At this year’s Above & Beyond Awards, Sanctuary for Families is thrilled to honor an outstanding team from Debevoise & Plimpton LLP — partner and Sanctuary Board member Steven Slutzky and associates John Jacob, Grace Anna Li, and Amy Pereira — for successfully obtaining parole for an incarcerated survivor of domestic violence.
The Debevoise team went “Above and Beyond” in its representation of an incarcerated woman, Ms. D, a survivor of domestic violence for whom they successfully obtained parole at her initial interview in June. Ms. D will be released this October.
Debevoise has been a strong pro bono partner of Sanctuary for Families for decades, but this was the first matter (but not the last!) that the lawyers on Ms. D.’s team had done with Sanctuary for Families. In February 2025, after being briefed by lawyers from Sanctuary’s Incarcerated Gender Violence Survivors Initiative (IGVSI), the team immediately jumped into meeting with Ms. D and talking to her friends and family to prepare a compelling advocacy letter and parole packet for submission. This entailed weekly calls and regular visits to Ms. D at the correctional facility and obtaining letters of support from family, friends, and reentry organizations. It was not always easy to schedule visits given the staff shortage at the correctional facility, resulting in delayed responses to requests for calls and visits.
Hours were dedicated to preparing Ms. D for her parole interview, and the team worked with her to become confident and ready for the interview. Ms. D took ownership of her actions which empowered her to share her transformation while she was incarcerated. Ms. D explained to the parole board that she was focused on reuniting with her family, working on her mental health and moving on with her life. The Debevoise team developed a close relationship with Ms. D, expressing that she was “lovely to work with”. The team also developed relationships with others with whom they worked to prepare for the parole interview.
“Partnering with Sanctuary for Families to represent Ms. D in her parole application was deeply rewarding. Through our work together, we saw Ms. D’s resilience and commitment to building a better future for herself and her family. We are thrilled that her application was successful and proud to have played a part in this important milestone.” – Debevoise team
“The team at Debevoise showed us what true advocacy looks like: skill, empathy, and trauma-informed practice working seamlessly together for the good of our client.” – Sanctuary’s IGVSI team
Sanctuary is extremely honored to present the “Above and Beyond” Pro Bono Award to the Debevoise team.
Join us at our Above & Beyond Awards Ceremony on October 21, 2025, as we honor Debevoise & Plimpton’s outstanding pro bono work.
If your firm is interested in a sponsorship opportunity, please reach out to Geny Kimbrell, Director of Special Events, by email at gkimbrell@sffny.org.
Naina Rasheed is a member of Sanctuary’s Pro Bono Council.