Daniel Brown hadn’t yet passed the bar when he took on a pro bono case that launched what has become a years-long legal crusade.

As a first-year associate at Bickel & Brewer in 1999, Brown—who is now a commercial litigation partner at Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton—sued the New York Road Runners Club over its practice of forcing wheelchair-bound racers to temporarily exit the New York City marathon course ahead of the finish line in order to make way for elite competitors.