Pro bono work and community service are an integral part of our culture.

Kramer Levin has submitted high-profile amicus briefs in virtually every major Supreme Court LGBT rights case since the 1990s — starting with a brief in Dale v. Boy Scouts of America, on behalf of PFLAG and other organizations, seeking to combat myths and stereotypes about gay people. The firm also submitted a brief in Lawrence v. Texas — the case striking down laws criminalizing consensual same-sex sexual conduct —  rebutting specious public health justifications that had been advanced for such laws. Kramer Levin’s brief was cited by Justice David Souter during the oral argument in Lawrence. More recently, Kramer Levin submitted amicus briefs on behalf of a broad coalition of mainstream religious stakeholders in a series of historic cases, starting with United States v. Windsor (which struck down part of the Defense of Marriage Act) and Hollingsworth v. Perry (which left standing a decision striking down Proposition 8 in California), demonstrating the diversity of views on marriage equality within the mainstream religious community and refuting the idea that there is a single “Christian” or “religious” view of marriage. Following the victory in Windsor, Kramer Levin submitted updated versions of the religion brief in trial and appellate courts across the country and, eventually, in Obergefell v. Hodges, which vindicated the freedom to marry nationally. The firm submitted a similar brief in the recent Masterpiece Cakeshop case.

Kramer Levin dedicated thousands of hours to pro bono litigation to help establish and protect marriage equality in New York State. The firm served as co-counsel with Lambda Legal in Hernandez v. Robles, which sought equal marriage rights for same-sex couples under the New York State Constitution. The firm won a trial court order striking down marriage discrimination in New York, and, while that decision was overturned, the case sparked intense debate and led to the first passage of a marriage equality bill by the New York State Assembly in 2007 and enactment of marriage equality in the state in 2011. The firm also worked with Lambda Legal on a series of cases, culminating in Lewis v. New York State Department of Civil Service, establishing under New York law the validity of out-of-state marriages of same-sex couples. Following the enactment of marriage equality in New York, Kramer Levin sued a landlord who refused to add a longtime spouse to a rent-stabilized lease, and secured a significant settlement for the couple. 

Kramer Levin was co-counsel with the ACLU in McMillen v. Itawamba County School District, a case vindicating the right of a lesbian high school student in Mississippi to attend her school’s prom with a same-sex date. The firm helped secure a favorable settlement after winning a positive initial ruling that sparked a national outpouring of support for the firm’s client, Constance McMillen. Kramer Levin also represented another Mississippi teen in a suit challenging her school’s decision to exclude her from the high school yearbook rather than publish a photograph of her in a tuxedo. The firm defeated a motion to dismiss the case and secured a favorable settlement protecting the student’s right of expression. Kramer Levin also litigated the case that established second-parent adoption rights under Delaware law; represented the lesbian survivor of a victim of the September 11 attacks in a lawsuit, ultimately settled, seeking recognition as a surviving spouse for purposes of receiving Victims’ Compensation Fund benefits; and represented a nonbiological mother in a companion case to Matter of Brooke S.B. v. Elizabeth C.C., in which the New York Court of Appeals recognized the right of a nonbiological, nonadoptive mother to seek custody and visitation rights of a child jointly raised in a same-sex union. 

Kramer Levin has also helped vindicate the rights of transgender individuals in a variety of settings. Some of this work has grown out of the firm’s deep involvement in asylum and other immigration matters, which has included representation of dozens of LGBT and HIV-positive clients, including many who are transgender or gender nonconforming. Kramer Levin received Immigration Equality’s Safe Haven Award for outstanding representation of LGBT/HIV+ clients from around the world. The firm obtained asylum for several transgender individuals, including a transgender woman fleeing a lifetime of persecution in Peru and a transgender woman from Malaysia who reasonably feared persecution if she returned home. Kramer Levin has also obtained name changes and appropriate identity documents for clients of the Peter Cicchino Youth Project, the Sylvia Rivera Law Project, and the Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund. The firm also submitted a brief on behalf of a broad coalition of religious stakeholders endorsing equal treatment of transgender students in the case of Gloucester County School Board v. G.G., in which the Supreme Court initially granted and later denied review after the Justice Department changed its guidance on the application of civil rights law to the rights of transgender students.