By Caroline Rule
As we celebrate our 80th anniversary, Kostelanetz LLP is proud of our deep-rooted history of helping the underserved. We encourage our attorneys to meet and, indeed, exceed the 50 hours of pro bono work a year recommended by codes of professional conduct. In 2023, two of our attorneys received the Legal Aid Society of New York’s Pro Bono Publico Awards for their outstanding achievement in pro bono services.
A few, among many, examples of our wide-ranging current and past pro bono work include:
In the tax area:
- We regularly take part in Virtual Settlement Weeks hosted by the ABA Tax Section and IRS, where our attorneys are matched with unrepresented taxpayers to meet and discuss settlement with an attorney from the IRS Chief Counsel's Office.
- Our attorneys provide services to the IRS Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program, which offers free tax help to people with low incomes or disabilities, and the elderly.
- We take part in Tax Court calendar calls, where our attorneys discuss the merits of petitioner’s cases and evaluate any IRS settlement proposals, act as a mediator between the parties to help in settlement, and/or enter an appearance with the Court.
- One of our attorneys traveled to remote villages in Alaska to help residents file their tax returns.
In non-tax litigation:
- We secured the release of two immigrants unlawfully detained by ICE.
- We serve as court-appointed counsel in the Southern District of New York.
- We represented a sex-trafficking victim in a federal criminal investigation.
- We defended a synagogue’s receipt of a zoning variance to promote its religious and nonprofit mission.
- We represent the Human Services Council of New York, whose members include 170 nonprofit members that receive City Funding, challenging a labor relations law that undermines the City’s critical social services safety net.
- We sought compassionate release for federal prison inmates facing COVID-19 risks.
In other pro bono work:
- One of our partners serves on the board of directors of Public Agenda, a nonprofit that strives to strengthen democracy in the United States through nonpartisan research and public engagement.
- Another partner serves on the Advisory Board to the Archdiocese of New York, reviewing claims of clergy sexual abuse of minors and advising the Cardinal in his assessment.
- Another partner serves on the board of the Virginia Community Tax Law Project, the only statewide provider of free tax controversy representation to low- and moderate-income taxpayers.
- We provided legal advice to Campus Contact, which seeks to advance public purposes of over 1,000 colleges and universities by improving community life and educating students about civic and social responsibility.
We have written and submitted numerous amicus briefs, including to:
- Most recently, the United States Supreme Court on behalf of the Center for Taxpayer Rights and the National Taxpayers Union, in the pending case Hirsch v. United States Tax Court, asking the U.S. Supreme Court to clarify and settle whether imposition of tax penalties triggers the Seventh Amendment right to a jury trial. The Supreme Court denied the petition for certiorari in June 2026.
- The Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and the United States Supreme Court on behalf of the American College of Tax Counsel, with both courts agreeing that the Bank Secrecy Act imposes a single penalty for non-willful failure to file an annual Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR), instead of a penalty for each undisclosed account.
- New York’s highest court on behalf of the New York Council of Defense Lawyers, with the court endorsing our position that a juror’s serious misconduct entitled the defendant to new trial.
Lobbying:
- We joined 49 other law firm leaders in 2022 to lobby for a Clean Slate law in New York— which the legislature passed in 2023—designed to automatically clear minor criminal records of millions of New Yorkers who otherwise faced lasting barriers to employment, housing, and education.
We fully intend to continue to provide stellar pro bono work for the next 80 years and beyond!