Firm Attorneys Honored for Pro Bono Work by Sanctuary for Families

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October 28, 2026

Firm Attorneys Honored for Pro Bono Work by Sanctuary for Families

On Wednesday, October 28, 2026, Partner Lauren Schorr Potter and Associates Folasade Famakinwa, Jillian Horowitz, and Tiffany Li were honored by Sanctuary for Families with the 2026 Above & Beyond Pro Bono Achievement Award for achievements in connection with their pro bono work.

Ms. Potter, Ms. Famakinwa, and Ms. Li were recognized for their work successfully representing a survivor of sexual abuse as a victim witness in a high-profile federal criminal trial that received significant public attention. The team guided the client through an intense period of preparation, including numerous meetings and testimony preparation, coordination with the U.S. Attorney’s Office, and support on trial days. Sanctuary for Families celebrated “not only the team’s legal advocacy, but also the extraordinary care, commitment, and advocacy they brought to their representation of a survivor who was navigating a daunting and re-traumatizing experience with the criminal justice system.”

Ms. Potter and Ms. Horowitz were recognized for their work representing a family in an asylum hearing before the Executive Office for Immigration Review. The team excelled under a compressed timeline, dedicating hours to build a case ahead of the hearing through a trauma-informed process that kept the clients’ voices at the center. The organization noted that “each member of the team truly went above and beyond and contributed to the outcome.” The asylum request was granted immediately following the hearing, ensuring the clients' safety after a lifetime of gender violence in their home country.

Firm Highlights

The Billion-Dollar Interview: How the Wrong Hiring Process Can Create Personal Liability for Founders

The right talent can make or break a startup, and effective founders build recruiting processes to land exceptional people. But a process built to win talent can, if run the wrong way, expose a founder to personal liability to the competitor they are hiring from. A recent lawsuit by Apple shows how. Tang Tan spent 24 years at Apple, rising to vice president of product design for the iPhone and Apple Watch. After co-founding startup io Products and selling the company to OpenAI, he was tasked with building OpenAI’s hardware team. He turned to the engineers he knew best: Apple’s. Tan’s interviews were hands-on. Candidates explained their contributions and engineering decisions and brought physical components from Apple to illustrate their work at...

Andrew Haddad to Speak on American Bar Association Webinar

On Thursday, November 12, Counsel Andrew Haddad will speak on an American Bar Association webinar titled "United Against Fakes: The Counterfeit Drug Problem." Mr. Haddad will join Laura Manschreck (Partner, Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP) and Erin McDermott (Principal, Charles River Associates) to explore the rise of counterfeit life sciences products and its impact on manufacturers and discuss the latest enforcement and litigation trends. To learn more, please click here.

Firm Lawyers Honored for Pro Bono Work by New York County Lawyers Association

On Tuesday, October 20, 2026, the New York County Lawyers Association (NYCLA) recognized three firm attorneys for achievements in connection with their pro bono work. Shelley Attadgie was recognized for her work related to the State Central Registry (SCR) Project. Ms. Attadgie represented a client in connection with a petition to amend and seal a report entered against them in the SCR by the Administration for Children's Services. Ms. Attadgie prepared the client for his hearing testimony before an Administrative Law Judge, drafted and collected supporting evidence, cross-examined the Agency’s witness, and assisted the client with his direct testimony. Following the two-day hearing, the finding of maltreatment was amended to unfounded and sealed, removing a significant barrier that had impacted the client...

U.S. Department of Education Formally Reverts to Title IX Rules from 2020

On September 29, 2026, the U.S. Department of Education (the “ED”) published a Final Rule, “Recodification of Title IX Rules,” formally removing the 2024 Title IX Rule from the Code of Federal Regulations (“CFR”) and restoring the provisions of the 2020 Title IX Rule, with a few exceptions.[1] The 2026 Title IX Rule took effect upon publication. For most schools, colleges, and other recipients of federal education funding, the 2026 Rule does not change day-to-day obligations, because the 2020 framework has governed since early 2025. It does, however, close a chapter of litigation and set the stage for further regulatory action. As we reported in our February 6, 2025 Alert, a federal district court vacated the entirety of the 2024...

Delaware Bankruptcy Court Crafts Test Concerning Post-Confirmation “Related-To” Jurisdiction

The filing of a bankruptcy case creates an estate consisting of the debtor’s legal and equitable property. The estate will continue until the debtor’s confirmed plan of reorganization or liquidation goes effective. It will then terminate, and the property will either revest in the reorganized debtor or be transferred to another entity such as a post-confirmation liquidation trust. Now and then, bankruptcy judges face this issue: after plan confirmation, when can a liquidation trustee assert state law claims in a lawsuit filed in the bankruptcy court? In terms of a bankruptcy court’s subject matter jurisdiction, the question can be articulated this way: when can a bankruptcy court have post-confirmation related-to jurisdiction over such claims under 28 U.S.C. section 1334?[i] A bankruptcy judge...

Supreme Court Declines to Revisit “Undue Hardship” Standard in Religious Accommodations Cases

On October 5, 2026, the Supreme Court of the United States denied a request by a group of Washington firefighters for further clarification as to whether employers accused of illegally denying religious accommodations pursuant to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act (“Title VII”) must show that the requested workplace adjustments present an actual hardship. Petersen et al. v. Snohomish Regional Fire & Rescue et al., No. 25-1210. The Court’s denial of the petition for certiorari signals a vote of confidence from the Justices in their landmark 2023 Groff v. DeJoy decision, 600 U.S. 447 (2023), which heightened the previous “de minimis” standard for employers’ showing of undue hardship in cases of denied religious accommodations requests. Religious Accommodations and Undue...

Can Subchapter V’s Increased Debt Limit Save In-Court Business Reorganizations?

Chapter 11 is intended to enable businesses to reorganize while continuing normal operations under the control of existing management. The primary goal of chapter 11 is for companies to reorganize rather than liquidate to the benefit of owners, employees, suppliers, customers and others relying on the businesses’ ongoing survival. But the process has become expensive. Some would-be chapter 11 debtors opt out of the court process altogether, instead seeking out-of-court options, including consensual debt restructurings and liability management exercises (or “LMEs”). These debtors seek to renegotiate their debts to make shifts within their capital structure without the expense of a bankruptcy filing. When companies do file chapter 11, they often do so with prepackaged or pre-negotiated plans of reorganization, which...

Anne-Laure Alléhaut to Speak at Appraisers Association of America's Art Law Day

On Wednesday, November 4, Partner Anne-Laure Alléhaut will speak on a panel at the Appraisers Association of America's 2026 Art Law Day titled "Hot Topics in Art Law." Ms. Alléhaut will join Amelia Brankov (Founder, Brankov PLLC), Gregory Clarick (Partner, Clarick Gueron Reisbaum), Friederike Gräfin von Brühl (Partner and Founder, Fine Art and Cultural Property, K&L Gates), and Meaghan Gragg (Partner, Co-Chair, Art Law Group, Fishkin Lucks) to explore recent developments in art law, including guarantees, IP and copyright, and international updates. To learn more, please click here.

You Win Some and Lose Some: Judge Liman Decides Competing Motions to Compel

On September 4, 2026, District Judge Lewis J. Liman (S.D.N.Y.) granted in part and denied in part Plaintiff Lashify, Inc.’s (“Lashify”) motion to compel discovery and denied Defendants Qingdao Network Technology Co., Ltd., d/b/a UCoolMe and Vivicute Limited’s (“UCoolMe”) motion to compel. Lashify, Inc. v. Qingdao Network Tech. Co., Ltd., No. 25-cv-4183 (S.D.N.Y. Sep. 4, 2026). Lashify’s Motion to Compel Lashify moved to compel UCoolMe to provide responses to discovery requests relating to: (i) product samples and raw materials; (ii) manufacturing; (iii) employees and supply chain; (iv) marketing; and (v) finances. Id. at *2. The Court found that each of those topics were relevant under Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(a) and that UCoolMe did not sufficiently respond to discovery requests related to...

The Billion-Dollar Interview: How the Wrong Hiring Process Can Create Personal Liability for Founders

The right talent can make or break a startup, and effective founders build recruiting processes to land exceptional people. But a process built to win talent can, if run the wrong way, expose a founder to personal liability to the competitor they are hiring from. A recent lawsuit by Apple shows how. Tang Tan spent 24 years at Apple, rising to vice president of product design for the iPhone and Apple Watch. After co-founding startup io Products and selling the company to OpenAI, he was tasked with building OpenAI’s hardware team. He turned to the engineers he knew best: Apple’s. Tan’s interviews were hands-on. Candidates explained their contributions and engineering decisions and brought physical components from Apple to illustrate their work at...

Andrew Haddad to Speak on American Bar Association Webinar

On Thursday, November 12, Counsel Andrew Haddad will speak on an American Bar Association webinar titled "United Against Fakes: The Counterfeit Drug Problem." Mr. Haddad will join Laura Manschreck (Partner, Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP) and Erin McDermott (Principal, Charles River Associates) to explore the rise of counterfeit life sciences products and its impact on manufacturers and discuss the latest enforcement and litigation trends. To learn more, please click here.

Firm Lawyers Honored for Pro Bono Work by New York County Lawyers Association

On Tuesday, October 20, 2026, the New York County Lawyers Association (NYCLA) recognized three firm attorneys for achievements in connection with their pro bono work. Shelley Attadgie was recognized for her work related to the State Central Registry (SCR) Project. Ms. Attadgie represented a client in connection with a petition to amend and seal a report entered against them in the SCR by the Administration for Children's Services. Ms. Attadgie prepared the client for his hearing testimony before an Administrative Law Judge, drafted and collected supporting evidence, cross-examined the Agency’s witness, and assisted the client with his direct testimony. Following the two-day hearing, the finding of maltreatment was amended to unfounded and sealed, removing a significant barrier that had impacted the client...

U.S. Department of Education Formally Reverts to Title IX Rules from 2020

On September 29, 2026, the U.S. Department of Education (the “ED”) published a Final Rule, “Recodification of Title IX Rules,” formally removing the 2024 Title IX Rule from the Code of Federal Regulations (“CFR”) and restoring the provisions of the 2020 Title IX Rule, with a few exceptions.[1] The 2026 Title IX Rule took effect upon publication. For most schools, colleges, and other recipients of federal education funding, the 2026 Rule does not change day-to-day obligations, because the 2020 framework has governed since early 2025. It does, however, close a chapter of litigation and set the stage for further regulatory action. As we reported in our February 6, 2025 Alert, a federal district court vacated the entirety of the 2024...

Delaware Bankruptcy Court Crafts Test Concerning Post-Confirmation “Related-To” Jurisdiction

The filing of a bankruptcy case creates an estate consisting of the debtor’s legal and equitable property. The estate will continue until the debtor’s confirmed plan of reorganization or liquidation goes effective. It will then terminate, and the property will either revest in the reorganized debtor or be transferred to another entity such as a post-confirmation liquidation trust. Now and then, bankruptcy judges face this issue: after plan confirmation, when can a liquidation trustee assert state law claims in a lawsuit filed in the bankruptcy court? In terms of a bankruptcy court’s subject matter jurisdiction, the question can be articulated this way: when can a bankruptcy court have post-confirmation related-to jurisdiction over such claims under 28 U.S.C. section 1334?[i] A bankruptcy judge...

Supreme Court Declines to Revisit “Undue Hardship” Standard in Religious Accommodations Cases

On October 5, 2026, the Supreme Court of the United States denied a request by a group of Washington firefighters for further clarification as to whether employers accused of illegally denying religious accommodations pursuant to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act (“Title VII”) must show that the requested workplace adjustments present an actual hardship. Petersen et al. v. Snohomish Regional Fire & Rescue et al., No. 25-1210. The Court’s denial of the petition for certiorari signals a vote of confidence from the Justices in their landmark 2023 Groff v. DeJoy decision, 600 U.S. 447 (2023), which heightened the previous “de minimis” standard for employers’ showing of undue hardship in cases of denied religious accommodations requests. Religious Accommodations and Undue...