[Public Interest & Pro Bono]

The Heart of Our Values

From our inception, we have put public interest and pro bono work at the heart of our values, believing resolutely that we could be both high-achieving, leave-it-all-on-the-floor commercial litigators and fierce advocates on the issues that shape our society. We are committed to practicing law to make a difference, whether by working in communities where good legal representation is in short supply, taking on pro bono individual and class representations, providing meaningful support for existing organizations, or by partnering with federal and state justice officials to identify cases that might benefit from our expertise through public-private partnerships.

Outstanding Firm for Pro Bono

We were named the leading pro bono firm of 2022 by Chambers, won the publication’s “2023 Pro Bono Lawyer of the Year” for Jennifer Selendy's efforts to evacuate nearly 500 girls and their families from Taliban-controlled Afghanistan, and were shortlisted again by Chambers in 2024 for “Outstanding Pro Bono Firm of the Year.” In December 2023, Bloomberg Law named us to its 2023 list of “Pro Bono Innovators.”

Our attorneys averaged 151 pro bono hours in 2023 – significantly higher than the industry average of 54, according to The American Lawyer's "2023 Pro Bono Scorecard."

RIGHTS, 2017 Ann Hamilton Selendy Gay Office Collection

Select Pro Bono Representations

Preserving Tenant Rights

Working with Legal Aid Society, Selendy Gay is defending the rent stabilization laws that protect hundreds of thousands of tenants, helping families stay in their homes and securing their right to have their voices heard in court.

Protecting Medicaid Enrollees in Tennessee

Selendy Gay represented a class of over 100,000 Tennesseans who were improperly disenrolled from TennCare, Tennessee’s Medicaid program, in achieving a ruling that holds the program violated the Constitution and federal law.

Defending Democracy

Selendy Gay has joined the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights in a milestone civil rights lawsuit on behalf of eight veteran U.S. Capitol Police officers seeking to hold then-President Donald Trump and several extremist groups responsible for the January 6, 2021 assault on the United States Capitol.

Advocating for Renewable Energy

Selendy Gay helped residential solar customers fight for fair payments for power they export to the grid by representing their agents in the renewable energy market.

Enhancing Accuracy in Census Data

Selendy Gay represented Columbia professor Dr. Justin Philips in suing the U.S. Census Bureau for the release of data he and his team need to evaluate potential distortions in the 2020 Census. In January 2023, the Bureau announced it would recreate and publish the 2010 file. In March 2023, it further announced that it will release the 2020 file.

Fighting for Gender Equity

Selendy Gay filed an amicus brief on behalf of 65 organizations in support of the U.S. National Women’s Soccer Team, which, despite its monumental successes, was being paid at substantially lower rates than its men's counterpart. The team won a $24 million pay discrimination settlement.

Safeguarding the Future of Afghan Refugees

Co-led by partner Jennifer Selendy, the 30 Birds Foundation is an organization that helped evacuate Afghan girls and their families after the Taliban's takeover of Kabul in 2021. The organization has successfully relocated nearly 500 people to safety in Canada.

Challenging Book Censorship

Selendy Gay secured an important victory for First Amendment rights in Florida on behalf of the authors of And Tango Makes Three, a widely lauded children’s book, and an elementary school student who wants to read the book. In its order, the judge concluded that the plaintiffs sufficiently alleged their First Amendment claims for viewpoint discrimination against the Escambia County school district, which removed the book from its public school libraries due to the book's positive message about LGBTQ+ families.

Securing the Right to an Education

Selendy Gay authored an amicus brief on behalf of Constitutional scholar and former Harvard Law School Dean, Martha Minow, on the history of Brown v. Board of Education. In a monumental ruling, relying closely on the analysis proffered in our brief, the Sixth Circuit recognized for the first time in our nation’s history an explicit fundamental right to a minimally adequate education under the Due Process Clause of the U.S. Constitution.

Supporting Sandy Hook's Families

Selendy Gay represented a group of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting victims’ families in seeking to preserve claims brought against Remington Outdoor Co. in its chapter 11 bankruptcy filing.

Proudly Upholding a Ban

Selendy Gay successfully defended a ban enacted by New Jersey in 2013 on conversion therapies for minors by state-licensed professionals.

Select Public Interest Litigation

Serving U.S. Taxpayers

For more than seven years, Selendy Gay served as lead counsel across the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s entire platform of residential mortgage-backed securities litigation in the Southern District of New York and the District of Connecticut, obtaining $25 billion in settlements for U.S. taxpayers in suits against Bank of America, Barclays, Citigroup, Credit Suisse, Countrywide, Deutsche Bank, First Horizon, Goldman Sachs, HSBC, JPMorgan, Merrill Lynch, RBS, and UBS.

Pursuing Justice for Puerto Rico

Selendy Gay represents Drivetrain as trustee for the Commonwealth Avoidance Actions Trust, seeking, among other things, recovery of hundreds of millions of dollars of underwriting fees and swap termination fees from 13 major Wall Street banks for their role in deepening Puerto Rico’s debt crisis.

Standing Up for Public Service Workers

Selendy Gay represented public service workers, members of the American Federation of Teachers union, in a settlement of a nationwide class action lawsuit with Navient, one of the nation’s largest student loan servicers, challenging Navient’s practices with respect to advising federal student loan borrowers on Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF). Under the settlement, Navient agreed, among other things, to enhance its practices for public service workers and contribute millions of dollars to a nonprofit organization that provides education and student loan counseling to public service workers.

Holding Crypto-exchanges Accountable

Selendy Gay represents crypto-investors in multiple class actions against cryptocurrency exchange platforms that facilitated transactions of digital tokens that are unregistered securities.

Ensuring the Rights of Professors

On behalf of the American Federation of Teachers, Selendy Gay secured a ruling by Judge J. Lee Marsh of the 2nd Judicial Circuit of Florida that union members may proceed with their challenge to Florida Senate Bill 266. This new law dramatically restricts the academic freedom and First Amendment rights of Florida college faculty.

Uncovering Fraud

Selendy Gay represented a foundation that benefits elementary schools in uncovering a Ponzi scheme run as a hedge fund, resulting in the arrest of the principal, as well as jail time and the seizure of assets.

Defending NYC's Charter Schools

Selendy Gay successfully defended New York City charter schools against suits challenging their ability to co-locate in Department of Education school buildings and demanding they pay rent to the Department. We obtained denials of preliminary injunctions in both instances.

Recent News

Protect Democracy and Selendy Gay File Lawsuit to Defend a Cornerstone of American Democracy

Amicus Brief Filed Opposing Mayor Adams’s Emergency Orders Against Suspending Solitary Confinement

Selendy Gay Secures Supreme Court Victory in Final Rent Stabilization Cases

Selendy Gay Shortlisted by Financial Times for "Innovative Lawyers" Award

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