The City Bar Justice Center’s 2024 Gala Celebrates Pro Bono Around the World, Raising Nearly $1.2 Million to Support New Yorkers in Need

On Wednesday, April 3, 2024, the City Bar Justice Center held its 19th Annual Gala, Pro Bono for Our World, at the New York City Bar Association. We were proud to honor Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP and UBS with 2024 City Bar Justice Awards for their exemplary dedication to expanding the Justice Center’s asylum advocacy and other contributions to pro bono legal services and community impact philanthropy.  

Featuring Broadway talent and a global inspiration, the Gala was filled with live music, dance performance, and an inspirational program with remarks from Susan J. Kohlmann (NYC Bar Association President), Kurt M. Denk (City Bar Justice Center Executive Director), Cassandra Celestin (City Bar Justice Center Pro Bono Director), Paul Humphreys (Freshfields New York Managing Partner), and Alison Morpurgo (UBS Managing Director and Pro Bono Program Chair). 

With deep gratitude, we thank our 2024 Gala Benefit Committee and vendors (listed below), along with many other advocates for justice who made generous personal contributions. Thanks to all these partners’ generosity, the Gala raised nearly $1.2 million to further fuel the Justice Center’s capacity to help 25,000 New Yorkers facing poverty and other systemic barriers each year. (And, it’s not too late to help us reach that $1.2M figure – you can donate here!)  

A special thank you to our 2024 Gala vendors including GlosHaus (event organizer), Flik (catering), Kamila Harris (photographer), Reynaldo Piniella (emcee), Steve Nyman and Richard Welch (caricature artists), and performance artists who helped us celebrate in a truly global style, including Pure Samba, Anna’s World Entertainment, and Smash Entertainment.   

2024 Gala Benefit Committee 

Benefactors 
Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP 
Bloomberg LP 
Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP 
Debevoise & Plimpton LLP 
Jenner & Block LLP 
Kirkland & Ellis LLP 
Labaton Keller Sucharow LLP 
Latham & Watkins LLP 
Mayer Brown LLP 
Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP 
Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP 
Proskauer Rose LLP 
Sidley Austin LLP 
Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz 
WilmerHale 

Sponsors 
Barclays Capital Inc. 
Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP 
Deloitte LLP 
Fragomen Del Rey, Bernsen & Loewy LLP 
Goldman Sachs 
King & Spalding LLP 
Mizuho Americas 
Morgan Stanley 
Pfizer Inc. 
Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP 
Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP 
Vladeck, Raskin & Clark, P.C. 
Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP 

Supporters 
Arnold & Porter 
Axinn, Veltrop & Harkrider LLP 
Blank Rome LLP 
BNP Paribas 
BNY Mellon 
Cravath 
DLA Piper LLP US 
Esquire Depositions Solutions, LLC 
Katten 
Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel LLP 
MetLife 
O’Melveny & Myers LLP 
Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler LLP 
Reed Smith LLP 
Shearman & Sterling LLP 
Sullivan & Cromwell LLP 
Winston & Strawn LLP 

Builders 
JPMorgan Chase & Co. 
Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP 

Advocates  
Chubb 
Crowell & Moring LLP 
Dechert LLP 
Dentons US LLP 
Faegre Drinker  
FTI Consulting, Inc. 
Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP 
Goodwin Procter LLP 
Holland & Knight LLP 
Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP 
Lighthouse Global 
The Morrison & Foerster Foundation 
Ropes & Gray 
Riker Danzig LLP 

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.