William C. Silverman is a partner responsible for leading Proskauer’s global pro bono efforts, which provide assistance to individual clients and nonprofit organizations in litigation as well as transactional matters. He focuses on identifying and securing pro bono opportunities and partnerships for Proskauer lawyers and ensuring widespread participation in these projects.
Bill has robust private and public sector experience and a strong criminal and civil background. He has worked extensively on government investigations and white collar criminal matters, as well as complex civil litigation in federal and state courts. He also served as an assistant U.S. attorney in the Southern District of New York, where he led criminal investigations, conducted trials and handled Second Circuit appeals.
Throughout his career, Bill has dedicated himself to the promotion of equal access to justice through pro bono service, particularly in the area of family court, anti-trafficking, and immigration.
Bill spearheaded a partnership among several law firms, corporations and the New York City Family Court to provide free legal advice to pro se litigants. The New York City Family Court Volunteer Attorney Program now has more than 400 volunteer attorneys from 40 major firms and corporations. Bill also co-authored a groundbreaking report for the New York City Bar Association and the Fund For Modern Courts on how COVID-19 impacted the New York City Family Court. Bill is currently serving as co-chair of the Court Modernization Action Committee (CMAC), a working group of judicial, bar, and community leaders formed to support and advise the New York State Court System in implementing technology to increase efficiency and enhance equal access to justice.
Bill serves as counsel to the New York State Anti-Trafficking Coalition. In that capacity he has been a strong advocate for changes in the law and public policy to protect victims of human trafficking and bring perpetrators to justice. He also represents individual clients in this area, including a successful federal lawsuit brought on behalf of a trafficking victim against her traffickers. For his work, he was named by domestic violence nonprofit Sanctuary For Families as one of “New York’s New Abolitionists.”
Bill has been recognized for his public service with the Abely Pro Bono Leadership Award from Sanctuary For Families and Columbia Law School (2019); the Special Leadership Award for All-Around Excellence in Corporate Social Responsibility & the Law from City & State Reports (2015); the Commitment to Justice Award for Outstanding Partner from inMotion (2008); and the Matthew G. Leonard Award for Outstanding Pro Bono Achievement from MFY Legal Services (2007).
Outside of his work at the firm, Bill serves on various non-profit boards. Bill is currently chairman of the Fund for Modern Courts, a non-partisan citizen organization devoted to improving New York State courts, and is formerly chairman of Legal Information For Families Today (LIFT), an organization devoted to unrepresented litigants in Family Court.
Education
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New York University School of Law, J.D.
cum laude
Notes & Comments Editor, New York University Law Review
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Brown University, B.A.
Admissions & Qualifications
- New York
Clerkships
- U.S. District Court, New York, Southern District - Hon. Louis L. Stanton
Court Admissions
- U.S. Court of Appeals, District of Columbia Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals, Second Circuit
- U.S. District Court, New York, Eastern District
- U.S. District Court, New York, Southern District
Memberships
Chairman, The Fund for Modern Courts
Member, Board of Directors, Legal Information for Families Today (LIFT)
Counsel, New York State Anti-Trafficking Coalition
Consultant, The New York State Commission on Parental Legal Representation
Member, The President's Committe on Access to Justice, New York State Bar Association
Awards & Recognition
The Legal 500 United States 2016
New York Super Lawyers 2015-2022
Best Lawyers in America 2019-2024
Sanctuary For Families and Columbia Law School, Abely Pro Bono Leadership Award, 2019
Coalition Against Trafficking in Women, 2017 Gala Honoree
The Legal Aid Society's 2016 Pro Bono Publico Award
City & State Reports, Award for All-Around Excellence in Corporate Social Responsibility & the Law, 2015
Sanctuary For Families, Above and Beyond Award for Excellence in Pro Bono Service, 2008 and 2015
Sanctuary For Families and the New York State Anti-Trafficking Coalition, New York’s New Abolitionists, 2014
HerJustice (inMotion), Commitment to Justice Award for Outstanding Partner, 2008
MFY Legal Services, Matthew G. Leonard Award for Outstanding Pro Bono Achievement, 2007
U.S. Department of Justice, Director’s Award for Superior Performance, 2001
For Good