Pro Bono Innovators 2023 Honoree Lowenstein Sandler

In our 2023 issue of Pro Bono Innovators, Bloomberg Law honors Lowenstein Sandler for helping form the Historic Fund, a venture capital fund designed to build up endowments at Historically Black Colleges and Universities. The firm is also noted for its work reducing extreme prison sentences for juvenile offenders.

Lowenstein Sandler’s pro bono work includes helping create a new philanthropic opportunity for venture capitalists to invest in higher education while supporting racial equity. In State v. Comer, you represented amici who shared their own successes after release from prison to illustrate the capacity for reform for those sentenced as juveniles. How did your firm strategize on how to approach these matters?

Christina Holder, public interest counsel, on the HBCU matter: The firm has active emerging company/venture capital (EC/VC) and investment management practices, and many of its attorneys are passionate about using their skills and networks to advance racial equity. The Lowenstein team started from the premise that structural and other barriers had excluded HBCUs from participating in and benefitting from the venture capital sector, which widened the wealth gap between the endowments of PWIs (predominantly White educational institutions) and HBCUs (historically black colleges and universities.)

The team collaborated with like-minded venture capital firm partners who care deeply about racial equity, including funds led by underrepresented investors and a venture fund, co-founded by the chair of our EC/VC group, that invests exclusively in other venture funds owned and led by underrepresented managers. The team considered how they could create a structure that not only supports HBCUs financially, but also deepens connectivity and exposure between those who manage HBCU endowments and venture capital fund managers.

They believed ensuring that HBCUs have a seat at the table as investors in venture capital funds (on a cost-free basis) was necessary to drive systemic change in the venture sector. The fund was launched and executed on donations (each exceeding $1 million) to 10 different HBCUs, each of which is now an investor in a group of venture capital funds.

Natalie Kraner, senior public interest counsel, on the juvenile incarceration matter: In State v. Comer, the challenge [decided by the New Jersey Supreme Court in 2022] to the mandatory sentences applied to juveniles arose in the context of appeals brought by two incarcerated youths. We have longstanding and collaborative relationships with counsel for those defendants and other amici who appeared in the case.

After reviewing the record and conferring with the defendants’ counsel, we determined that a “storytelling brief” that shares real-life examples of the unique rehabilitative potential of young people would be helpful, as the court was deciding this significant issue based on the institutional records of two individuals who were still incarcerated.

The amici we represented all committed serious crimes when they were young and went on to serve decades in prison where they matured and had substantial institutional accomplishments. Upon release, they rejoined their families and are making meaningful contributions to society as, among other things, social workers, community organizers, college professors, law students, youth mentors, and justice advocates.

Their stories of reform and redemption reflect the experiences of many young people who have made tremendous strides toward rehabilitation and deserve a second chance outside prison walls. Their voices deserved to be heard and contributed to a positive result.

Tell us more about the impact of these two matters on the local, national, and/or global level.

Holder: We helped the Historic Fund raise an initial $10.2 million in committed fund interests to build HBCU endowments. We are actively recruiting additional venture fund managers to participate in the initiative. The Historic Fund’s executive director and members of the HBCU Relations Committee engage with HBCU endowments and help integrate these endowments in the venture community.

The Historic Fund has positive impacts on both systemic and individual levels. Systemically, the fund allows recipient HBCUs to move toward endowment parity with PWI counterparts. HBCUs may use endowment resources to create additional scholarships, attract top students and faculty talent, invest in facilities, and engage in groundbreaking research.

Individually, students will benefit from the additional resources expended on their education. These students will join the workforce with the benefit of enhanced tools, education, and connections made at their HBCU.

Kraner: Approximately 75 individuals are eligible to petition for early release under State v. Comer’s landmark ruling requiring a resentencing hearing after 20 years for those serving time for crimes committed as juveniles. The firm is working with the New Jersey Office of the Public Defender to -6- represent eligible individuals in their petitions for resentencing.

Several eligible individuals have already filed successful petitions and been released. Reentry into society pursuant to Washington, D.C.’s SLAA [Second Look Amendment Act, passed in 2021] likewise positively impacts the released individuals, their families, and their communities. The successful implementation of the SLAA also has a national impact by serving as a model for other jurisdictions looking to systematize the reconsideration of long prison terms for those who offended as young adults.

Why do you think your team ultimately achieved successful results in these matters?

Holder: We collaborated with like-minded venture fund managers to create a novel philanthropic opportunity that seeks to redress the staggering resource disparity between HBCUs and non-HBCUs PWIs. From the beginning, we recognized the importance of creating a full-time managing member executive director position within the Historic Fund to house efforts to learn about HBCUs, extend offers for admission to the Historic Fund, and develop programs and opportunities to ensure that HBCUs admitted to the Historic Fund are meaningfully incorporated into the venture capital community.

We were intentional about our process and comfortable spending the necessary resources and time to build relationships with HBCU endowments. The success of the Historic Fund is inspired by a passion for racial justice in higher education and the personal affection several fund managers (and their Lowenstein lawyers) have for the HBCUs they attended. We worked with our clients to leverage their passion and professional networks to raise millions of dollars that will soon be infused into HBCU endowments.

Kraner: The New Jersey Supreme Court issued its 2022 State v. Comer decision after having considered two earlier appeals from Mr. Comer. The defendant and supporting amici persisted and ultimately persevered in their campaign for fairer sentences. Many factors contributed to this outcome, including a better scientific understanding of the adolescent brain and courts’ acceptance of social science on maturity and capacity for rehabilitation.

There has also been a movement nationwide, which the firm has been a part of, to secure opportunities for resentencing and release, either through litigation or legislative advocacy. A number of jurisdictions have enacted lookback periods, and individuals like the amici the firm represented in Comer, who have been released as a result of these nationwide efforts, have become powerful voices for changes to sentencing laws.

What did you do to celebrate when these matters were resolved?

Holder: We spotlighted the Historic Fund in our annual pro bono report, and the firm’s managing partner discussed the project and congratulated the team who worked on it at a firmwide town hall meeting. Our celebration is tempered, however, by the substantial work that remains to promote equity between HBCU and PWI endowments and to achieve racial equity in American education more generally. The project’s success has strengthened our attorneys’ resolve to seek out transactional pro bono opportunities that advance racial justice.

Kraner: Upon receiving the positive decision in State v. Comer, we congratulated the defendants and their lawyers, and we recognized the team that worked on the amicus brief at our annual pro bono awards celebration. There were approximately 75 people eligible for a resentencing hearing under the Comer decision at the time, and the work to secure their release was just beginning.

The New Jersey Office of the Public Defender, along with pro bono attorneys (including at Lowenstein), began filing petitions for resentencing. To date, the collective efforts have resulted in relief in approximately one-quarter of the cases, with many more being prepared or pending.

Responses provided by Christina Holder, public interest counsel, with input from Ekwutozia Nwabuzor, counsel, and Ed Zimmerman, partner (the impact investing for HBCUs matter); and Natalie Kraner, senior public interest counsel (amicus brief in State v. Comer).