Partner Antonia Stolper (New York-Capital Markets) participated in the Pro Bono Declaration for the Americas (PBDA), which took place on January 22 in New York City. Stolper is chair of the Cyrus R. Vance Center for International Justice, an organization that co-hosted the event along with the Americas Society/Council of the Americas.

The PBDA is a result of an unprecedented and continuing endeavor among private legal professionals in the Americas to reinforce every lawyer’s responsibility to promote pro bono assistance to the disadvantaged. Other attorneys from Shearman & Sterling who attended the event were associates Alejandro Gordano (New York-Capital Markets), Jose Huerta (New York-Finance), Grissel Mercado (New York-Capital Markets), Cristobal Pellegrini (New York-Capital Markets), and Fabiana Sakai (New York-Capital Markets).

The keynote speaker for the night was Justice Luiz Fux, from the Superior Court of Justice in Brazil. Other presenters at the event included Susan L Segal, Todd Crider, Ambassador James Jones, Guillermo Morales and Paula Samper Salazar; they addressed current efforts in place to strengthen access to justice in the Americas and tackled the question of how the legal profession and judicial system can foster both fair and equitable public policies and socio-economic development. Attendees at the event included members of the New York legal community, including: New York City Bar Association; managing partners and Latin American practice partners from major New York law firms as well as in-house lawyers of major companies and investment banks. The event was also attended by partners of several law firms throughout the Americas which have also signed the Declaration.