Nadia Murad, 2025 Abely Awards Honoree

Sanctuary for Families

Established 28 years ago by Davis Polk, Sanctuary for Families, and Columbia Law School, the Abely Awards honor individuals who have made a difference in the lives of survivors of gender violence.

Established 28 years ago by Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP, Sanctuary for Families, and Columbia Law School, the Abely Awards honor individuals who have made a difference in the lives of survivors of gender violence and who embody Maryellen Abely’s compassion, zeal, energy, and dedication.

This year, we are thrilled to present the 2025 Abely Leading Women and Children to Safety Award to Nadia Murad, human rights advocate and Nobel Peace Prize awardee.

INTRODUCING NADIA MURAD

Nadia Murad is a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, human rights activist, and survivor of the Yazidi genocide. After escaping captivity by ISIS, she dedicated her life to advocating for survivors of sexual violence and seeking justice for persecuted communities. As the founder of Nadia’s Initiative, she leads global efforts to rebuild communities affected by conflict and hold perpetrators of mass atrocities accountable.

Murad was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in recognition of her unwavering commitment to ending conflict-related sexual violence. She has addressed the United Nations, governments, and international organizations, calling for justice and policy reforms to protect vulnerable populations.

Through her advocacy, Murad continues to amplify the voices of survivors, ensuring that their experiences lead to meaningful action toward peace, security, and human dignity.

 

Garrard R. Beeney, 2025 Abely Awards Honoree

Sanctuary for Families

Established 28 years ago by Davis Polk, Sanctuary for Families, and Columbia Law School, the Abely Awards honor individuals who have made a difference in the lives of survivors of gender violence.

Established 28 years ago by Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP, Sanctuary for Families, and Columbia Law School, the Abely Awards honor individuals who have made a difference in the lives of survivors of gender violence and who embody Maryellen Abely’s compassion, zeal, energy, and dedication.

This year, we are thrilled to present the 2025 Abely Pro Bono Award to Garrard R. Beeney.

INTRODUCING GARRARD

Garrard R. Beeney is co-head of the Intellectual Property and Technology Group at Sullivan & Cromwell. He has argued cases nationwide, including twice before the United States Supreme Court, and is widely recognized as a leading trial lawyer. Publications such as The American Lawyer, Forbes, The Legal 500, and Benchmark Litigation have praised him as “a master strategist” and “one of the best trial lawyers in the world.”

Mr. Beeney has also demonstrated a deep commitment to public service. He served for over a decade as deputy mayor of Irvington, New York, chaired the board of Mercado Global, and currently serves on the boards of Sanctuary for Families and Graham Windham. His pro bono practice includes major victories advancing the rights of domestic violence survivors and LGBTQ+ individuals, as well as securing the restoration of voting rights for 60,000 African Americans in South Carolina.

Most notably, he led the effort to secure a resentencing under the Domestic Violence Survivors Justice Act for Nikki Addimando, a survivor who was serving a 19-year-to-life sentence for murdering her abuser and then-boyfriend. The case, involving over 4,000 hours of legal work, resulted in her release in January 2024. He continues to advocate on critical issues including reproductive rights, trans healthcare access, and legal protections for survivors of rape, abuse, and cyberstalking.

Schulte Attorneys Succeed in Second Department Appeal for Domestic Abuse Survivor

Nyla Samee

A dedicated team of Schulte Roth & Zabel LLP attorneys collaborated with Sanctuary for Families to obtain a five-year order of protection for our client ‘Liane’ against her ex-partner.

Every year, Sanctuary for Families’ Pro Bono Project has the privilege of collaborating with highly skilled and committed pro bono attorneys. Through our Pro Bono Spotlight, we highlight the phenomenal work carried out by Sanctuary’s pro bono partners.

*Please note that this blog contains descriptions of abuse that could be triggering*

Sanctuary for Families represented “Liane” for several years in a complex custody and order of protection case. Liane had endured years of severe physical and emotional abuse, often in front of the parties’ children. Following a lengthy trial, the Court found Liane’s testimony credible and determined that her ex-partner had committed multiple serious family offenses, including second-degree assault. Moreover, the Court acknowledged the presence of aggravating circumstances in the case, but ultimately only issued a two-year order of protection even though she was entitled to a five-year order of protection given the finding of aggravating circumstances. The Respondent appealed the Court’s decision, and Sanctuary filed a counter-appeal.

Schulte Roth & Zabel LLP eagerly accepted the challenge of working on this appeal. The key legal issue in this case was determining whether the Court erred in issuing a two-year order of protection despite finding aggravating circumstances. Taleah E. Jennings, partner, and Priyadarshini Das, associate, worked diligently to draft a compelling brief on behalf of Liane and advocate for her during the oral argument. Thanks to Taleah and Priyadarshini’s efforts, Sanctuary received a very favorable decision from the Second Department, with the Appellate Court issuing a five-year order of protection and declining to remand the case to the lower court.

“It was a pleasure working with Schulte. Taleah and Priyadarshini quickly assessed the strengths of the appeal, drafted an excellent brief on behalf of our client, and zealously advocated for her during oral argument.”

– Erin Mears, Senior Staff Attorney, Sanctuary’s Community Law Project

“Schulte has been one of our ‘go to’ firms for handling our client’s family law appeals. We are so grateful for their continued partnership and their dedication to helping survivors.”

– Nicole Fidler, Senior Project Director, Sanctuary’s Pro Bono Project

This incredible victory has given Liane the ability to move forward with her life without fear for her and her children’s safety. Below, Taleah and Priyadarshini discuss their experience working on this successful appeal as well as how it informed their approach toward trauma-informed lawyering and protection for survivors.

What interested you in working on this appeal pro bono?

Our firm has handled appeals for Sanctuary for Families in a number of cases, including another involving the Family Court’s abuse of discretion in issuing an inadequate order of protection. It is always a rewarding experience to help clients navigate through all stages of the New York State court system. When Sanctuary for Families reached out to us, we were eager to incorporate our prior experience with these sorts of appeals and assist in the great services the organization provides its clients.

What went into preparing for the oral argument?

We spent a lot of time preparing for the argument. There was a full trial record, and we made sure we knew the transcripts, evidence, and every single case that was cited in the multiple briefings inside and out. Through the date of the argument, we monitored the family court and appellate docket for any new decisions that we may want or need to address during argument. We also called upon our colleagues in our firm’s litigation department to conduct several moot arguments, which was really helpful because the diversity of views and questions they had during the moots strengthened our confidence to argue to a panel of appellate judges. We also familiarized ourselves with the judges themselves, by researching their backgrounds, reading their relevant decisions, and watching recorded arguments from other appellate matters.

How did working on this appeal shape your understanding of trauma-informed lawyering?

We kept at the forefront of our minds and as a key theme in our briefing for the appeal, that our client went through the trauma of experiencing domestic violence, had to relive it in court, and then—having survived her abuse and prevailing on the merits at trial—was denied the protection she needed and deserved. Our job in this appeal was to rectify that error, both for her and for other survivors who should know that they can receive adequate protection when they work their way through the court system.

As lawyers, it is almost impossible to avoid being impacted by our clients’ traumatic experiences. That has pros and cons. The devastating violence that our client and her children experienced motivated us to get her the right result. But there is the vicarious or secondhand trauma that often comes from reliving your clients’ experience with them. We always made sure to recognize that to ensure it did not impact our work or our health.

In what ways was working on this appeal rewarding for you?

We are grateful to have the opportunity to work with such an incredible organization like Sanctuary for Families and to help people who may otherwise lack access to counsel. It was especially rewarding to get the justice our client deserved but also getting a full judicial opinion that will go on to help others seeking orders of protection.

We greatly appreciate Taleah and Priyadarshini for their exceptional advocacy and dedication to supporting survivors.

Gibson Dunn Attorneys Secure Final Order of Protection for Cyber Abuse Survivor

Nyla Samee

A dedicated team of Gibson Dunn attorneys collaborated with Sanctuary for Families to obtain a final order of protection for “Claire” against her abusive ex-partner in a case involving tech-facilitated abuse, a form of abuse that is becoming increasingly ubiquitous.

Sanctuary for Families’ Pro Bono Project has the honor of working annually with hundreds of extremely dedicated and expert pro bono attorneys. As part of our Pro Bono Spotlight, we highlight some of the great work done by Sanctuary pro bono attorneys!

*Please note that this blog contains descriptions of abuse that could be triggering*

A dedicated team of Gibson Dunn attorneys collaborated with Sanctuary for Families to obtain a final order of protection for “Claire” against her abusive ex-partner in a case involving tech-facilitated abuse, a form of abuse that is becoming increasingly ubiquitous. Tech-facilitated abuse, also called cyber abuse, includes an array of harassment tactics such as hacking, installation of spyware, stalking, spoofing, identity theft, impersonation, sexual extortion (colloquially known as “sextortion”), and the nonconsensual distribution or threat of distribution of intimate images and videos.

“We are so grateful to Gibson Dunn for their incredible advocacy on behalf of a client who experienced threats of image-based abuse and other forms of technology-facilitated abuse, including threats and repeated harassment. Online abuse is too often dismissed and belittled, even though the damage is overwhelming and even life-ruining for survivors. Gibson Dunn’s advocacy in this case resulted in an extremely positive outcome for the client and led to her feeling supported and validated in what she had experienced. Congratulations to the whole team!”

– Lindsey Song, Associate Program Director, Family Law Project at Sanctuary for Families and Co-Chair, New York Cyber Abuse Task Force

After Claire ended her relationship, her ex-partner continued to threaten and harass her and her mother by making threats to circulate intimate images of Claire in an attempt to control her actions. While Claire had obtained a temporary order of protection in Family Court, she needed support in securing a permanent order of protection to truly be able to move on from this abusive relationship.

Gibson Dunn readily took on the challenge to support Sanctuary in representing Claire in a critical fact-finding hearing. As a result of Sanctuary and Gibson Dunn’s tireless efforts in crafting compelling arguments and thoroughly preparing Claire for her testimony and cross-examination, the Court ruled that Claire’s abuser had committed a family offense, thereby granting her a final order of protection.

This remarkable victory has allowed Claire the space to heal and move forward with her life without fear. Here, the Gibson Dunn team comprised of Jacqueline E. Malzone, Associate Attorney; Carolyn Ye, Associate Attorney; and Christina Andersen, Of Counsel, explores the professional development afforded by this opportunity and how it shaped their perception and approach towards trauma-informed lawyering and tackling cyber abuse cases.

Tell me about the case. What went into preparations?

A lot of preparation went into this case. First and foremost, we spent significant time with our client understanding her story, nailing down the details and the timelines, gathering evidence – such as screenshots, text message chains, and call logs. We ultimately utilized firm resources to obtain a forensic screen of her phone in order to best preserve her text and phone records. We also utilized third-party translators to obtain certified translations of non-English messages that were helpful to our case. We then spent many hours with our client preparing her for direct examination – making sure she was comfortable enough telling her story in a clear and compelling manner, but also making sure we as her attorneys were comfortable guiding her through examination. This part of the process really built our strong relationship with our client. And of course, we had to prepare our client to be questioned by her abuser, who was representing himself pro se. This was one of the most difficult parts of our preparation, as this can reopen traumatic wounds, and our goal in this process above all is to protect our client. On our own, we spent significant time reviewing and organizing evidence and preparing legal arguments to convince the court of our argument and ways to prevent the court from accepting the abuser’s irrelevant evidence. Lindsey Song from Sanctuary for Families was also an incredible resource and guide during Claire’s entire case and was there with us every step of the way.

What interested you in working on this case pro bono?

A desire to use our legal training and skills to help our client advocate for herself and pursue the protection from abusive and coercive conduct provided by the law.

How did working on this case shape your understanding of trauma-informed lawyering?

Trauma-informed lawyering requires tiptoeing a very delicate line between needing to share all the unpleasant details with the court while minding your client’s mental health and wellbeing. Working on this case was an exercising of learning where that line is and how to avoid crossing it. Sanctuary for Families was an incredible resource, particularly in guiding our initial conversations with our client to ensure that even as we were new to the process, we did not endanger our client’s wellbeing.

What are some approaches you will adopt in future cyber abuse cases based on this experience?

We will focus immediately on comprehensive discovery of social media messages and a variety of chat and instant message platforms using all the digital forensic tools available.

What are some lasting impacts from the case?

A desire to work on more cases! It was also so incredibly rewarding to see just the depth of relief that Claire had after the judge awarded her a final order of protection. She had been so strong and brave throughout the whole process, and seeing her finally feel safe is something we’ll never forget.

We are extremely grateful to Jacqueline, Carolyn, and Christina for their outstanding advocacy and commitment to serving survivors.