The New York State Bar Association's COVID-19 Recovery Task Force, which will oversee the state's pro bono network of lawyers helping with coronavirus recovery, includes several law school deans, partners at respected firms and leaders of legal aid organizations.

The pro bono network was established at the end of March to prepare for a surge in legal needs related to the pandemic and its effect on the economy. The lawyers will focus first on helping people apply for unemployment benefits, while also preparing to handle evictions, domestic violence and a wide variety of other matters.

Former Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman of the New York Court of Appeals, who is now of counsel at Latham & Watkins, is coordinating the network, and he praised the breadth and depth of the group's abilities in a statement.

"This esteemed panel brings a depth of experience and perspectives to the task we have at hand—making sure that those who need a lawyer get help as quickly as humanly possible," he said.

John Kiernan, a partner at Debevoise & Plimpton and immediate past president of the New York City Bar Association, is on the task force, along with two past presidents of the NYSBA: Vincent Doyle, president of Neighborhood Legal Services in Buffalo, and Seymour James, former attorney in chief of the New York City Legal Aid Society and a current partner at Barket Epstein Kearon Aldea & LoTurco.

The leaders of the pro bono departments at Shearman & Sterling and Farrell Fritz are on the task force, along with Cooley partner Alan Levine, Sullivan & Cromwell partner Robert Giuffra Jr., Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher partner Mylan Denerstein.

The NYSBA partnered with the state court system to create the pro bono network, and Chief Judge Janet DiFiore's law clerk Kathryn Wheelock is on the task force alongside Deputy Chief Administrative Judge for Justice Initiatives Edwina Mendelson.

The task force also includes the deans of the law schools at Syracuse University, Fordham University and Hofstra University and the executive directors of Volunteers of Legal Service and the Legal Aid Society of Northeastern New York, among others.

The full list of task force members supplied by the NYSBA:

  • Syracuse University School of Law dean Craig M. Boise
  • Saralyn Cohen, pro bono counsel at Shearman & Sterling
  • Mylan L. Denerstein, partner at Gibson Dunn
  • Fordham Law School dean Matthew Diller
  • Vincent E. Doyle, president of Neighborhood Legal Services in Buffalo and past NYSBA president
  • Cynthia F. Feathers, director of quality enhancement for appellate and post-conviction representation at the New York State Office of Indigent Legal Services
  • Robert J. Giuffra Jr., a partner at Sullivan & Cromwell
  • Seymour W. James, former attorney-in-chief of the NYC Legal Aid Society, partner at Barket Epstein Kearon Aldea & LoTurco and past NYSBA president
  • Marcia Levy, executive director at Volunteers of Legal Service
  • John Kiernan, partner at Debevoise & Plimpton and past president of the New York City Bar Association
  • Alan Levine, partner at Cooley
  • Deputy Chief Administrative Judge for Justice Initiatives Edwina G. Mendelson
  • John R. Morken, partner and head of the pro bono department at Farrell Fritz
  • Legal Aid Society of Northeastern New York executive director Lillian M. Moy
  • James Sandman, president emeritus of the Legal Services Corporation in Washington, D.C.
  • A. Gail Prudenti, dean of Hofstra University Maurice A. Deane School of Law and former presiding justice, Appellate Division, Second Department
  • Kathryn Wheelock, law clerk to Chief Judge Janet DiFiore

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