Simpson Thacher & Bartlett was one of nine law firms that reached deals with President Donald Trump to provide pro bono hours to causes they support. The firm worked with the ACLU and the Southern Poverty Law Center on a challenge to Mississippi Supreme Court election maps, and a federal judge found the map diluted Black votes in violation of the Voting Rights Act. The firm also joined groups challenging a Texas law requiring Ten Commandments displays in classrooms, and a federal judge granted a preliminary injunction. There was no immediate reply about whether the work would count toward the firm's pro bono pledge of $125 million. Jon Youngwood emphasized the firm's commitment to pro bono and equal access to justice. The pro bono deal announced April 11 said the firms were pledging an aggregate $500 million to causes supported by Trump and the firms.
Simpson Thacher worked with the ACLU and the Southern Poverty Law Center on behalf of Black civic leaders in a case challenging district maps in Mississippi Supreme Court elections, the article reports. U.S. District Judge Sharion Aycock of the Northern District of Mississippi ruled Aug. 19 that the map diluted the votes of Black voters in violation of the Voting Rights Act.
In the second case, Simpson Thacher helped challenge a Texas law requiring public schools to display the Ten Commandments in all classrooms. The firm worked with Americans United for Separation of Church and State and the Freedom From Religion Foundation to challenge the law, Bloomberg Law says. U.S. District Judge Fred Biery of the Western District of Texas granted a preliminary injunction blocking the classroom displays in an Aug. 20 opinion.
Bloomberg Law asked a Simpson Thacher spokesperson whether work on the two cases would count toward the firm's pro bono pledge to Trump of $125 million in free legal help to mutually agreeable projects. There was no immediate reply. Jon Youngwood, co-chair of the firm's litigation department, emphasized in a statement to the publication that the firm "has a steadfast commitment to pro bono" reflecting its belief "that everyone should have equal access to justice."
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