Reuters Features Cravath for Longstanding Efforts in Jefferson County, Alabama in “Pro Bono Heroes” Column
August 02, 2021
In July 2021, Reuters featured Cravath in its “Pro Bono Heroes” column, entitled “Cravath’s 38-year Fight for Justice in Alabama,” which highlighted the Firm’s “extraordinary efforts” in representing African American and female plaintiffs alleging employment discrimination by governmental employers in Birmingham, Alabama over the course of nearly forty years. Introducing the feature article, the publication noted: “There are big pro bono cases. There are huge ones. But the work by lawyers from Cravath, Swaine & Moore in an employment discrimination fight on behalf of Black and female plaintiffs in Jefferson County, Alabama, is in a league of its own.” In a video interview accompanying the column, partner Damaris Hernández discusses the details of the landmark case, which in part led to the Civil Rights Act of 1991, the generations of Cravath attorneys who contributed to the work, and the Firm’s related donation of a total of $6 million to support civil rights, legal services and education.
For more information on the history of the case, please click here.
For more on the Firm’s donation of attorneys’ fees, please click here.
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J.D., 2007, New York University School of LawAn-Bryce Scholar
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Firm News
June 15, 2021
Cravath Announces $6 Million Donation to Support Civil Rights, Legal Services and Education
On June 15, 2021, Cravath announced that it will donate a total of $6 million to the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute, the Equal Justice Initiative (“EJI”), EJI’s Legacy Museum, Fisk University and the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law (“national Lawyers’ Committee”).
Deals & Cases
June 09, 2021
United States v. Jefferson County: Four Decades for Justice
Over the course of nearly forty years, Cravath has represented African American and female plaintiffs alleging employment discrimination by governmental employers in Birmingham, Alabama. Our work on the case started in 1983 led by the late Robert D. Joffe, a renowned trial lawyer and one of our former presiding partners. In 1992, then partner Rowan D. Wilson took over leadership of the case which he retained until 2017 when he retired and accepted an appointment from the Governor of New York to become an Associate Judge of the New York Court of Appeals. In December 2020, the case reached its conclusion under the leadership of partner Damaris Hernández—a reflection of the generations of Cravath attorneys who have supported this fight for justice.