National Law Journal Names Covington to ‘Pro Bono Hot List’

National Law Journal Names Covington to ‘Pro Bono Hot List’

January 7, 2014

WASHINGTON, DC, January 6, 2014 — For the second consecutive year, The National Law Journal has named Covington & Burling to its “Pro Bono Hot List.” This year’s list recognizes nine firms and one corporate law department for their strong commitment to public service.

In the profile of Covington, the NLJ features the pro bono efforts of the firm’s New York office, led by Eric Hellerman, on the constitutional challenge to New York City’s stop-and-frisk policies and practices. The Covington team worked with the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) and Beldock Levine & Hoffman to try the case and persuade U.S. District Judge Shira Scheindlin that the New York Police Department’s stop-and-frisk policies and practices violated the constitutional rights of the city’s black and Hispanic residents.

In an August 2013 ruling, which has since been stayed by an appeals court, Judge Scheindlin found that the city violated the plaintiffs’ Fourth and Fourteenth Amendment rights by acting “with deliberate indifference toward the NYPD’s practice of making unconstitutional stops and conducting unconstitutional frisks.”

To read the complete NLJ profile, please click here.