Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP Represents Survivor in International Child Abduction Trial Victory

Anastasia Regne

At this year’s Above & Beyond Awards, Sanctuary for Families is thrilled to honor a team of dedicated Davis Polk attorneys.

At this year’s Above & Beyond Awards, Sanctuary for Families will honor Ms. A’s dedicated team of Davis Polk attorneys who achieved a remarkable win in a multi-day federal trial that will help Ms. A and her children stay together in the United States.

The Davis Polk team consists of members from both the New York and Madrid offices, including associates Brendan A. Blase, Mollie E. Hamel, Meredith Manning, James Y. Park, Ryann Moelis, Matthew Stratis Vasilakos, Zoë Smith, Maria Morris, and Paul Shortell; former associate Emma Schwartz; Foreign Associate Jacqueline Berkenstadt; Counsel and Head of Pro Bono Litigation Dara L. Sheinfeld; Chief Pro Bono Counsel Amelia T.R. Starr; and Counsel Ester del Valle Izquierdo.

After Ms. A fled Spain with her two children, her abusive former intimate partner initiated proceedings in both Spain and New York to return the children to him in Spain. Ms. A was determined to remain in New York and maintain the stable and loving environment she had built for her family, and remain with the community that had welcomed her and children in New York, away from the abusive environment in Spain. Ms. A worked with her incredible team of Davis Polk attorneys to quickly prepare for the fast-approaching bench trial to prevent the return of the children to their father.

Shortly after Ms. A’s intake with Sanctuary for Families, Davis Polk assembled a super team of lawyers at all levels to represent her in a proceeding filed pursuant to the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction (the “Hague Convention”) in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. Davis Polk Associate Zoë Smith described Ms. A as “an incredible woman. She’s so resilient and joyful, and put so much faith and trust in us.” With the trial fast approaching, Zoë and associate Ryann Moelis became very close with Ms. A, learning how to support her from a trauma-informed perspective. “The case only goes as well as your client feels,” Ryann said. Zoë and Ryann worked extensively with Ms. A at her own pace to ensure she was completely comfortable and ready for her testimony at trial. At the same time, Associate Mollie Hamel and other associates engaged in extensive drafting to respond to Ms. A’s former partner’s constant filing of motions. In addition to close client contact and drafting, another benefit Davis Polk’s innovative pro bono team model provides is assigning an associate to each of the witnesses – in this case nine – to be presented at trial. The associates were responsible for preparing the witnesses, drafting outlines, and ultimately for conducting direct or cross-examination. At the beginning of the trial, in order for less seasoned attorneys to gain courtroom experience, Davis Polk requested – and the judge allowed – certain rules and structure to allow associates to address the court and present oral argument while supported by more senior attorneys. As a result, Davis Polk associates developed new skills and gained important training, all while diligently fighting on behalf of Ms. A.

As part of their defense of Ms. A, the Davis Polk team successfully argued that Ms. A’s children were well settled in their new home and community as evidenced by their success in school and sports, regular participation in church activities, and connections with local family.  Additionally, the court agreed with the team’s showing – with the aid of an expert – that Ms. A’s older child was mature enough to have their desire to stay in New York with their mother and sibling considered by the court.  Finally, the court determined that even though Ms. A’s younger child was not mature enough to weigh in on the decision about whether they would return to Spain, the siblings were so bonded that they should not be separated.  Ultimately, the court decided that the children should not be returned to Spain under the Hague Convention and should stay in New York together with their mother to continue to grow and flourish.  Notably, in a footnote in the opinion, the court commended the Davis Polk team “for the vigor and skill with which they litigated this difficult case, and for their donation of substantial time and resources.  Their pro bono work on this case has been in the finest tradition of this District.”

Ms. A and her pro bono team’s work together to successfully obtain the favorable decision will help Ms. A continue to build safety, security, and community for her children.

Nicole Fidler, Director of Sanctuary’s Pro Bono Project, was thrilled when Dara L. Sheinfeld, Counsel and Head of Pro Bono Litigation at Davis Polk, agreed to take on Ms. A’s federal Hague Convention case:

“After Dara and I met with Ms. A a few times to better understand the history of abuse and Ms. A’s possible defenses, Dara enthusiastically agreed to build a litigation team at Davis Polk to represent Ms. A.  Dara and Davis Polk always do a phenomenal job representing survivors, and this was no exception.  This was a powerhouse team that strategically handled every challenge thrown at them throughout the case – and there were many.  I was constantly impressed by their dedication, compassion, and lawyering skills.  This was a hard-fought win, and I am so grateful for all the work they did in partnership with Ms. A, and for everything Davis Polk attorneys do to help survivors of gender-based violence.”

While the district court judge issued a favorable decision for Ms. A and the Davis Polk team, her former partner has appealed the decision to the Second Circuit. Fortunately, Ms. A and the Davis Polk team are already working together on the appeal.

Join us at our Above & Beyond Awards Ceremony on October 25, 2023, as we honor David Polk’s outstanding pro bono work.

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Anastasia Regne is an associate with the Employment, Pensions & Incentives team at Herbert Smith Freehills in New York and a member of Sanctuary for Families’ Pro Bono Council.

DLA Piper’s Elena Rizzo Honored for Devoted Representation in Complex Family Law Matters

Kate Powers

At this year’s Above & Beyond Awards, Sanctuary for Families is thrilled to honor Elena Rizzo, Associate at DLA Piper.

At this year’s Above & Beyond Awards, Sanctuary for Families will be honoring DLA Piper associate Elena Rizzo for her steadfast and devoted representation of multiple clients in complex contested divorce, custody, Order of Protection (“OP”), and appeals cases. 

Elena Rizzo has secured positive outcomes for Sanctuary’s clients through masterful brief writing and successful argument before the First Department in a complicated divorce matter. Most recently, Elena shot into action on a highly complex, lengthy, and time-sensitive contested divorce case where she prepared the case for trial in a matter of weeks.  The case involves a mother of five children whose husband has repeatedly engaged in physical, emotional, and financial abuse.  Just some examples of such abuse include sexually assaulting the mother, failing to pay required child and spousal support, having the mother and children evicted from their home, and constantly violating the OP in the case.

The case was scheduled to go to trial in March 2023 and Elena wasted no time submitting requests for medical, school, dental, and other records for all five of the client’s children, securing copies of prior and current OPs and getting transcripts of prior cases which helped to impeach the client’s abuser.  Armed with as much information as she could get, she immediately turned to trial prep mode.  This involved drafting lengthy direct and cross examinations and preparing dozens of exhibits, including prior court filings, photographs, screenshots of text messages, videos of abuse, copies of police reports, and more.

Though ultimately the trial was rescheduled on the very day it was set to begin, Elena’s work to get this case trial-ready on such a tight timeline was nothing short of remarkable.

Reflecting on this case and Elena’s work, Lindsey Song, Associate Program Director of the Family Law Project at the Queens Family Justice Center explained,

“Elena is extremely dedicated and devoted to her clients and work and immediately shot into overdrive to prepare for an extremely contested and complex custody/OP trial with only weeks to prepare. Despite managing a caseload of her own at her firm, Elena prioritized preparing for the trial and, stunningly, came up with trial-ready exhibits and materials within less than a month of time.”

As to her work with Sanctuary, Elena explained,

“You have a gift when you have a law license. When you do have that gift, you have to make sure that you use that to help others.”

Join us at our Above & Beyond Awards Ceremony on October 25, 2023, as we honor DLA Piper’s outstanding pro bono work.

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Kate Powers is counsel in the White Collar Defense & Government Investigation practice group at Akin’s New York office. She is also a member of Sanctuary’s Pro Bono Council.

Simpson Thacher’s Susan Cordaro Honored for Dedicated Representation of Survivors

Romy Felsen-Parsons

At this year’s Above & Beyond Awards, Sanctuary for Families is thrilled to honor Susan M. Cordaro, Deputy Pro Bono Counsel at Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP.

At this year’s Above & Beyond Awards, Sanctuary for Families is honoring Susan M. Cordaro, Deputy Pro Bono Counsel at Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP, for her outstanding dedication to helping survivors of gender-based violence and her work with numerous pro bono clients within Sanctuary’s Family Law Project and Matrimonial/Economic Justice Project.

For several years, Susan Cordaro has provided compassionate and skilled legal services to dozens of Sanctuary’s clients, delivering trauma-informed legal advice and representation in a range of cases, including appeals, asylum matters, divorces, custody/visitation cases, and orders of protection.

In addition to representing survivors, Susan leads and coordinates the Sanctuary/Simpson Thacher Family Law Screening Project in the Bronx Family Justice Center (Bronx FJC). For the last several years, Simpson Thacher attorneys have participated in Bronx FJC legal screenings conducted by Sanctuary attorneys, during which Simpson Thacher volunteers take detailed notes and then assist with any follow-up pro se assistance or research that the client may need, including drafting pro se petitions. This Project has enhanced our ability to more significantly serve Bronx FJC clients and meet their needs. Susan’s leadership and commitment to the Project has been invaluable to its success. Susan doesn’t just manage the Project for Simpson Thacher, she also supervises, provides advice, and has herself volunteered to participate in many legal screenings. Susan has become so adept at understanding survivor legal needs that she has even started conducting legal screenings on her own.

Karla George, Associate Program Director of Sanctuary’s Bronx FJC Family Law Project, said,

“Susan’s leadership in supervising our screening clinic in the Bronx with Simpson Thacher has been outstanding and life-changing, supplementing our staff resources and enabling us to provide more and deeper services to clients. I have personally enjoyed this collaboration with Susan, who always shows up with positive energy and cares deeply about our clients. We are eternally grateful to Susan and her pro bono team!”

In addition to her work with the screening project, Susan was also nominated for an Above & Beyond award this year for providing direct representation to multiple survivors. She has been indispensable in many cases, and in particular on appeals from Family Court decisions. Two recent cases provide examples of Susan’s critical work with survivors and their families: a grandparent visitation petition won on appeal after the original petition had been dismissed, and a successful appeal from a final order of custody granted to our client.

In the first case, which Susan staffed in the Appellate Division along with Simpson Thacher  former associate Sara L. Estela, Litigation Counsel Sarah Phillips, and Retired Partner Mary Beth Forshaw, and then subsequently in the Family Court with associates Isabel R. Mattson, Lauren Smith, and former associate Rebecca Sussman, the court had originally determined that the grandmother of one of Sanctuary’s clients did not have standing to seek visitation with her grandson. This was particularly troubling given that the grandmother had helped to care for the child during the early years of his life when his father was either not present or was present but extremely abusive toward the child’s mother and neglectful toward his son. Despite this and as a result of a long and unsettling legal history, the father has full custody over the child while our client tragically lost her green card and is unable to re-enter the US to visit her son. Given these circumstances, being able to guarantee the grandmother’s continued presence in the child’s life was critical to his well-being. After two years, an appellate victory, numerous Family Court appearances after remand, and the commencement of a trial, Susan and the team were able to settle the case on very favorable terms.

Sanctuary Senior Staff Attorney Ruchama Cohen, who worked with Susan on this challenging case, said,

“I’m thrilled to see Susan Cordaro recognized for her exceptional work on behalf of our clients. Her skill in the courtroom is matched only by her compassion for her clients. Susan has been a long-time mentor for me personally, and she is an inspiration to those of us at Sanctuary who are privileged to work with her.”

On the second case, Susan won a successful appeal from a Final Order of Custody granted to a survivor in Bronx Family Court after an extensive, highly contested trial, in which the abusive father was granted only email contact with the child, with no visitation. In response to questioning from the bench during oral argument, Susan strategically suggested a tweak to the Order that was adopted by the Appellate Division and, therefore, saved the Order from being struck or remanded for additional hearings.

Senior Program Director of the Family Law Project, Jennifer Friedman, noted,

“This case was extremely hard fought, over many years. … This client and her daughter were severely traumatized by the father, but also by the case. If this case had been remanded, it would have been devastating to them both.”

Susan’s brilliant brief and litigation skills enabled the avoidance of an otherwise catastrophic outcome for this family. On working with Susan in general, Jennifer said,

“Susan is always available, always endeavors to assist us when we ask; always has a positive attitude, and is delightful to work with.  Her commitment to our clients and our work is amazing!”

Pro Bono Counsel and Director at Simpson Thacher, Harlene Katzman, concluded,

“We are incredibly proud of Susan’s leadership of the family law appeals that anchor her pro bono work with Sanctuary for Families. Through this project, Susan provides invaluable hands-on mentoring and guidance to litigation associates who may be writing an appellate brief and arguing in court for the very first time. Susan’s contributions at Simpson Thacher extend far beyond her family law practice. She is a critical part of our pro bono team, sharing her wisdom, experience, strategic thinking and creative solutions to problems big and small. Congratulations Susan on this very well-deserved honor!”

We are deeply grateful to Susan for the incredible time and energy she has put towards serving survivors of gender-based violence.

Join us at our Above & Beyond Awards Ceremony on October 25, 2023, as we honor Simpson Thacher & Bartlett’s outstanding pro bono work.

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Epstein Becker Team Assists Survivor in Eviction Proceeding

Colleen O'Brien

At this year’s Above & Beyond, Sanctuary will honor an Epstein Becker team for their representation of Sanctuary client “Jane” in a challenging landlord-tenant dispute and application for relief under the Emergency Rental Assistance Program.

At this year’s Above & Beyond Awards, Sanctuary for Families will be honoring Epstein Becker attorneys Tamara Bock, Jennifer O’Connor, and Anastasia Regne for their dedicated, creative and successful representation of Sanctuary client “Jane” in a challenging landlord-tenant dispute and application for relief under the Emergency Rental Assistance Program.

In 2018, Sanctuary for Families and Epstein Becker & Green, P.C. teamed up to work on an eviction proceeding that had been ongoing for a year. Although the client, Jane, had been diligent in making payments to her landlord since the beginning of the case up until the pandemic hit, there were accrued arrears based on the fact that the monthly rent had increased to an untenable level – nearly double what it should have been as a rent stabilized unit. And while she was happy to stay in the apartment with her college-student daughter after divorcing her abusive husband, the rent had become too high for Jane to manage on her own. Although Jane had good legal arguments to support her side of the case, proving them in court would be an uphill battle.

In came Epstein Becker. Jennifer and Anastasia, with tremendous support from Tamara and other attorneys and staff at the firm, got to work. Collaborating with former Sanctuary attorneys Dana Kaufman and Sandra Takami, the team concluded that the way to push the case forward would be to retain an expert who could speak to the adequacy of the landlord’s arguments for why the building was allegedly no longer subject to rent regulation. The Epstein Becker team moved for expert discovery and ultimately won the landlord’s consent, premised on the landlord’s intention to submit his own expert report.

Epstein Becker then retained an expert at their own expense – a cost that would be prohibitive for most individual tenants – and worked with the expert to conduct a thorough inspection of Jane’s unit and key areas in the apartment building. The expert completed his review and subsequently prepared a report that debunked the landlord’s theory underlying its case and supposed justification for charging a market rent. Although the landlord claimed they wanted to submit their own expert report, they did not produce one timely. After several extensions to the deadline passed, the landlord ultimately filed an order to show cause in which they sought permission to submit a report after the deadline, but to no avail. The Epstein Becker team skillfully opposed the order to show cause, and the court denied the landlord’s request.

That was the turning point. The landlord, apparently realizing what a strong case Jane had, began to engage in settlement discussions. Unfortunately, by that point, the COVID-19 pandemic was at its peak, and it had become even harder for Jane to make rent and utility payments. Her arrears, as claimed by the landlord, had reached nearly $70,000.

Undaunted by the challenge, Anastasia did the painstaking work of filing an application on Jane’s behalf for relief under the Emergency Rental Assistance Program (“ERAP”), an economic relief program that permitted eligible households in New York State to request assistance for rental and utility arrears accumulated during the COVID-19 crisis. The application process was not without its challenges, however (including all-too-familiar crashes on the application website, which required Anastasia to start from scratch on more than one occasion), but ultimately it worked. Jane was granted relief in the form of $22,500, which was paid directly to her landlord.

Between the strength of Jane’s legal case, particularly with the benefit of the impactful expert report, and the show of good faith evident in the team’s efforts to get ERAP relief while negotiations were ongoing, Jane and the landlord were able to come to a favorable resolution. And best of all for Jane, her daughter was able to stay in the apartment until she earned her design degree last May, which she had been working towards throughout the stressful ordeal.

Reflecting on the case, Anastasia noted how meaningful the matter was for Jane and how satisfying it was to work on the case. “Public interest work can be very challenging,” she said, “but this felt like a very good result.”

Thanks to the tireless advocacy and empathy offered by Jennifer and Anastasia, Jane and her daughter received the support they needed in their legal battle.

“The wholistic aspect of Sanctuary’s work covers every aspect of the clients’ needs, to ensure that they continue to succeed in their lives even after the legal case has been resolved.”

Anastasia Regne
Associate, Epstein Becker

Join us at our Above & Beyond Awards Ceremony on November 2, 2022, as we honor the Epstein Becker team’s outstanding pro bono work.

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If you can’t join us, but would like to support Sanctuary’s work, please consider making an Above & Beyond donation here.

Colleen O’Brien is a member of the Sanctuary for Families Pro Bono Council. She is a Managing Director and Senior Counsel at Goldman Sachs.