Hughes Hubbard has been selected to receive two 2015 “Commitment to Justice” Awards from Her Justice (formerly inMotion) for its extraordinary pro bono service.

Vilia Hayes received the Commitment to Justice Award for “Outstanding Partner” in recognition of her work with Her Justice over many years.

Sarah Cave, Sara Echenique, Webster McBride, Miles Orton and Fara Tabatabai received the Commitment to Justice Award for “Outstanding Legal Team” for helping a domestic violence survivor secure permanent resident status under the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA).

The awards were presented at an evening reception on Feb. 5, 2015, at the Walter Reade Theater at Lincoln Center in New York City.

For nearly 20 years, Hayes has worked on legal matters referred by Her Justice, a nonprofit that provides free legal services to low-income and abused women in New York City. During that time, Hayes has not only overseen and coordinated the firm’s pro bono work with Her Justice, but she has also provided hands-on supervision to the lawyers working on those matters. This has included supervising uncontested divorces being handled by all the first-year litigation associates and some of our staff attorneys in 2013 and 2014, who have collectively helped over 40 women. Hayes has also served as the principal liaison for the past eight years since Hughes Hubbard became a Corporate Partner of Her Justice, providing financial and pro bono support.

Her Justice referred the permanent residency case to Hughes Hubbard in May 2011. After a harrowing three-year effort that included multiple showdowns with the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, the team secured a green card for the client in July. By that time, however, the client, a native of Dominica, was already in removal proceedings due to an earlier denial. The team succeeded in terminating the removal proceedings in September. The client now plans to apply for US citizenship.