$18 million and growing: Perlmutter family deepens support for center for legal justice to advance criminal justice reform
Yeshiva University has announced a major new commitment from the Laura and Isaac Perlmutter Foundation, expanding support for the Perlmutter Center for Legal Justice (PCLJ) at Cardozo School of Law to a total of $16 million, with the potential to reach $18 million through a multi-year matching gift program that will fuel the Center’s work on wrongful convictions, excessive sentences and the misuse of forensic evidence while deepening Cardozo’s hands-on clinical training for future lawyers.
The Foundation’s additional $500,000 gift, combined with a pledge to match up to $500,000 annually for the next four years for funds raised by PCLJ, builds on the historic 2022 contribution that launched the Center—Cardozo’s largest gift ever—and reflects the Perlmutter’s’ long-standing commitment to pairing legal innovation with compassion for individuals who have been failed by the justice system.
This new commitment is part of nearly four decades of wide-ranging philanthropy by Laura and Isaac “Ike” Perlmutter, whose Foundation focuses on health care, social justice, the arts and community initiatives and has provided more than $78 million in support of organizations that are “selflessly helping others,” including major investments in cancer research at NYU Langone Medical Center, the Innocence Project, first-responder organizations and leading universities and cultural institutions.
Isaac Perlmutter, an Israeli immigrant who arrived in the United States with $250 and later helped rescue Marvel from bankruptcy before its multibillion‑dollar sale to Disney, and Laura Perlmutter, a driving force behind the couple’s Foundation, have become known for high-impact, often quiet philanthropy that blends strategic vision with a deep sense of personal responsibility toward vulnerable communities.
Rabbi Dr. Ari Berman, President of Yeshiva University, hailed the Perlmutters as embodying the University’s mission “to be a blessing to the world,” while Cardozo Dean Melanie Leslie emphasized that their generosity has rapidly elevated PCLJ into a national leader in criminal justice reform, transforming the educational experience for students and delivering real-world results for unjustly incarcerated clients whose cases might otherwise be ignored.
Through the leadership of Executive Director Josh Dubin and Deputy Director Derrick Hamilton, and bolstered by the Perlmutters’ continued support and by a $1 million partnership with Milbank LLP to establish the Milbank Exoneration and Resentencing Review Unit, the Perlmutter Center is poised to deepen its impact, expand its caseload, and broaden access to second chances—standing as a powerful extension of the Perlmutters’ broader philanthropic legacy in health, justice and community life.