Senior counsel Denis McInerney and counsel and Head of Pro Bono Litigation Dara Sheinfeld spoke with AmLaw Litigation Daily about a major victory for their pro bono client, a sex trafficking survivor, who was released from prison after serving nine years of a 25-year prison sentence in connection with the unintended death of one of her trafficker’s associates.

Jackie was resentenced under the Domestic Violence Survivor’s Justice Act (DVSJA) – the New York State law which permits judges to consider the impact of domestic violence when sentencing an individual who was the victim of substantial abuse that was a significant contributing factor to the conduct that resulted in their conviction.

Davis Polk began working with Jackie in 2020, ultimately spending over 2,000 hours investigating her case, collecting corroborating evidence, working with experts, preparing Jackie to meet with the District Attorney’s Office and engaging in extensive advocacy. The Legal Aid Society served as co-counsel, and the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office joined in the defense’s resentencing application.

“Our goal is to really understand the case, be encyclopedias on it, and to then present it to them,” Denis explained. He noted that the day Jackie was released from prison was one of the greatest days of his life.

Dara added that the amount of work it took to get up to speed on Jackie’s case, where multiple defendants were involved, made it stand out. But in the end, her case was “simple” and “obvious.”

Dara previously practiced as a litigation associate at Davis Polk and ran Sanctuary for Families’ walk-in law centers for domestic abuse victims in the Bronx and Manhattan. She said that it’s been remarkable for her to go from representing domestic violence victims to representing criminal defendants on sentencing issues. “I think it’s just so important to realize when we’re working with our clients…who are just complaining witnesses in criminal cases, who are in abusive relationships, those exact clients could be our next DVSJA clients,” she said. “I used to see this as very different work, and in the last few years it’s been really clear that there’s a lot of crossover.”

The article highlights that the Davis Polk team representing Jackie also included associates Stephanie Hansen, Jaclyn Katz, Jessica Paduganan, and legal assistants Angelica Matoske and Kristina Milberger.

“Davis Polk and Legal Aid Society Team to Knock 15 Years Off Sex-Trafficking Survivor’s Sentence,” AmLaw Litigation Daily (September 25, 2024) (subscription required) 

Copy link to share post