Global law firm Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP is pleased to announce that 13 attorneys and two paralegals from its New York office were honored by The Legal Aid Society for pro bono service performed during 2013. The attorneys and paralegals received The Legal Aid Society’s Pro Bono Publico Award, which are given annually for “delivering life-changing legal assistance to our City’s most vulnerable residents.” The Honorable Jonathan Lippman, Chief Judge of the State of New York, presented the awards at a reception on October 29, 2013 in New York City.

The Weil attorneys who received the award are Yehudah Buchweitz, Konrad Cailteux, Vanessa W. Chandis, Stacey A. Harkey, Mark A. Jacoby, Isabella C. Lacayo, Carl D. Lobell, Jesse L. Morris, Emily L. Pincow, Lisa Sokolowski, Eric S. Wolfish, and Aryeh Zuber. The paralegals who received the award are Roy Gilchrist and Elizabeth McConville.

Weil has a firmwide commitment to providing pro bono service to the communities in which it resides. The New York office has partnered with The Legal Aid Society for many years to offer legal services on a diverse range of matters, including saving homes, representing death row inmates, safeguarding prisoners’ rights, representing families at risk of homelessness in class actions, and advising small businesses. In 2013 Weil worked with The Legal Aid Society to help Superstorm Sandy victims with submitting appeals to FEMA on behalf of individuals whose homeowner insurance claims were denied, as well as serving as co-counsel on a class-action suit against New York City when it moved to evict about 1,000 displaced storm victims living in hotels through a temporary shelter program. Weil teams also helped to restore funding for rental assistance programs that help low-income families avoid eviction and homelessness, and secured urgent surgery for a New York State prison inmate.