White & Case's Racial Justice Task Force was launched in 2020 to answer one question: How can Firm lawyers, angered and energized by the murder of George Floyd, make concrete contributions toward racial justice?

In the following years, the answer to that question has evolved into numerous areas of sustained focus and impact—through criminal justice reform, education and economic empowerment—bringing together Firm lawyers and business services professionals across offices and practices. While racial justice is a multifaceted topic that involves longstanding issues of equity, systemic racism and the need to redress historical wrongs, the Task Force's contributions spotlight the legal profession's unique role in driving real and lasting change.

The Task Force has more than 160 members from every US office, plus Milan, London and Brussels. Since 2020, it has completed more than 50 matters with approximately 30 more ongoing.

Working toward a fairer criminal justice system

One priority is to represent individuals affected by racial injustice in the US criminal justice system.

According to the Sentencing Project, the District of Columbia has one of the highest incarceration rates in the US, and its prison population is disproportionately Black. These disparities stem from factors that include the "war on drugs" during the 1970s, '80s and '90s, and the "tough on crime" rhetoric and legislation of the '90s and 2000s that dramatically increased the nation's prison populations, and exacerbated racial bias in policing and criminal prosecutions. Courts sentenced hundreds of Washington, DC juveniles and young people under the age of 25 years to decades in prison, including life sentences.

A second look

The Task Force partnered with the Second Look Project to help address this disparity, representing nine incarcerated individuals seeking freedom through a 2021 Washington, DC law that allows individuals who were under the age of 25 years when they were convicted to move the court that sentenced them for a sentence reduction. The law takes into account the latest scientific evidence on brain development in young people and provides a path to freedom for those who are not a danger to the community and who can demonstrate that their release is in the interest of justice.

In 2023, White & Case lawyers helped five clients in Washington, DC obtain their freedom after they spent more than half of their lives in prison:

• A client sentenced to 66-years-to-life in prison at age 20 after a jury found him guilty of first-degree murder and other charges spent nearly 22 years in prison, where he earned a GED diploma. Today, he works in an art gallery and creates programming for at-risk youth in his community
• A client sentenced to approximately 60-years-to-life in prison at age 19 after he was convicted of numerous felonies, including second-degree murder, served more than 29 years of his sentence and was head chef at several prisons. Today, he works as a chef at a Washington, DC-area restaurant and spends time with his children and grandchildren
• A client sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole at age 18 after a jury found him guilty of first-degree murder and associated offenses spent nearly 24 years in prison, where he earned a GED diploma, served as a mentor and co-chaired the prison's Conflict Resolutions Committee. In this matter, the Firm collaborated with a longtime commercial client on every aspect of the representation
• A client sentenced to 30-years-to-life in prison at age 22 after a jury found him guilty of first-degree murder and other charges spent nearly 30 years in prison, where he earned his GED diploma. Today, he works as a delivery driver for an electrical supplies company and is saving to start his own business
• A client found guilty of murder and other charges served more than 26 years on a 30-years-to-life sentence in prison. During his incarceration, he completed multiple work, educational and artistic programs, and earned his GED diploma. Today, he works for his nephew's security firm

In total, more than 40 Firm lawyers in five offices have worked on these cases and four others that are pending. 
New York associate and Task Force co-chair Gina Chiappetta expanded this work to Maryland, where we now represent three clients.

Case closed

As part of The Legal Aid Society's Case Closed Project, White & Case lawyers teamed up with lawyers from three commercial clients to represent individuals seeking to seal decades-old criminal records. In one case, we partnered with a commercial client to seal a criminal record for a client in her 30s, who was convicted of third-degree burglary when she was 19 years of age. Having a clean record will enable her to pursue more senior-level roles at the community center where she has worked for several years.

This case marked the fifth client the Firm helped with the Case Closed Project to seal an old criminal record under New York law. At the time of publication, we had secured a total of 12 sealing victories. Recognizing that a criminal record can significantly hurt a person's ability to secure better employment, better housing, educational and government benefits, and several other benefits we take for granted, these cases take advantage of a state law that enables individuals with lower-level criminal records that are more than ten years old to apply to have their records sealed. Led by Miami associate Shravya Govindgari and New York associate Sylvia Precht, more than 75 Firm lawyers have contributed to these cases since 2021.

Boosting opportunities for HBCU law students

In 2021, the Firm launched an externship program in partnership with Howard University School of Law in Washington, DC. Externs work on pro bono matters exclusively. In 2022, the Task Force added another Historically Black College and University (HBCU) to its externship program: Southern University Law Center in Baton Rouge, LA. Since its inception, the program has identified ten law students to work side by side with Firm lawyers on Task Force objectives.

"The Task Force is nonhierarchical," says Dana Foster, a partner in the Firm's Washington, DC office who has co-chaired the Task Force since it began. For example, Foster noted that our Second Look Project work came to us through a law school classmate of Washington, DC associate Ashley Stoner, who also manages the program, and one of our Southern University Law Center externs introduced us to the ACLU of Louisiana's Justice Lab: Putting Racist Policing on Trial, which enlists law firms outside of Louisiana to bring civil rights actions against police officers and departments within the state. "As a result, we are now representing an individual whose father was gunned down by police officers in her federal civil rights suit," says Foster. "Our extern—a 2L law student—helped make that happen."

"Many of the students have a long-term focus on a public service career, and the program helps broaden their network and gain exposure to career paths beyond the public sector," says New York associate Gina Chiappetta, who leads the externship program.

Each student extern is paired with a mentor who provides ongoing coaching and gathers feedback from colleagues to give students a comprehensive perspective on strengths and growth opportunities.

"The combined efforts of the Task Force," says Chiappetta, "send an enduring message to all lawyers: Addressing decades of racial injustice does not have to begin or end with one lawyer, one case or one externship."

Highlights

Expanding our pro bono footprint in Hong Kong and across Asia
In July 2023, we started working with Justice Centre Hong Kong (JCHK), a nonprofit organization that helps refugees, asylum-seekers and other forced migrants access social welfare, psychological support and legal protection under Hong Kong law. The collaboration includes volunteers from our Hong Kong and Singapore offices and was launched with training on Hong Kong's non-refoulement law. Volunteers have conducted research to assist a Somali client under threat of removal or deportation apply for protected status and to help JCHK develop a dedicated advisory practice for child asylum-seekers. The relationship, which also includes several other multi-office projects, reflects the Firm's growing commitment to pro bono initiatives in the region.

White & Case obtains asylum for Iranian artist
White & Case lawyers in Europe obtained asylum for an Iranian artist who suffered torture and more than two years of incarceration for an artwork championing women's rights that was banned by the Iranian government. This case was referred to the Firm from a human rights nongovernmental organization after our client fled the country. We filed a detailed application for asylum, supported by voluminous evidence, and prepared him for his interview. In April 2023, our client was granted asylum under the Geneva Convention, allowing him to remain in his country of residence for the next ten years.

Photo by © Ryan J. Lane / GettyImages
A multi-generational group of family members embrace in a backyard.