Jonathan Youngwood of Simpson Thacher & Bartlett. (Courtesy photo)

Describe your firm's philosophy on pro bono service.  Simpson Thacher lawyers devote thousands of hours each year to pro bono engagements ranging from major impact litigations to representing individuals in immigration, housing, criminal and family law matters. The firm also has a longstanding practice forming and supporting small businesses and nonprofit organizations. Simpson Thacher is as well known for achieving extraordinary victories that right long-standing injustices, as it is for advocacy on behalf of marginalized and vulnerable clients.

What are the two biggest cases your firm worked on in 2019? Tell us more about those cases and how you reached the outcome.  1) We secured a landmark, first-of-its-kind consent decree in Brown v. Madison County, a class action lawsuit filed by Simpson Thacher, the [American Civil Liberties Union] and ACLU of Mississippi, challenging racially-motivated policing tactics by the Madison County Sheriff's Department in Mississippi. Achieved after 2½ years of litigation, the consent decree requires the department to reform its policies and practices with respect to checkpoints and pedestrian stops and is subject to verification by a community oversight board.

2) Immigration and Customs Enforcement released our clients onto the Manhattan streets after months of immigration detention at a correctional facility without providing discharge planning for the treatment of their significant mental health disorders. Both clients were hospitalized, one requiring months of psychiatric hospitalization to recover the treatment lapse. The firm brought lawsuits against ICE and the correctional facility, where we secured decisions that paved the way for settlement from defendants totaling $1.7 million.

What was the most satisfying aspect of that work? Taking on these cases allowed us to address injustices both in our backyard and in our broader backyard. Both matters address grave injustices that have been perpetrated against populations that have long been marginalized, and who deserve to have their story told and the injustice remedied. The Madison County consent decree also potentially sets a standard for non-discriminatory policing that can be applied throughout the U.S.

What other pro bono matters is the firm working on?  In the wake of COVID-19, the firm has formed rapid response teams to advise small business and nonprofit clients in [New York] and [California] on their economic recovery options. We have also focused on compassionate release efforts, co-counseling with the Mississippi Federal Public Defender to secure the release of vulnerable inmates.

Last month, we secured the release of our client, who spent 18 years in a California prison for a murder he did not commit. The court vacated his conviction based on determinations that the prosecution withheld material exculpatory evidence from the defense; and trial counsel rendered constitutionally deficient representation.

Why does pro bono work matter to you as a lawyer?  Pro bono work is essential to the practice of law. Not only is it our duty to serve underprivileged communities and help promote justice, it's also a gift. I strongly encourage all lawyers to get involved as it will strengthen your practice, broaden your perspective and enrich your life.

Responses submitted by Jonathan Youngwood, global co-chair of the litigation department at Simpson Thacher & Bartlett.