Page 76 - NYLJ Professional Excellence 2021

RISING STARS

|
MARTIN BELL PARTNER, SIMPSON THACHER & BARTLETT

PRACTICE PROFILE: Martin S. Bell, a and the Federal Law Enforcement Foundation Prosecutor of the
former federal prosecutor and accom- Year Award. He serves as an Adjunct Professor at New York Law
plished trial lawyer, is a partner in Simp- School, where he teaches a lecture course on organized and
son Thacher’s litigation department white-collar crime.
and represents companies, boards and
executives in government and internal PRIOR EXPERIENCE: Assistant U.S. Attorney, U.S. Attorney’s
investigations and high-profile disputes. Office for the SDNY, 2010-2021; Associate, Paul, Weiss, Rifkind,
Wharton & Garrison, 2006-2007, 2008-2010; Law clerk, Hon. Eric N.
LEADERSHIP, PRO BONO AND CIVIC Vitaliano, U.S. District Court, EDNY, 2007-2008
WORK: Martin was an Assistant U.S.
Attorney for more than a decade at the U.S. Attorney’s Office for EDUCATION:
the Southern District of New York before joining the firm in 2021. J.D., Harvard Law School, 2006
Having served as lead counsel on behalf of the United States in B.A., cum laude, Harvard University, 2003
14 jury trials, one of Martin’s standout cases involved obtaining
convictions of a hedge fund founder and a union executive in
connection with allegations of bribery. He also served as a senior WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO YOUNG LAWYERS?
member of the Securities and Commodities Task Force and the Find a job in which purpose, craft, and people intersect, and life
Public Corruption Unit at the SDNY, and previously served as becomes a joy.
a member of the Money Laundering and Asset Forfeiture Unit.
Martin was honored with several awards for his service, includ-
ing the Assistant Attorney General’s Exceptional Service Award

|
LAUREN CONNELL PRO BONO COUNSEL, AKIN GUMP STRAUSS HAUER & FELD

PRACTICE PROFILE: Lauren Con- offering free preparation of life-planning documents to
nell maintains a pro bono practice healthcare workers.
focused on highly visible immi-
gration issues while helping to PRIOR EXPERIENCE:
manage the firm’s practice and devel- Pro bono counsel, Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, 2017-pres-
op pro bono opportunities for its ent; associate, 2014-2017
lawyers.
EDUCATION:
LEADERSHIP, PRO BONO AND J.D., University of Pennsylvania Law School, 2014
CIVIC WORK: Beyond assisting with B.A., summa cum laude, George Washington University, 2009
the management of the firm’s pro bono practice, Lauren
has been leading the firm’s work with detained migrants,
having counseled hundreds of refugees pro bono since 2014.
She has also played critical roles and helped secure sig-
nificant outcomes for pro bono clients, including in Rivera
v. Garland and Alvarez Lagos v. Barr. Lastly, in 2020, she WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO YOUNG LAWYERS?
helped spearhead firm efforts on three key issues: refugee No particular path in the legal profession is “right” or “perfect”.
crisis at the U.S.-Mexico border, COVID-19 crisis and Deferred Listen to your inner voice, rather than to others who may try to
Action for Childhood Arrivals. Specific to New York, she tell you what is the “right” next step.
formed a partnership with the Brooklyn Volunteer Lawyers
Project to launch its COVID-19 Frontline Workers Initiative,

74 October 2021 |