Stacey Slater, Esq., President and Founder of Pro Bono Strategies LLC

PERSONAL AWARDS:

Her Justice Award Commitment to Justice Award (2018)

Fordham Law School Public Interest Resource Center Louis J. Lefkowitz Public Service Award (2015)

City and State Reports Award “Outstanding Achievement in Protecting the Rights of At-Risk Populations” (2015)

Nixon Peabody lawyers were recognized with 80 pro bono awards in 9 years.

About Us

Stacey Slater, Esq. is the President and Founder of Pro Bono Strategies LLC, a pro bono consulting business that helps law firms and in house legal departments in New Jersey and NYC to develop their pro bono programs in a cost-effective way. Prior to creating Pro Bono Strategies, Stacey worked at Nixon Peabody LLP, an Am Law 100 law firm, starting in 1995 upon completion of law school. Stacey was elected as a litigation partner in 2002 and started in 2005 as its first Pro Bono Partner. Stacey managed Nixon Peabody’s pro bono program across 13 offices, with over 800 active pro bono matters per year in recent years. Stacey developed the firm’s pro bono policies and infrastructure, maintained close relationships with a large network of legal service providers, and organized many successful pro bono projects and clinics.

Under Stacey’s leadership, attorney pro bono participation almost doubled, the number of lawyers who did over 20 hours per year more than tripled, and the average number of pro bono hours per lawyer was up more than 250% from where it was when Stacey formalized Nixon Peabody’s pro bono program 14 years ago. The firm’s ranking on the American Lawyer’s Pro Bono Scorecard rose from 141 in 2005 to 47 in 2018.

Stacey also designed pro bono partnerships with some of the firm’s paying clients and provided training opportunities and hands-on experience to the firm’s younger lawyers. Nixon Peabody lawyers were honored with many prestigious pro bono awards each year (80 awards since 2010), and their pro bono successes were written up in numerous news articles, enhancing the firm’s reputation.

Stacey started Pro Bono Strategies because she is uniquely positioned to help law firms and in house legal departments to start or grow their pro bono programs, having developed a large successful pro bono program from scratch. Stacey sees an urgent need for pro bono legal services by many vulnerable individuals and communities and wants to expand the pool of lawyers available to help. And Stacey understands how pro bono efforts can be leveraged to support other business objectives, such as client development, professional development, recruiting, attorney satisfaction, and diversity.

Education

Cornell University, BS 1991

Fordham School of Law, JD 1995

Board of Trustees

National Board of Family Promise (www.familypromise.org)

Board of Eleven+ (https://www.eleven-plus.org/)

Board of Trustees of local synagogue in New Jersey, Membership Chair and Social Action Committee Chair

Affiliations

Past member:

Association of Pro Bono Counsel (APBCo)

Pro Bono Committee at the NYC Bar Association

STACEY'S PERSONAL PRO BONO WORK

In addition to managing the firm’s pro bono program and organizing many pro bono projects in a variety of subject areas, Stacey focused her own pro bono efforts on immigration.

Stacey personally won asylum on behalf of a:

Tibetan monk, who was tortured and persecuted because of his religion,
young man from Sudan, who was tortured for his political activities,
woman from the Gambia, who was subjected to female genital mutilation,
victim of domestic violence from Ecuador,
man from Colombia who was persecuted because of his sexual orientation,
young man from the Republic of Congo, who was tortured for his political activities and political affiliation with an opposition party.

Stacey also:

Helped two young clients, one from El Salvador and one from Mexico, to obtain Special Immigrant Juvenile Status.
Helped 11 victims of domestic violence to obtain U Visas. Drafted and filed 11 more U Visa applications (and several derivative petitions), which are currently pending.
Helped several individuals to apply for and obtain permanent residency.
Obtained VAWA relief for a victim of domestic violence.
Obtained a spousal based green card for a gay man who was persecuted in his home country of Venezuela.