Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch, who served under Barack Obama’s administration as the first African American woman to be appointed to the position. She also makes history as the first individual to be honored with a City Bar Justice Award.  

A special thank you to GlosHaus for their production on this year’s Gala, Flik for their catering services, photographer Kamila Harris, auctioneer Charles Antin, and caricature artist Richard Welch. We would also like to recognize all the dancers, pianists, and saxophonist Jehiah for their talented performances.  

Underwriters
JPMorganChase
Sidley Austin LLP 

Benefactors
Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP
Bloomberg
Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP
Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP
Debevoise & Plimpton LLP
Labaton Keller Sucharow LLP
Latham & Watkins LLP
Mayer Brown
Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP
Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP
Proskauer Rose LLP
UBS Group AG
Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz
Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP

Sponsors
Barclays PLC
Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP
Deloitte
DLA Piper LLP
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer US LLP
Goldman Sachs & Co. LLP
Jenner & Block LLP
Mizuho Americas LLC
Morgan Stanley
Pfizer Inc.
Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP
Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP
Vladeck, Raskin & Clark, P.C.

Supporters
A&O Shearman
AIG
Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer LLP
Blank Rome LLP
BNP Paribas
Esquire Deposition Solutions
Fragomen, Del Rey, Bernsen & Loewy, LLP
King & Spalding LLP
Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel LLP
Lowenstein Sandler LLP
Metlife, Inc.
O’Melveny & Myers LLP
Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler LLP
Reed Smith
Sullivan and Cromwell LLP
Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP
Winston & Strawn LLP

Builders
Crowell & Moring LLP
Dechert LLP
Dentons US LLP
Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP
Greenberg Traurig, LLP
Haynes and Boone
Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP
KPMG LLP
Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP
Paul Hastings LLP
Universal Music Group, Inc.

Advocates
Akerman LLP
Analysis Group, Inc.
Caplin & Drysdale
Chubb
Citigroup
Davis Wright Tremaine LLP
Friedman Kaplan Seiler Adelman & Robbins LLP
Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP
Goodwin Procter LLP
Holland & Knight LLP
Linklaters LLP
Milbank LLP
Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP
Morrison & Foerster LLP
Moses & Singer LLP
Ropes & Gray LLP
Seyfarth Shaw LLP
Stagg Wabnik Law Group LLP
The Hearst Corporation
Troutman Pepper Locke LLP

Individual Supporters
Baker McKenzie
Brooklyn Eagle
Covington & Burling LLP
Katten Muchin Rosenman

All contributions to the City Bar Justice Center of the City Bar Fund are tax-deductible to the full extent of the law. A copy of our most recently filed financial report and information on other charitable organizations is available from the NY Attorney General’s Charities Registry (www.charitiesnys.com) or (212) 416-8686. The report is also available upon request by contacting the Fund at 42 West 44th Street, New York, NY 10036. Your donation is a reportable contribution under New York State’s biennial pro bono reporting requirement for attorneys. For more information on what contributions qualify consult the Office of Court Administration website: https://bit.ly/30jMqNR.