Our Commitment

Because the law is a profession as well as a business, lawyers have special obligations to the administration of justice and the development of the law. We encourage our lawyers to meet these obligations through pro bono work, government service, service to the bar and teaching. We also urge our lawyers to write and speak on legal issues and to participate in the affairs of their larger communities. We are, as we have always been, a national leader in pro bono services and charitable activities.

We strongly believe that we have a responsibility to help strengthen our communities. We have a long history of supporting public institutions and charitable organizations in the communities in which we practice. We encourage leadership and support our attorneys through matching gift programs and service on boards and committees.

For decades, we have been known for our record of pro bono representation and community service—a record based on the belief that there is more to our professional mandate than advocacy for the most powerful and successful members of society. Our commitment to providing a voice for the least powerful is demonstrated by pro bono contributions that range from cases of national importance before the US Supreme Court to litigation on behalf of individuals who lack the means to secure necessities as fundamental as housing, adequate medical care and a safe home environment. Through these efforts and through community service initiatives that have grown into thriving partnerships, we work to enhance the quality of life for many in our local neighborhoods and around the globe.

Pro Bono History

A strong commitment to pro bono representation has been a hallmark of our firm since the early 20th century, when our partner Reginald Heber Smith—considered the father of legal aid in the United States—wrote the seminal book Justice and the Poor and galvanized the organized bar nationally to provide equal justice for those unable to afford counsel. More than seven decades later, in 1992, our partner John Pickering led the effort to establish the Pro Bono Institute’s Law Firm Pro Bono Challenge and ensured that we were its charter signatory. Today, as measured by The American Lawyer, our pro bono program ranks among the best in the country.

Our lawyers have been involved in many of the influential legal cases and social developments that have shaped the nation. In 1954, Joseph N. Welch, assisted by James D. St. Clair and John (Jack) Kimball, represented the US Army on a pro bono basis in the nationally televised Army-McCarthy hearings. In 1963, Lloyd Cutler and others served as the leading force in creating the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law at the request of President John F. Kennedy.

Our pro bono efforts have also influenced historic developments around the globe. Through the Southern Africa Legal Support and Education Project, we joined with others to fight apartheid and establish the rule of law in South Africa. Our lawyers also helped draft the democratic constitution of then Czechoslovakia following the end of communism in that country.

On the domestic front, we helped establish Lawyers for Children America, a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing services and advancing pro bono advocacy for abused children enmeshed in the child welfare system. In addition, we have consistently worked to safeguard the rights of many of our nation's neediest citizens in housing, criminal defense and death penalty cases.