Holocaust Survivors Justice Network

Manatt “rewrote the pro bono playbook” by creating the Holocaust Survivors Justice Network in partnership with Bet Tzedek Legal Services.  So said The National Law Journal when it recognized the Justice Network as the largest coordinated pro bono effort in United States history—and one of the country’s top four projects for 2008.  Inspiration struck after 20 Manatt lawyers helped two dozen Los Angeles-based Holocaust survivors successfully complete a complex and emotionally taxing application for German reparations relief.  Manatt understood that this work was life-transforming for survivors and lawyers alike, and that it possessed unique resources that could be leveraged to reach survivors across the country.  In short order, we created and delployed legal training materials to facilitate lawyers’ ability to navigate the German reparations program.  We then recruited and united more than 100 law firms and corporate law departments in 30 North American cities to form the Justice Network.  During the Justice Network's first six months, close to 2,600 legal professionals served approximately 4,000 survivors and obtained over $1 million in reparations payments for them. The Justice Network expects to reach upwards of 10,000 survivors and process more than $25 million in claims. A Manatt attorney is now co-chairing the Justice Network's national advisory committee to develop new opportunities to reach more communities and meet additional needs.