Aliya Sanders, New York tech transactions associate, was among 12 lawyers honored with the Lawyers Alliance for New York's 2019 Cornerstone Award for outstanding pro bono legal services to nonprofits. 

Among her pro bono projects, Aliya helped NYC Pride negotiate a contract to hold the 2019 WorldPride Opening Ceremony Concert at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn in June. David Correa, NYC Pride’s Associate Director of Events, calls Aliya “a tremendous help,” and adds, “For an organization like ours, having the support, knowledge, and expertise of someone like Aliya was invaluable.” With her assistance, NYC Pride was able to host a successful, star-studded concert, which celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall uprising and raised money for local LGBTQ charities.

Aliya also reviewed and revised the photo release form used by Opportunities for a Better Tomorrow (OBT), a job training and placement program in Brooklyn. According to Vice President, Administration Janet Tsakos, she was “so helpful, very, very patient, listened to what we were looking for, and got the work done for us very quickly.” With Aliya's help, OBT can use photographs of its program participants to promote its services, while ensuring that the participants’ privacy is protected.

Along with colleagues at Gunderson Dettmer, Aliya also assisted Brooklyn Children’s Theater (BCT) with securing its intellectual property rights in several original theater works for children. Amy Graves, BCT’s Executive Director, says that she was “wonderful,” and that she not only drafted all of the necessary contracts, but explained the legal issues surrounding copyrights in a clear and acces­sible way. With this assistance, BCT can perform and license the works in its Muslim Voices Productions series, allowing these plays to be seen by a broader audience.

Other pro bono clients have included The Character Connection Initiative, The Financial Clinic, and Gehl Inc.

Aliya shared, “Lawyers Alliance is a great source of opportunities for me to use my commercial contracts experience for a variety of nonprofit organizations. Giving back to the community is incredibly rewarding, and ensuring that everyone has access to legal services, regardless of financial status, has always been impor­tant to me. I am grateful to these organizations for placing their trust in me and look forward to continuing to work with them through Lawyers Alliance in the future.”