Simpson Thacher was profiled in Law360 as a Pro Bono Firm of the Year for 2016. The profile recognized the Firm’s longstanding commitment to pro bono. In addition, the profile includes recent pro bono highlights, including advocating for death row inmate Reggie Clemons; expanding girls’ access to sports in three California schools; and extensive involvement in pro bono clinics that provide legal help to families, communities and small businesses. The article quoted Partners Buzz Frahn, Josh Levine, David Shevlin and Pro Bono Cousel Harlene Katzman.
Josh said that over the 20 years working on the Reggie Clemons death row case, the Firm put in more than 50,000 hours. Andy commented that the Clemons case is one of the “most active” cases he’s worked on during his career. Josh added, “it’s definitely not a culture where pro bono cases take a backseat to other paid cases, it’s all part of the important work that we do here at the firm, and obviously a case like this, where it's a matter of life or death, is a matter where people make it a high priority.”
In addition, the Firm encourages early involvement in pro bono. Mentioning how he had recently seen a third-year and a first-year associate win a pro bono case, Buzz said, “Here they are just out of law school getting this fantastic experience that really does change people's lives.”
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