Through our innovative, award-winning pro bono program, all of our full-time attorneys, working with the firm’s paralegals, provide free legal assistance to low-income individuals and organizations that assist them, helping to navigate issues related to housing, consumer issues, prisoners’ rights, community building, and economic development, among others.
In 2024, all of Barclay Damon’s full-time attorneys and paralegals provided pro bono legal services to low-income individuals in need of legal assistance and organizations serving those who seek access to justice. Collectively we completed approximately 2,800 hours of pro bono service valued at nearly $1,200,000 last year. Barclay Damon achieved 100-percent participation in its pro bono program among full-time attorneys in 2017 and has maintained that level of support ever since.
Representative pro bono activities include the following:
- The American Bar Association’s Free Legal Answers virtual legal advice clinic, which allows qualified users to post civil legal questions through their state bar website.
- The New York State Appellate Division Pro Bono Appeals Program, which involves preparing and filing appeals of criminal convictions.
- The Volunteer Lawyers Project Attorney of the Morning Program, which offers legal representation to low-income individuals facing eviction.
- The Volunteer Legal Services Project Attorney Hot Line Program, which involves providing legal advice and counsel to low-income individuals with consumer-law related issues, including deed transfers.
We’re proud of the many awards our firm has received for pro bono service. They include the following, among others.
- Barclay Damon has been named an Empire State Counsel® honoree by the New York State Bar Association at its annual Justice for All award ceremony for six consecutive years.
- Many of our attorneys have been awarded Empire State Counsel recognition by the New York State Bar Association for providing 50 hours or more of legal services in a calendar year to people of limited means.
- The firm was recently recognized with the Law Firm Commitment Award from the Bar Association of Erie County Volunteer Lawyers Project, which also honored the firm for support of the local Say Yes to Education program.
- Corey Auerbach, the firm’s former pro bono partner, received the Bar Association of Erie County Volunteer Lawyers Project Pro Bono Coordinator Award for two consecutive years.