Kevin J. Curnin

Kevin J. Curnin is Founding Director of Stroock’s Public Service Project, the cornerstone of the firm’s longtime commitment to serving the public interest. Created in March 2001, the Public Service Project provides a broad array of legal assistance, concentrating on underserved and under-resourced communities in New York City, and is a national leader in providing critical legal pro bono services in response to national disasters.

In addition to managing the program, Kevin leads cases and advises associates and partners with their pro bono litigation and transactional work. Kevin supervises a broad range of matters, from special education hearings to family and housing court disputes. He is counsel to non-profit entities and micro-entrepreneurs. During his tenure, Kevin and the Public Service Project have won dozens of awards from city, state and national organizations, including the American Bar Association and the National Legal Aid & Defender Association.

Kevin served on the Board of Directors of the Association of Pro Bono Council for six years and was President of APBCo in 2017. Before his 2001 appointment as the Project’s first Attorney Director, Kevin spent more than five years in commercial litigation at Stroock. His areas of commercial experience include insurance, banking, securities and arbitration. Since 2001, Mr. Curnin and the Public Service Project have received over 85 awards.

• General Litigation

• American Bar Association National Public Service Award
• National Legal Aid & Defender Association Beacon of Justice Award
• Dartmouth College Lester B. Granger Award for Lifetime Achievement
• Fordham School of Law’s Frederick Center for Social Justice Champion of Justice Award
• Her Justice / InMotion Commitment to Justice Award
• Lawyers Alliance of New York Cornerstone Award
• Legal Services NYC Pro Bono Service Award
• City Bar Justice Center Jeremy G. Epstein Award for Pro Bono Services
• New York Lawyers for the Public Interest Partnering for Justice Award
• Sanctuary for Families Above & Beyond Achievement Award
• Urban Justice Center Law and Society Award

For a complete list of awards received since 2001, visit the Stroock Public Service Project webpage. Mr. Curnin has also been recognized by Super Lawyers for his work in general litigation.

• Immediate Past President, Board of Directors, Association of Pro Bono Counsel, Inc.
• Board of Advisors, Feerick Center for Social Justice at Fordham Law School
• Board of Directors, Touch Foundation

• Kevin has presented on dozens of pro bono and social justice issues.

• "A Crossroads Revisited: Impeachment and the Rule of Law," New York Law Journal, December 30, 2019
• “Roman J. Israel, Esquire, Meet Donald J. Trump, POTUS,” Law 360, April 4, 2018
• “Trump’s Budget Would Silence Legal Services,” Law360, April 3, 2017
• “Love and Law in the Age of Trump,” Law360, January 30, 2017
• “Law Student Pro Bono Shines A Light on Civil Justice,” Law 360, January 20, 2017
• “OPINION: Goodness First, Then Greatness,” Law360, November 14, 2016
• “OPINION: Pro Bono This Political Season,” Law360, October 13, 2016
• Co-author, “U.S. State Laws Addressing Human Trafficking: Education of and Mandatory Reporting by Health Care Providers and Other Professionals,” Journal of Human Trafficking, May 31, 2016
• “APBCo Statement of the Passing of Esther Lardent,” Association of Pro Bono Counsel, April 4, 2016
• “Pro Bono: The New Associate’s Compass to Success,” Law360, October 27, 2015
• Co-author, “Pope Francis and Pro Bono Publico,” Law360, September 30, 2015
• “Up the Irish: St. Paddy’s Is for Celebrating Pro Bono, Too,” Law 360, March 16, 2015
• “The Year Ahead in Pro Bono, US and Abroad,” Law360, January 8, 2015
• “What Happens When Legal Aid Cuts Stimulate Pro Bono?” Law360, December 17, 2014
• “Remembering Doar: Justice as a 4-Letter Word,” Law360, November 25, 2014
• “Pete Seeger and Social Justice,” New York State Pro Bono Association Pro Bono News, Spring 2014, Vol. 24, No. 2
• Co-author, “As Exonerations Grow, States Make Them Harder to Win,” Law360, February 12, 2014
• Co-author, “Any Pro Bono Brawl Should be for More Access to Justice,” Law360, January 30, 2014
• Co-author, “The Year Ahead in Pro Bono,” Law360, January 2014
• “Can Poverty Scholarship Guide Legal Interventions?” New York State Bar Association Pro Bono News, October 23, 2011
• “Pro Bono at a Crossroads,” New York Law Journal, October 29, 2009
• Co-author, “End Game: Tips on Planning Successful Joint Projects Between Law Firms, Legal Services Providers,” Cornerstone, September 2009
• Co-author, “Missed Opportunities: Louisiana’s Failure to Spur Economic Redevelopment After Katrina,” Journal of Affordable Housing & Community Development Law, Summer 2007, Vol. 16, No. 4

New York

U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York

Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York, First Judicial Department

J.D., Fordham University School of Law, 1995; Notes Editor, Urban Law Journal

M.A., with honors, University College Dublin, 1988

B.A., with honors, Dartmouth College, 1986