Volunteer Spotlight: Sarah Park

Sarah Park, Senior Counsel at Hearst, was honored with a 2025 Outstanding Pro Bono Service Award for her work with the Federal Pro Se Legal Assistance Project (EDNY).

How did you get started volunteering with the City Bar Justice Center? 

I first volunteered with the City Bar Justice Center to assist a family with their asylum case over ten years ago as a law firm associate. I worked with that family for many years and got to know the Justice Center’s immigration project director Jennifer Kim. A few years later in 2024, when the Hearst Office of General Counsel was looking for opportunities to expand our pro bono practice, we identified the City Bar Justice Center as a natural choice. With strong support and participation from our leadership, I coordinated with the Justice Center to organize several clinics for our attorneys and staff, starting with the Federal Pro Se Legal Assistance Project to advise pro se litigants at the federal courthouse in Brooklyn. This later expanded to the Neighborhood Entrepreneur Law Project and the Consumer Bankruptcy Project. More recently, we assisted with a life planning clinic arranged by the Planning and Estates Law Project. Our office handles the lion’s share of Hearst’s legal work in-house, including litigation, privacy, IP, transactions, and more. We have highly skilled volunteers who can consult on a wide range of legal matters, and their enthusiasm in launching this program has been wonderful to see.

What inspires or motivates you about doing pro bono work? 

Every time I go to the courthouse for a Fed Pro clinic, the litigants I meet seem genuinely grateful for the chance to talk through their issues. People who may be considering litigation, or who are defending a litigation, are often vulnerable and under considerable stress. Taking the time to listen carefully and show you’ve given their case some thought goes a long way. A few hours of a litigator’s time can be invaluable to someone overwhelmed by the court system.

What has been your favorite or proudest moment as a volunteer? 

It’s hard to pinpoint just one moment. Every time a litigant tells me they have more clarity about what’s happening in their case and how to protect their interests, I feel gratified. I have seen litigants become very emotional, and you can see how much they need to vent their frustration to someone who will listen and empathize. I remember one litigant was crying at the beginning of our meeting, and by the end she was much calmer and knew what to do next. Those moments make me thankful to be a lawyer.

Why do you find this work to be important in our current world?

There is an immense and growing need for pro bono work. It is increasingly difficult to access quality representation, even while the laws and regulations affecting people’s lives grow more complex. People navigating the courts should see that there are trained litigators who are willing to give their time to help level playing field and make the process more fair. I’m proud to represent the profession and provide critical services to litigants and the courthouse through the clinic. To me, pro bono is among the most meaningful work I can do with my law degree.

How has doing this work affected you and/or your legal practice?

Doing pro bono undoubtedly makes me a better lawyer. I can recall more than one time when I dug into an issue for a pro se litigant, and that research later became helpful in my day-to-day practice. More importantly, I would like to think that I am a more empathetic lawyer because of pro bono. This work constantly reminds me to listen closely to the client and treat everyone’s situation with respect and care. It’s hard to imagine more important lessons for anyone practicing law.

What would you tell someone who hasn’t volunteered with the City Bar Justice Center but is thinking about starting?

What I want most people to know is how easy it is to volunteer with the Justice Center. The extraordinary staff work hard to vet matters, train and support volunteers, and generally ensure every participant has a positive experience. That means lawyers can jump right into volunteering, making their time more efficient and rewarding. Two other important factors for us were that the City Bar Justice Center offers clinics for litigators as well as corporate attorneys, and there are many options to participate in discrete clinics for an afternoon at a time. For our diverse and busy in-house group, these have all been critical to the broad success of our program. I’d highly encourage anyone to give it a try.

What song do you currently have on repeat?

I am a big fan of the classical station WQXR, which is what I often listen to while I work. At home, I have two girls aged two and four, so I’ll just say I know the KPop Demon Hunters soundtrack by heart.

Interested in volunteering? Visit our “Do Pro Bono” page for more information.