(WASHINGTON) – The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law is proud to announce today that it has received a generous donation of $1 million from the New York City-based law firm of Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP (Cravath). The donation will aid in the Committee’s fight to secure equal justice for all through the rule of law.
The Cravath donation will be funded from attorneys’ fees awarded to Cravath at the conclusion of a hallmark pro bono case, reflecting a nearly 40-year commitment to representing African American and women plaintiffs in employment discrimination litigation in Jefferson County, Alabama.
“Cravath’s decades-long litigation and zealous advocacy challenging employment discrimination reflects the best of what the private bar can offer in advancing racial and gender justice,” said Damon Hewitt, president and executive director of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. “A big part of our work involves mobilizing the private bar through these types of cases while strengthening and integrating those partnerships with the advocacy of the wider civil rights community. Cravath’s financial contribution will allow us to reinvest in that work to help make the promises of our democracy real and accessible for Black people and all Americans.”
“The work the Lawyers’ Committee does in pursuit of civil rights reform and equal justice across our country is as vital today as it was upon its founding in 1963, said Damaris Hernández, partner at Cravath. “Having personally worked on this matter in Jefferson County, a case brought to Cravath by the Lawyers’ Committee nearly four decades ago, I share in the Firm’s pride in supporting its ongoing mission and important work.”
The Jefferson County case was brought by a local civil rights organization in 1974. At the request of the Lawyers’ Committee, Cravath took on the representation of the plaintiffs in 1983. Decades later, the case has been favorably resolved. Throughout the course of the litigation, Cravath contributed more than 100,000 hours on the case in pursuit of a better future for the people of Jefferson County.
The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law will receive a share of Cravath’s total donation of fees, which will total $6 million. Other recipients include the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute, the Equal Justice Initiative, the Equal Justice Institute’s Legacy Museum, and Fisk University.
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About the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law – The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law (national Lawyers’ Committee), a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization, was formed in 1963 at the request of President John F. Kennedy to involve the private bar in providing legal services to address racial discrimination. The principal mission of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law is to secure, through the rule of law, equal justice for all, particularly in the areas of voting rights, criminal justice, fair housing and community development, economic justice, educational opportunities, and hate crimes. For more information, please visit https://lawyerscommittee.org.
