City Bar Justice Center Announces Honorees of its 2025 Outstanding Pro Bono Service Awards

CONTACT
Anthony Johnson 
City Bar Justice Center 
anthonyjohnson@nycbar.org 

New York, October 10, 2025 – The City Bar Justice Center, a pro bono legal services affiliate of the New York City Bar Association, is pleased to announce its 2025 Outstanding Pro Bono Service Award winners. The Justice Center will honor this year’s 18 awardees for their exemplary commitment to pro bono at a ceremony taking place on Tuesday, October 21 at the New York City Bar Association.

This year’s awardees are:

Amanda B. Asaro, Associate at Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo, P.C.

Elizabeth Platonova, Associate at Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo, P.C.

Esther Lutaya Mafouta March, Legal Analyst

Joe Marshall, Associate at Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP

Jonathan Kim, Partner at Dechert LLP

Marie Hopkins, Assistant General Counsel at AIG

Russ Bleemer, Consultant Editor at the International Institute for Conflict Prevention and Resolution

Sarah Park, Senior Counsel at the Hearst Corporation

Schuyler Carroll, Partner at Manatt, Phelps & Phillips LLP

The following individuals from Latham & Watkins LLP will also receive a team award:

Blake Denton, Partner

Herman Yue, Partner

Amanda Kurzydlowski, Associate

Bradley Puffenbarger, Associate

Chloe Kim, Associate

Elizabeth Cangialosi, Associate

Kendall Krumme, Associate

Melange Gavin, Associate

Ryan Schachne, Associate

The Honorable Karen Lin, Justice of the Supreme Court of the State of New York, Civil Term – Queens County will deliver a keynote address for the event. Timothy C. Nash, Jr., co-chair of the Justice Center’s Pro Bono Leadership Council, will present the awards.

“We are proud to celebrate this year’s Pro Bono Awards honorees, who truly stand out among our over 3,700 dedicated volunteers from the past year. Our honorees’ hard work and commitment reaches far beyond individual cases – the impact on which itself merits recognition – and showcases the deep meaning of “pro bono publico” – for the public good – as a force to ever more fully realize our nation’s promise of equal justice under the law,” said Executive Director Kurt M. Denk.

“We are looking forward to celebrating the achievements that these 18 exceptional volunteers have made while supporting clients through a wide range of legal issues across our projects,” Director of Pro Bono Initiatives Cassandra Celestin said.

To learn more about the City Bar Justice Center’s Pro Bono Initiatives, visit citybarjusticecenter.org/do-pro-bono/

About the City Bar Justice Center 

The City Bar Justice Center furthers access to justice by addressing unmet civil legal needs of New Yorkers struggling with poverty and other systemic socioeconomic barriers. The Justice Center’s dozen civil justice projects are led by a staff of dedicated attorneys and support professionals who provide high-quality civil legal services through brief advice and information, referrals, and both limited scope and extended representation that benefit more than 27,000 New Yorkers each year who cannot afford to hire counsel. www.citybarjusticecenter.org