Jessica Klein, Head of S&C’s Pro Bono Practice, was one of ten NYU law alumni profiled for their commitment to public service work thru pro bono. She spoke with NYU Law Magazine about her career path and some of the Firm’s recent pro bono work, including efforts to secure U.S. citizenship for the children of same-sex, binational couples.
In one of those cases, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit unanimously upheld a lower court ruling that a twin boy born abroad by surrogacy to a same-sex couple had acquired U.S. citizenship at birth. “Under the State Department policies at the time, unless you had a biological connection to your child, even if you were the legal parent at birth and were married to the non-U.S. citizen parent, if your child was born outside the United States, the child wasn’t recognized as a U.S. citizen,” Jessica said in an interview with the magazine. “We fought for the citizenship of these young children and prevailed.”
Jessica also said: “I want to continue to find areas of need where the exceptional lawyering abilities of my colleagues can bridge the justice gap, and to be a part of that work. And to help lead and inspire others to continue to do amazing things in pro bono.”
Read “Good Work.”