Fred Goldberg ’73 Honored with Lawyers Alliance Cornerstone Award

Fred T. Goldberg, Jr. ’73 is a recipient of a Cornerstone Award, presented by Lawyers Alliance for New York.  The awards recognize outstanding pro bono legal services to nonprofit groups that are improving the quality of life for low-income New Yorkers.  

Goldberg is of counsel in the Tax Department of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP.  He serves as global co-chair of Skadden's Pro Bono Committee and as global co-chair emeritus of the Firm's Diversity Committee.  He received a B.A. from Yale University in 1969 and a J.D. from Yale University in 1973. 

Goldberg and colleagues at Skadden have counseled NYC Kids RISE as it works to expand economic opportunities by providing families, schools, and communities with a way to work together to save for their children’s education.  In its first school year operating, more than 94 percent of School District 30 kindergartners were automatically enrolled in the program, and each one received an NYC Scholarship Account.  The Save for College Program necessitated hours of legal work to negotiate and finalize foundational agreements between and among Kids RISE, the City of New York’s Department of Education and its Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications, VistaShare, Ascensus, and the State of New York 529 Plan.  There have been additional agreements, including with funder Gray Foundation, supporter Citi Community Development, and strategic partner Amalgamated Bank.  At every moment, Kids RISE turned to the Skadden team for crucial legal support. 

As the Program moves into its second year of implementation, Debra-Ellen Glickstein, Kids RISE’s Executive Director, says, “Without Fred, it is highly likely there would be no Save for College Program, and most certainly we wouldn’t have what he calls ‘the plumbing’ in place. The Program provided more than $350,000 to kindergartners across District 30 last school year and helped more than 500 families start saving on their own."

Goldberg says, “The NYC Kids RISE initiative has the potential to transform educational opportunities in New York City and serve as a model for communities throughout the great state of New York.  A special thanks to Lawyers Alliance for its contribution to what has been and remains a remarkable team effort in every sense of the word.”