October 20, 2014
The New York Law Journal recently honored litigation partner Richard Mancino among a distinguished group of recipients for its 2014 “Lawyers Who Lead by Example” awards. Mr. Mancino was honored in the Pro Bono category for his “outstanding record of providing crucial legal services to poor or nearly poor New Yorkers.”
In recent years, Mr. Mancino has led Willkie’s efforts in winning exceptional results for numerous pro bono clients. His significant work on behalf of pro bono political asylum clients has received widespread recognition, including Sanctuary for Families’ Above & Beyond Pro Bono Achievement Award. Mr. Mancino and his team were particularly lauded for recently obtaining political asylum for a family that fled Mexico to escape domestic violence, in the process persuading the Department of Homeland Security to recognize a path-breaking definition of persecution on the basis of social group for juvenile domestic violence victims.
In Favors v. Cuomo, a voting rights case handled by Mr. Mancino, a three-judge federal panel granted judgment for Willkie’s pro bono clients on claims that New York’s previously existing congressional districts were unconstitutional under the “one-person, one-vote” requirement of the U.S. Constitution and, as requested by Willkie, redrew New York’s congressional districts by following neutral redistricting principles that did not favor incumbents. Mr. Mancino also recently submitted an amicus brief on behalf of the Innocence Project urging the U.S. Supreme Court to recognize a constitutional claim of actual innocence in criminal habeas corpus cases.
The NYLJ awards were presented at a ceremony in New York City on October 14. In conjunction with the awards, the NYLJ published a profile of Mr. Mancino, in which he discusses his pro bono accomplishments.
Read: Lawyers Who Lead By Example 2014 – Richard Mancino (New York Law Journal, October 14, 2014)
