Pro bono work has been integral to Trevor Chenoweth’s associate experience.
In his first month at S&C, he advised on a successful petition to seal the criminal record of a young woman who had pleaded guilty to a non-violent felony and who faced employment and education obstacles because of her record. Later, acting as a special assistant district attorney, he successfully defended a homicide conviction and 23-year sentence, delivering the oral argument before a four-judge panel.
More recently, Trevor helped defend a criminal case in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, which included submitting a petition for certiorari to the Supreme Court. After the defendant pleaded guilty, Trevor helped argue for a fair sentence considering the punishing conditions his client endured in a federal detention center during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We successfully convinced the judge that our client had endured more than enough imprisonment and that he was now a changed man. He walked into court as a criminal defendant and detainee, and he walked out that same day to rejoin his family with a sentence of time served,” Trevor recalled.
Trevor recognizes the connection between his experiences as a clerk and his passion for pro bono work. “There’s a significant service component to clerking,” he explains. “You feel good about serving the country and the people who rely on the legal system. Working on pro bono cases has allowed me to further justice across both sides of the aisle.”
