Public Interest

Hecker Fink’s core values include a profound and substantial commitment to lawyering in the public interest. That deep sense of public duty is central to our shared mission—and every practice specialty at the firm has been mobilized to support our public interest undertakings. As a result, we have been recognized repeatedly for our public interest and pro bono leadership.

One of the firm’s very first cases was a suit against the neo-Nazis and white supremacists who had organized racial- and religious-based violence in Charlottesville, Virginia at the “Unite the Right” rally in August 2017. We filed that suit on behalf of students, clergy, peaceful protesters, and innocent bystanders. And after years of hard-fought litigation, we won a historic victory (and a $26 million verdict) against those who had conspired to bring violence to Charlottesville. 

In that same spirit, we have built a public interest practice geared to the great and urgent challenges of our time. We have fought antisemitism. We have helped women reveal and remedy misconduct and have advanced new laws and protections against sexual assault and abuse. We have prevailed at the U.S. Supreme Court in high-stakes election, redistricting, and public health cases—and our amicus briefs have been cited by Justices Sotomayor, Jackson, and Ginsburg. We stand at the cutting edge of advocacy for reproductive justice, LGBTQ+ rights, religious freedom, and immigrants’ rights. Our work paved the way for lasting change in women’s sports, and we negotiated a historic settlement to substantially limit Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” law. We proposed groundbreaking, influential measures to hold Russia accountable for violence in Ukraine. We have represented and advised public officials in addressing extraordinary challenges, including confirmation hearings and matters of impeachment, ethics, and the separation of powers. We have fought to address the dangerous (and deadly) scourge of bullying in schools. We have defended life-saving firearms regulations and urged accountability for police misconduct. And we have worked tirelessly for criminal justice, prisoners’ rights, and sentencing reform—not only in state and federal courts, but also in legislatures and Congress and the U.S. Sentencing Commission.

These projects reflect our shared commitment to defending democracy, upholding civil rights and liberties, and making society better. By virtue of that work, Hecker Fink and many of its partners—as well as numerous counsel and associates—have been recognized as leaders in public interest and pro bono practice. Such accolades come from Chambers and Benchmark Litigation, as well as from organizations including the Legal Aid Society, Immigration Equality, and the LGBTQ Bar Association of New York. The caliber of the firm’s work in this field is also reflected in our clients, which include many of the nation’s premier civil rights and advocacy groups.