On Thursday, May 12, The Legal Aid Society community came together to celebrate the resiliency of our clients, staff, and city at the 45th Annual Servant of Justice Awards Dinner.  

By litigating, protesting, and advocating, Legal Aid connected policy to people, using the past two years of crisis as a catalyst for change.  

Kristen Clarke, the Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Justice introduced our first honoree, outgoing Legal Aid CEO and Attorney in Chief, Janet Sabel. In her 28 years at the Legal Aid Society, Janet has helped mold the organization into the success it is today. From her time as Attorney-in-Charge of the citywide Immigration Law Unit to her recent tenure as CEO, Janet’s commitment to our clients has been unwavering.  

The second honoree of the evening, Proskauer Rose’s Brad Ruskin, joined Adriene Holder, Chief Attorney of the Civil Practice, for a discussion on his longstanding involvement with the Legal Aid Society.

We listened to the stories of clients who without the help of Legal Aid Attorneys, would be stuck in the cycle of discrimination and disadvantage that plague so many vulnerable New Yorkers. 

The evening closed with a performance by Ali Ewoldt, a seasoned Broadway performer and the first Asian-American to play the lead role of Christine in The Phantom of the Opera. 

Watch the program in its entirety now!

We are deeply thankful to all those who make this event possible, especially our committed law firm and corporate partners, and our staff whose tireless dedication to those we serve continues to be an inspiration to so many. We extended an additional thank you to this year’s Event Co-Chairs.

Event Co-Chairs:

Stacey Allaster, Chief Executive Professional Tennis, USTA
Laura Buckland, Chief Cyber Transformation Officer, T-Mobile
Steve Ellis, Chair, Proskauer Rose LLP
Don Garber, Commissioner, Major League Soccer
Tom Rothman, Chairman & CEO, Sony Pictures Entertainment Motion Picture Group
Adam Silver, Commissioner, National Basketball Association

Leader

$100,000

Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP
Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP
Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP
Debevoise & Plimpton LLP
Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP
Kirkland & Ellis LLP
Latham & Watkins LLP
Milbank LLP
Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP
Proskauer Rose LLP
Shearman & Sterling LLP
Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP
Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP
Sullivan & Cromwell LLP
Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz
Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP
White & Case LLP
Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP

Pillar

$50,000

Arnold & Porter
Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP
Cahill Gordon & Reindel LLP
Cooley LLP
Dechert LLP
Hughes Hubbard & Reed LLP
O’Melveny & Myers LLP
Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, LLP
Sidley Austin LLP
Student Leadership Network
Ann & Andrew Tisch
Winston & Strawn LLP

Champion

$25,000

American International Group, Inc.
BNY Mellon
Susan Brooks & Brad Ruskin
CBRE
DLA LLP (US)
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP
Linda Goldstein & Guy Manuel
Goodwin Procter LLP
Kelley Drye & Warren LLP
Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel LLP
Mayer Brown LLP
Morgan Stanley
National Basketball Association
National Hockey League
New York Life Insurance Co.
Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler LLP
Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP
Reed Smith LLP
Ropes & Gray LLP
Travelers
Willis Towers Watson
Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP

Partner

$15,000

FTI Consulting, Inc.
Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP
JPMorgan Chase & Co.
Major League Baseball
Major League Soccer
McCarter & English, LLP
NFL Foundation
Paramount Global
Pfizer Inc.
Raiola/Co.
Saul Ewing Arnstein & Lehr LLP
SpectrumVoIP
Superior Office Solutions
White & Williams LLP