Chubb Rule of Law Fund Continues Support for Projects to Advance Racial Justice

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Mar 21, 2023, 16:10 ET

$1 million Awarded to Projects Promoting Equity in Policing and Prosecutions

NEW YORK, March 21, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Chubb announced today that its innovative Chubb Rule of Law Fund, supported by 16 law firms and the Chubb Charitable Foundation, awarded four new grants in late 2022 totaling $1 million to fund programs to promote equity and advance racial justice in the U.S. criminal justice system.

The new racial justice grants advance the Fund's efforts that began in 2020 to focus on combating racism in America's justice system, including renewed funding to three 2021 grantees that demonstrated progress in improving police and community relations, advancing understanding between police and the people they serve, and reducing racial and social inequities in the criminal justice process.

"When the Chubb Rule of Law Fund focused on domestic racial justice issues in 2020, that support centered on the relationship between law enforcement and the community it serves, understanding that public safety requires mutual trust between these groups," said Joseph Wayland, Executive Vice President, Chubb Group and General Counsel. "The four organizations receiving funding are at the forefront of building that mutual trust. As a company and as individuals, Chubb strives to create a culture of anti-racism, and our continued funding of these organizations advances this goal."

Since it was established in 2008, the Chubb Rule of Law Fund has made 71 grants to support the preservation and advancement of the rule of law. The projects range from supporting the development of rules-based legal systems, independent and knowledgeable judiciaries and anti-corruption measures to improving administrative procedures and access to legal services. In addition to racial justice projects, the Fund will focus on supporting projects that advance anticorruption, access to affordable justice, and maintaining democratic norms for the 2022-24 giving period.

The four racial justice grants awarded in 2022 are detailed below:

Equal Justice USA was awarded a $250,000 grant to continue to expand its community-led Trauma to Trust (T2T) public safety efforts in Newark, N.J. and establish T2T as a national model of community-led public safety. Trauma to Trust is an innovative program that increases empathy, understanding, trust, and accountability between community residents and police officers. Over multiple sessions, police and community members work with a trained facilitator to learn how historical and personal trauma affects their interactions and perceptions of one another, building trust and fairness in community policing. This is the fund's third grant to Equal Justice USA for the T2T program – 2021 funding enabled the program's expansion to Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

The Policing Project at NYU Law School received $250,000 to support three critical elements of its Transforming First Response – Reimagining Public Safety (RPS) project. The goal of RPS is to work closely with researchers, 911 professionals, communities, and police to develop a framework to categorize 911 calls by risk type to better inform and prepare first responders, while minimizing harm to the community through unnecessary police engagement. Our 2021 award supported the school's launch of RPS.

The Vera Institute of Justice was awarded $250,000 for Vera's Reshaping Prosecution program, helping local prosecutorial offices develop and implement significant reforms meant to limit incarceration or unnecessary involvement in the criminal justice system and improve community safety. Three local jurisdictions involved in the project will receive direct, on-the-ground support from Vera, while another five to ten jurisdictions will receive remote guidance and financial support to implement reforms. Vera will also be gathering research on which model of support is most effective and impactful. Vera's 2021 grant supported its Motion for Justice program, in which Vera worked directly with prosecutors in 12 jurisdictions to improve safety and address racial injustices by developing community-based diversion programs to connect individuals with services that enhance public safety.

The Mid-Atlantic Innocence Project (MAIP) was awarded $250,000 to extensively research Baltimore City exoneration cases and current criminal cases to identify patterns of practices within the Baltimore criminal justice system that are more likely to result in wrongful convictions. Following the three-year project, MAIP will use the data gathered to advance its advocacy in Baltimore City by recommending targeted reforms, including draft legislative actions or programs to improve trust between the police department and the community it serves. This project is also expected to improve MAIP's screening process and lead to more exonerations and ultimately improve public safety.

The 2022 grants continue the Chubb Rule of Law Fund's support for racial/social justice initiatives, which in recent years included grants to the Pennsylvania Innocence Project to address racial disparities in the criminal justice system by seeking to amend state law to provide for greater transparency of police misconduct and access to records of police investigations; to Community Legal Services of Philadelphia for a program focused on reforming occupational licensing laws, which often prevent people with criminal records from obtaining professional licenses; and to the Southern Center for Human Rights to develop a data model and database to provide an empirical basis to assess the impact of race in the administration of criminal justice in Georgia.

Sixteen law firms, which share Chubb's vision of collaboration between in-house and outside counsel to advance the rule of law globally, have committed to support the Fund annually from 2022 to 2024: Carlton Fields; Clyde & Co LLP; Cozen O'Connor; Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani, LLP; Jackson Lewis P.C.; Kennedys; Lewis Brisbois; Mullen Coughlin LLC; Norton Rose Fulbright; O'Melveny & Myers; Shook Hardy & Bacon, LLP; Sullivan & Cromwell LLP; Walker Wilcox Matousek, LLP; White & Williams LLP; Wilson Elser; and Wotton + Kearney.

About Chubb
Chubb is the world's largest publicly traded property and casualty insurance company. With operations in 54 countries and territories, Chubb provides commercial and personal property and casualty insurance, personal accident and supplemental health insurance, reinsurance and life insurance to a diverse group of clients. As an underwriting company, we assess, assume and manage risk with insight and discipline. We service and pay our claims fairly and promptly. The company is also defined by its extensive product and service offerings, broad distribution capabilities, exceptional financial strength and local operations globally. Parent company Chubb Limited is listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: CB) and is a component of the S&P 500 index. Chubb maintains executive offices in Zurich, New York, London, Paris and other locations, and employs approximately 34,000 people worldwide. Additional information can be found at: www.chubb.com

About the Chubb Charitable Foundation
The Chubb Charitable Foundation supports U.S.-based non-profit organizations through grant-making and projects aligned with defined focus areas including education, the environment, and poverty and health. The Foundation believes that meaningful contributions that support our communities globally provide lasting benefits to society, to Chubb and to Chubb employees. Through philanthropy, global partnerships and company sponsored-volunteer activities focused on giving the gift of time and donations, the Chubb Charitable Foundation supports clearly defined projects that solve problems with measurable and sustainable outcomes, helping people in the countries where we live and work build productive and healthy lives.

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