one by one - inMotion Inc.

More documents

Recommendations

Info

commitment to justice 2005 AWARDS CEREMONY The spectacular Dahesh Museum of Art in midtown was the venue for our 7th Annual Commitment to Justice Awards ceremony on November 29th. We proudly honored the hundreds of volunteers who provided outstanding pro bono services to inMotion and our clients in 2005. Zachary W. Carter, partner, Dorsey & Whitney, spoke movingly about his personal encounters, as a former prosecutor and Criminal Court Judge, with domestic abusers. He praised the courage of inMotion’s clients and the extraordinary outcomes our volunteers have achieved for thousands of women and children. Heidi Lee Henderson, inMotion director, legal services, presents the Law Firm Award to Stephen Saxl, partner, Greenberg Traurig, LLP. Bernadette Smith (left) accepts the Solo Practitioner Award from inMotion staff attorney Libby Vázquez. 2005 COMMITMENT TO JUSTICE AWARD RECIPIENTS Zachary W. Carter, partner, Dorsey & Whitney, delivers the keynote address. Photos by Lynn Borowitz Photography/ lynnborowitz@mac.com “I’ve prosecuted major drug dealers, armed bank robbers and organized crime figures, and I’ve never actually been, ever, in fear of my safety. When I sat in Criminal Court in Queens, after having made a decision to grant a temporary order of protection against a man who was brought before me, accused of having battered his spouse or girlfriend, and I looked into the eyes of that man and saw his absolute rage that I had the unmitigated gall to interfere with his proprietary right and his dominion and control over this woman—I felt danger.” Zachary W. Carter LAW FIRM AWARD Greenberg Traurig, LLP, honoring the firm’s outstanding commitment to pro bono services and ongoing support of inMotion. We also recognized the firm for its focus on educating corporations nationwide about domestic violence, while serving as a role model for all employers on protecting their employees from domestic abuse. SPECIAL TEAM AWARD White & Case LLP Externs—2002–2005: Meghan M. Beakman, Justin M. Brown, Sheryl L. Dickey, Paul E. Godinez, Averie K. Hason, Melonie S. Jurgens, Sharan E. Lieberman, Meghan McCurdy, Grace M. McSorley, Victoria L. Oswald, Ally Rich, Louis S. Silvestri, Philip B. Sineneng, Gregory M. Starner, recognizing 14 extraordinary lawyers, each of whom worked full-time for a three-month rotation in our offices on especially complicated and demanding cases. Their intelligence, persistence and compassion have brought positive change to more than 200 families in our City. ASSOCIATE AWARDS Joshua A. Brook—Arnold & Porter LLP, for his skillful and successful representation of numerous clients on difficult matters. His unrelenting and vigorous advocacy brought about the return of two young children to their mother’s custody after they were removed, without any notice or legal basis, from her care. William F. Clarke, Jr.—Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP, for his superior work assisting three clients in obtaining divorces, custody of their children and significant child support awards. Jeffrey J. Federman and Christopher K. Kiplok—Hughes Hubbard & Reed LLP, for their determined and sustained efforts to achieve justice for one client, a recent immigrant from Poland, whom they continue to represent in multiple matters in Family and Supreme Court. Margo G. Ferrandino—Kaye Scholer LLP, for her fearless advocacy on a complicated custody and visitation case that pitted her client against several other parties. Her client ultimately retained custody of her child, while the other parties involved were denied visitation. JOHN K. GEIGER AWARD Wendy B. Reilly—Debevoise & Plimpton LLP, for demonstrating committed and caring leadership in building inMotion’s pro bono program at her firm. Playing a key role since summer 2003, Wendy has offered supervision, support, mentoring and trouble-shooting on 27 Debevoise & Plimpton matters. SOLO PRACTITIONER AWARDS Jose L. Massas, an active member of our Bronx-based pro bono attorney panel since 2001, for assisting many women, especially Spanish-speakers, in securing divorces from their batterers, allowing them to free themselves and their children from abusive situations. Andrea L. Rodriguez, for willingly accepting a full array of pro bono matters, including divorce, order of protection and immigration cases and for demonstrating extraordinary sensitivity to each client’s situation. Karen Eagan Shelton—Burger & Yagerman, LLP, for zealous and caring advocacy that brought safety and freedom from fear to a woman who was married for 15 years to a physically abusive drug user. Bernadette A. Smith, for representing survivors of domestic violence in complicated divorce and custody proceedings, securing favorable judgments and custody awards for many inMotion clients. I N-HOUSE VOLUNTEER AWARDS Lynn Czaporowski, who, as an incredibly loyal volunteer at our monthly walk-in clinic in the Bronx, has assisted more than 60 women over the past two years. Lynn is especially sensitive to clients with mental health issues that may impair their ability to proceed with their legal cases. Anna Glodek, an invaluable resource for our Polish clients. Since September 2004, Anna has volunteered two to three full days a week at inMotion, carrying a caseload of 10–15 uncontested divorce cases. SPECIAL AWARDS Jae H. Song, a psychology graduate student at NYU, whose sophisticated statistical analyses provided the basis for upgrading our operational systems and supported critical foundation funding requests. Carol Lynn “Cookie” Vazquez—C.L.V. Art Services, who has generously donated her time and talents to our annual photography auction, matting the photographs to be auctioned each year to the highest bidder. 2
a visionary partner In 1993, with $75,000 in seed money from the firm of Willkie Farr & Gallagher and many of her former partners, and sage, strategic advice from the leadership of her former firm, Cathy Douglass founded the organization now known as inMotion. Willkie partners Leslie Mazza and Duncan Stewart served on the organization’s first board of directors; the firm was inMotion’s first Corporate Partner, with Myron Trepper, Willkie co-chairman, as its representative. Demonstrating their commitment to serving the neediest in our City—and their faith in Cathy’s vision—the firm’s leaders encouraged lawyers to provide pro bono representation to inMotion’s clients in divorce and family law matters, a ground-breaking new area of practice for this and other corporate law firms. Pictured are just some of the key partners of the firm who have earned a special place in the heart and history of inMotion. Seated (left to right): Marty Klotz, Rick Posen, Myron Trepper, Shelley Chapman, Peter Jakes, John D'Alimonte. Standing: Gene Pinover, Leslie Mazza, Larry Kamin, Joe Baio, Kelly Hnatt, Roger Netzer and David McCabe. The firm, under the committed leadership of then pro bono partner Larry Kamin, willingly volunteered in an untested new pro bono program, recognizing that thousands of fellow New Yorkers could not afford lawyers at times of enormous family crisis. Willkie’s support extended to hosting all volunteer training sessions that first year and most of the organization’s board meetings. Emotional support, encouragement, constructive feedback and a willingness to speak with other firms about working with inMotion all helped this fledgling organization rapidly gain a strong footing in the legal community. In that inaugural year, 30 cases were placed with pro bono attorneys. “The first couple of years were a bit daunting. It was a challenge to convince other firms that inMotion had the skill set to train and mentor their associates—and that matrimonial and family law were areas where their pro bono support would make a real difference,” reflects Leslie Mazza. “Knowing that Willkie was willing to take on cases definitely helped to open doors and minds.” In addition to its steadfast programmatic support, the firm has always stepped in to provide inMotion with invaluable advice and counsel on a variety of general management and development issues: Gene Pinover advises us on our real estate lease negotiations; Bob Kheel’s employment law expertise contributes to ever-evolving and solid human resources policies and procedures; and Marty Klotz is always available to review contracts with vendors and service providers. Former board member Joe Baio’s passion for photography helped us to turn our annual photography auction, which Joe chaired for five years, into one of the City’s most successful and well-attended charity events. And Shelley Chapman, inMotion’s current board chair, together with Myron Trepper, who served as honorary co-chair of our 2003 benefit, have helped us establish strong and enduring support among individuals and firms in the bankruptcy and restructuring community. It has been a remarkable 13 years, and Willkie Farr & Gallagher’s commitment to inMotion remains as solid as ever. Over those years, while the firm’s financial support has been extraordinary— inMotion has received over $1.2 million in donations from the firm and its partners since 1993—these dollars have been more than matched by a personal investment of precious time by hundreds of lawyers, legal assistants and support staff of the firm. Willkie’s lawyers have logged over 15,000 hours of pro bono time with inMotion over the past 10 years. Collectively, these caring attorneys have advocated for justice for 111 women in Family and Supreme Courts; 14 cases are currently in progress. InMotion has recognized the quality of this representation over the years by singling out six associates and two partners of the firm to receive inMotion’s highest accolade, our Commitment to Justice Award. “Our partnership with inMotion is truly unique,” says Willkie chairman Jack Nusbaum, “and we're proud of the significant and measurable impact the firm has had on the success of the organization. We are as committed today as we were in 1993 to supporting inMotion as it continues to grow and, most importantly, helps more women and children find justice.” NYU LAW WOMEN ADOPT INMOTION Each year, NYU Law Women, a student association and forum for women’s voices at New York University School of Law, raise funds for one organization they believe in. We were thrilled when we learned that inMotion was selected as the group’s beneficiary for 2006. As a special added incentive, our founding corporate partner, Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP, announced that it would match each dollar raised in this year’s fundraising drive. Jennifer Hardy, NYU Law Women board member (right), drops by our Manhattan office to present her organization’s donation and matching check from Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP to Nadia Gareeb, inMotion senior staff attorney. And so for months, NYU Law Women devoted hours of their scarce free time to staffing donation tables at their law school, hosting social gatherings and leveraging their many connections to New York City corporate law firms to raise funds for inMotion. These committed students also coordinated an extensive email campaign to solicit the support of students, alumni and other groups within New York University’s student bar associations. The hard work of the NYU Law Women produced an amazing $7,300, which Willkie, as promised, then matched. Our heartfelt thanks go to Willkie Farr & Gallagher, to the many firms and individuals contributing to the NYU Law Women campaign, and to Jennifer Hardy, Elise Roeker and Carolyn Walther, NYU Law Women board members, who organized this record-breaking effort. 3
Page 1: SPRING 2006 one by one MAKING WOMEN
Page 5 and 6: our contributors CORPORATIONS, FOUN
Page 7 and 8: summer associate program LAW STUDEN
Page 9 and 10: volunteer profile VLADIMIR AND LARI

one by one - inMotion Inc.

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?