Recognizing the ever-growing need in the community for the provision of legal services to those of limited means, Fitzpatrick has instituted a firm-wide pro bono program that encourages each lawyer in the firm to devote time to pro bono service. The firm's Pro Bono Committee has a representative from each of our three offices: Donald Curry (New York), Brian Klock (Washington, D.C.) and Edward Kmett (Costa Mesa). Mr. Curry is also the Pro Bono Coordinator for the firm. 

The firm's pro bono practice has been structured around several "practice areas" focused on particular substantive areas of law. These practice areas include branches of intellectual property law, as well as areas outside intellectual property where there is a particular need for the provision of legal services to people lacking the means to afford them. To that end, the firm has established practice areas in the following areas:  

• Trademark
• Copyright
• Contracts and Licensing
• Veterans Assistance (implemented by subgroups focused on assisting veterans (1) seeking benefits from the Veterans Administration; (2) on appeals to the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims; and (3) on appeals to the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit)
• Article 78 Proceedings in New York State Supreme Court contesting denials of subsidies to low income tenants
• Predatory Lending practices affecting homeowners
• Family Law (representing victims of domestic violence in Family Court)
• Microentrepreneurs (advising clients starting new neighborhood businesses).

Pro bono organizations with which Fitzpatrick is working include:

• Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts
• Washington Area Lawyers for the Arts
• Federal Circuit Bar Association, Pro Bono Program
• Veterans Consortium Pro Bono Program
• Appellate Defenders Office
• Legal Aid Society
• City Bar Justice Center
• New York Lawyers for the Public Interest
• Pro Bono Partnership
• Sanctuary for Families

Exemplary matters handled by Fitzpatrick attorneys include:

• Defending a trademark infringement case brought against a non-profit corporation that runs summer music camps for children.
• Acting as co-counsel with the Legal Aid Society in a predatory lending case in New York federal court.
• Acting as co-counsel with the Legal Aid Society in a class action suit in the District of Columbia representing homeowners facing foreclosure who were denied evaluation of eligibility for mortgage modification under the HAMP program.
• Negotiating a trademark license for a public library.
• Providing advice on intellectual property issues to non-profit corporations that are developing online computer software programs for educational and training purposes.
• Providing design patent advice to an individual.
• Representing a client in a proceeding against the New York City Housing Authority to retain public housing benefits.
• Representing authors in a copyright infringement case in New York Federal court.
• Representing public housing applicants denied benefits by the New York City Housing Authority on administrative appeals.
• Representing indigent criminal defendants on appeals to the New York Appellate Division.
• Assisting resident Haitian immigrants in applying for Temporary Protective Status following the January 2010 Haitian earthquake.
• Advising clients on copyright ownership and infringement issues.
• Representing veterans on claims for benefits before the Veterans Administration, and on appeals to the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims.
• Assisting individuals and non-profits in obtaining trademarks and certification marks.
• Obtaining reinstatement of a client's housing subsidy by the New York City Housing Authority by filing an Article 78 action in New York State Supreme Court.
• Assisting veterans in filing claims for disability.
• Assisting an aspiring film producer and screenplay writer in obtaining music rights.

In addition, Fitzpatrick attorneys in the past have done pro bono work on behalf of: the City of New York (trademark infringement lawsuit to prevent the sale of unauthorized NYPD and FDNY-branded merchandise); families of victims of the 9/11 terrorist attack on the World Trade Center; a patient organization that promotes research on lysosomal storage diseases; and various charitable organizations, including Safe Horizons (which provides education about abuse in the home) and Asphalt Green (which provides sports and fitness programs for needy members of the community).