Shearman & Sterling’s Rome office has been providing pro bono assistance to Avvocato di Strada, an Italian non-profit organization that offers free legal advice to the homeless.

Francesco Liberatori, an Italian Lawyer in the Mergers & Acquisitions/Capital Markets groups in Rome, has been working with the organization to pre-screen homeless clients in order to determine their eligibility for services.

One client who was found eligible for assistance was a Nigerian woman who asked the organization to help her locate the father of her child. Liberatori formally contacted the relevant consulates in Rome to find out whether the man is currently in Italy or abroad, and the case is still pending. In another case, which is still in its preliminary stages, Liberatori is advising a man who claims he was falsely induced to claim a child as his own and is being threatened with a lawsuit for child support.

In addition to helping ADS’s homeless clients, Liberatori also has completed an English translation of the organization’s Web site. The supervising partner is Domenico Fanuele (Rome-Mergers & Acquisitions).

Shearman & Sterling is also helping ADS by providing research on how other European jurisdictions deal with homelessness and undocumented immigrants. Associate Samara Abrams (New York-Capital Markets) is spearheading this research project from New York, along with summer associates Ryan Citlau and Nell Beekman.

For more information about ADS, visit http://www.avvocatodistrada.it/indexEN.htm