Brenna K. DeVaney

Ms. DeVaney also is involved with the Skadden Honors Program in Legal Studies at The City College of New York, part of the firm’s effort to increase diversity in law schools and the legal profession. Additionally, she regularly consults with corporate legal departments on their efforts to develop in-house pro bono programs.

In 2017, Ms. DeVaney received the Jeremy G. Epstein Award for Outstanding Pro Bono Service awarded by the City Bar Justice Center and the Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts award for outstanding pro bono counsel. In 2016, she was awarded the Public Interest Law Leadership Award by the Legal Aid Society for her commitment to the organization and its clients, as well as for her leadership role in the Association of Pro Bono Counsel and as the chair of the New York City Bar Association Pro Bono and Legal Services Committee where she has developed best practices in pro bono used around the country. In 2014, Ms. DeVaney was presented with the Abely Pro Bono Achievement Award by Sanctuary for Families’ Center for Battered Women’s Legal Services for her advocacy against sexualized violence and her support of Sanctuary for Families and its clients, including victims of domestic violence and their children. In 2011, she was honored by Sanctuary for Families with its Above and Beyond Award for Excellence in Pro Bono Advocacy. Additionally, Ms. DeVaney was recognized by The Legal Aid Society as one of the recipients of the 2011 Pro Bono Publico Awards for her outstanding service and leadership to expand access to justice for low-income New Yorkers. She also has been the recipient of the New York Family Court Volunteer Attorney Program Pro Bono Service Award on multiple occasions.

Ms. DeVaney serves as an adjunct professor at the University of Michigan Law School and Northwestern Pritzker School of Law. She is a frequent lecturer and presenter at both national and international convenings focused on access to justice.

Prior to her role as the firm’s first pro bono associate, Ms. DeVaney was a member of the Government Enforcement and White Collar Crime Group, where she represented individual and corporate clients in federal and state criminal and regulatory matters and conducted internal corporate investigations.