Law firm’s commitment spurs its support of Lawfare Project

By Tom Kirvan

Growth is good in the law, and not just for bottom line purposes, New York IP attorney Andrew Bochner has discovered. And the law firm of Bochner PLLC also knows what it means to be committed to doing good in the community.

One added benefit of increased profitability is fueling the firm’s pro bono efforts, which in recent years has doubled in size to nearly 40 attorneys that practice in a host of IP, litigation, and business sectors.

The firm’s success, according to Bochner, has allowed him to direct some of its resources to helping The Lawfare Project with efforts to combat the rise of antisemitism and to “defend the civil and human rights of the Jewish community across a range of cross-cutting areas.”

A New York-based nonprofit organization, The Lawfare Project enlists the support of a global network of attorneys to fight “discrimination wherever we see it,” according to its mission statement. That determination has taken on greater urgency since the war between Israel and Hamas broke out in early October, a Mideast military conflict that has rippled throughout the world in the form of heightened tensions between Israeli and Palestinian supporters.

Bochner, who spent 18 months studying in Israel after graduating from Yeshiva University in 2008, said his firm’s involvement with Lawfare began approximately a year ago after he became increasingly alarmed about anti-Jewish sentiment, particularly on college campuses across the U.S.

“Three of my four grandparents are Holocaust survivors, so this is most definitely a personal issue for me and my family,” said Bochner of his commitment to root out antisemitism in society. “There was no committee (at the firm) about this effort. It was me saying we’re going to do this and we’re going to treat this with a sense of seriousness.”

As such, attorneys throughout the firm have been encouraged to take on pro bono cases aligned with the needs of The Lawfare Project, which in recent months have focused on protecting the freedom of Jewish students on college campuses.

In a recent letter to supporters of Lawfare, Executive Director Brooke Goldstein wrote that “responses from campus officials have generally been tepid at best, leaving Jewish students feeling unsupported and under threat” as military and civilian casualties in the war continue to mount.

“The Lawfare Project’s lawyers are currently assisting numerous Jewish student activists in the United States and Canada who are experiencing hostile environments on campus,” Goldstein wrote. “We are helping them navigate the situations and ensuring their civil rights are being protected.

“Moreover, we have mobilized our network of over 600 lawyers and dozens of law firms to provide pro bono legal services, and we are preparing to file lawsuits against schools across the country,” Goldstein added.

Bochner’s firm is among those that are assisting with the legal effort, demanding a range of actions against antisemitic student groups “including that their recognition as student organizations be revoked and they be deemed ineligible to receive institutional funding, that these groups and their members be disciplined according to applicable school policies, and that robust bias training specifically aimed at protecting Jewish identity be implemented.”

As the father of five children, ranging in age from 1-1/2 to 13 years old, Bochner said the legal cause championed by The Lawfare Project will be dear to his heart for years to come.

“The issue hits close to me as the parent of little children and the desire to keep them safe,” said Bochner. “We have buy-in from people throughout the firm who want to help out and to make a difference in stopping the spread of hate,” Bochner said.