Speaker: Cory Hernandez (they/them), Senior Managing Attorney
Cory Hernandez (they/them): I am very happy to share that Covington and Burling has been selected as the recipient of Family Violence Appellate Project's 2025 Pro Bono Award. Your firm's extraordinary pro bono efforts are helping to make a profound difference in advancing justice and safety for domestic violence survivors. We are very honored to recognize your contributions. Over the past two years, your team has worked tirelessly to prepare, file, and successfully advocate for the California Supreme Court to accept an original writ petition on FVAP's behalf, an incredibly rare achievement. This critical project seeks relief from the ongoing court reporter shortage that is denying survivors meaningful access to the courts. Your work included investigating practice across all 58 California county courts, drafting and processing extensive Public Record Act requests, and conducting thorough legal analysis to identify the appropriate respondents for an original writ proceeding. You also led the development of a compelling legal strategy that resulted in the California Supreme Court granting review. An exceptional outcome. Covington and Burling has led this complex litigation in partnership with co-counsel Community Legal Aid SoCal and co-petitioner Bay Area Legal Aid. As the client in this matter, FVAP could not be more grateful for the depth of skill, dedication, and partnership that your team has demonstrated. Your firm's steadfast advocacy exemplifies the power of pro bono legal work to advance systemic change. We are very proud to honor your firm for its commitment to justice and its exceptional partnership in our shared mission to end domestic violence. And personally I'm very happy to be making this recording and helping present this award to you all since I have been fortunate enough to work with you all on this project for the last couple of years and then just being able to see firsthand the amazing, amazing work you all do and your tireless commitment is so appreciated and this award is so well deserved. So I just have to say thank you so much for all your incredible service, both on this lawsuit and in other areas that you've helped us, including co-counseling other cases, helping with our pro bono moots, to help attorneys prepare for oral argument, and all your other research projects and help that you do for FVAP. Your incredible service to survivors and being an integral part of our community is so appreciated. Thank you very much.
Covington and Burling
for their work addressing the court reporter shortage in California
Covington and Burling: Good evening everyone. Greetings from the Covington and Burling team. Here at Covington, we've had the privilege of partnering with FVAP for many years, working together to represent domestic violence survivors and their children in important appeals. Our recent work with FVAP has focused on addressing the court reporter shortage in California. This issue has had a huge impact on people's ability to receive a fair hearing and a just outcome. Most family court proceedings today, including those involving domestic violence issues, have no recording made at all. As a result, appeals and accountability in those cases become nearly impossible, leaving many without full and fair access to justice in our state's courts. Low income litigants are hit particularly hard. Thanks to FVAP's vital leadership, we may finally be on the cusp of a genuine solution to this critical problem. Covington's lawyers believe deeply in the principle that justice should be accessible to all regardless of financial means. Supporting pro bono work is a core value for Covington. It's a vital way we seek to give back, using our legal skills to make a real difference. We are proud of our long standing partnership with FVAP, which exemplifies this commitment. As we join you in the Battle of the Bands tonight - where Covington is represented by the world famous Cov'r Band - we're inspired by the collective commitment of everyone here to making justice a reality for everyone. We offer a huge thank you to everyone in FVAP and all those supporting this important cause. Thank you.
