Pro Bono Happy Hour

At the PBI 2026 Annual Conference held in Washington, D.C., Nihad Mansour, host of the PBI Pro Bono Happy Hour podcast, and Alicia Aiken, host of the Practising Law Institute Pursuing Justice podcast, recorded interviews with Conference attendees. This special, collaborative episode features inspiring pro bono stories and insights from a few of those interviewees, including Sirena Castillo (Manatt...

Corebridge Financial partners with the Alliance for Children’s Rights in Southern California to help children in foster care find permanent homes through adoption and legal guardianship. Through this initiative, Corebridge attorneys and paralegals prepare adoption documents and represent families in court, ensuring adoptions are finalized on National Adoption Days. Their work has brought joy to co...

Kramer Levin’s commitment to justice is powerfully exemplified in its pro bono work to overturn the wrongful conviction of Anthony Hall, who spent 26 years in prison for a crime he did not commit. Through relentless legal advocacy, strategic litigation, and an impactful partnership with Mid-Atlantic Innocence Project, the firm fought to expose critical flaws in the case – from unreliable eyewitnes...

Accenture has been a leader in expanding legal access, with impactful projects like Disability:In and a name change pro bono initiative in Brazil with NGO Casa Florescer. These efforts highlight how in-house legal teams can structure and deliver different pro bono legal services, even within the same corporation. In this Challenge Signatory Showcase episode of the Pro Bono Happy Hour podcast, Niha...

Mattos Filho, Veiga Filho, Marrey Jr. e Quiroga has been a trailblazer in advancing access to justice in Brazil, dedicating its pro bono efforts to some of the most pressing social issues. Their work addresses racial discrimination, women’s rights, LGBTQ+ rights, and refugee protection, leaving a profound and lasting impact on both individuals and communities. In 2023 alone, the firm provided appr...

The St. Louis Pro Bono Partnership is a remarkable collaboration involving three key organizations, Citigroup Inc. (Citi), Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner, and the local legal aid organization, Legal Services of Eastern Missouri, that are focused on providing legal support to underserved communities. The partnership is a testament to the impact that can be achieved through collaboration. From elderly...

In 2022, Corporate Pro Bono (CPBO), the global in-house project of Pro Bono Institute (PBI), partnered with the legal department of Entergy Corporation and Edison Electric Institute (EEI) to establish EmPOWERing Pro Bono Day. EmPOWERing Pro Bono Day is an annual day of pro bono service for volunteer attorneys and legal staff from electric and gas companies. For the past two years on EmPOWERing Pro...

In partnership with The Bronx Defenders, Cleary attorneys have been supporting the launch of New York State’s Conditional Adult-Use Retail Dispensary licensing program. The first of its kind, this program prioritizes licensing individuals affected by the past criminalization of marijuana use. We spoke with Cleary Gottlieb Pro Bono Counsel, Katherine Hughes, for this PBEye Signatory Showcase podcas...

In 2023, 148 members of GSK's Legal and Compliance Department global pro bono program served 160 clients,providing over 1200 hours of service. Since 2015, GSK has partnered with Homeless Advocacy Project (HAP), an organization that provides free legal services to individuals and families who experience or face homelessness in Philadelphia. GSK lawyers and legal professionals assist with securing b...

In 2021, Intel Corporation partnered with legal service organizations across the country to provide pro bono assistance through expungement clinics in support of their commitment to racial justice.  With unique volunteer opportunities available for all staff, Intel was able to bring in a much larger group of volunteers beyond attorneys. Their teams quickly saw an overwhelmingly positive impact wit...

ADM and Skadden formed a pro bono partnership in 2019 to create a series of pro bono days of service, including clinics hosted in Skadden’s office. Since then, they have provided pro bono legal assistance to an array of clients – and over the years the partnership has averaged in assisting 12 to 40 individuals during each clinic. ADM and Skadden have worked most recently with the National Immigran...

Religious Discrimination Milbank LLP In a pro bono case Milbank represented All Muslim Association of America (AMAA), a non-profit that provides low-cost burial and funeral services to Muslims in the DMV area, against a county in Virginia that created an ordinance that specifically made it impossible for AMAA to put a cemetery on their property. Milbank prevailed, resulting in the county rolling b...

Racial Justice Crowell & Moring On June 28, 2021, in a victory for racial justice, a settlement was announced on behalf of four residents of Baltimore’s Harlem Park, a predominately Black neighborhood, who filed a federal court lawsuit against the Baltimore City Police Department (BPD) and former Police Commissioner Kevin Davis. The residents’ lawsuit charged that their state and federal const...

Robins Kaplan Pro Bono and Indigenous People In a pro bono case that has drawn national attention, Robins Kaplan sued the federal government on behalf of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe after the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services closed the only emergency room on the Rosebud Reservation. On behalf of the Tribe, Robins Kaplan attorneys argued that the closure of the emergency room violated the f...

Attorney Fees Reed Smith In this episode, PBI interviews Chris Walters, Senior Pro Bono Counsel at Reed Smith. Chris describes Reed Smith’s successful appeal in the Ninth Circuit of a lower court’s refusal to grant Reed Smith attorney fees in conjunction with the firm’s pro bono representation of a mistreated prisoner in the California correctional system. Listen and learn about best practices whe...

Expanding Access to Justice DLA Piper For 14 years, Mexico Appleseed has been growing a network of law firms and corporate counsel engaging in pro bono in Mexico. In this episode, NihadMansour, Assistant Director, Law Firm Pro Bono Project® interviews Lisa Dewey, Pro Bono Partner, in DLA Piper’s Washington DC office, Maru Cortazar Executive Director of Mexico Appleseed and Gabriela Alaña, Partner,...

Assistance for Ukraine Interview with L4GG’s Lauren Worsek Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 has given rise to many legal needs for those in Ukraine. In this episode, Nihad Mansour, Assistant Director, Law Firm Pro Bono Project® interviews Lauren Worsek, Director of Pro Bono Initiatives at Lawyers for Good Government (L4GG). Hear more about L4GG’s pro bono program offering assistance to those i...

Well-Being and Pro Bono Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP In honor of May Mental Health Awareness Month, PBI takes a look at what one firm, Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP, is doing to support health & wellness through pro bono. In this episode, Nihad interviews Jonathan Baum, Senior Counsel and Director of Pro Bono Services, and Janet Hoffman, Senior Counsel and Pro Bono Counsel. Hear ways in which Katte...

Since 2020, many law firms have incorporated new racial justice efforts into their pro bono programs. Some have hired pro bono professional staff whose primary focus is to expand the firm’s racial justice work. Others have expanded the roles and responsibilities of their pro bono professionals to include racial justice. In this episode, hear from pro bono professional staff focused on racial justi...

As we wind down 2021 and gear up for 2022, PBI takes a look back at 2020, which was an extraordinary year for legal pro bono, despite the many challenges. In this episode, Nihad interviews members of the PBI Team, Eve Runyon, President & CEO, Erik Swenson, Director of Law Firm Pro Bono Project and Alyssa Saunders, Director of Corporate Pro Bono. Hear Eve, Erik, and Alyssa share reflections on the...

In this episode, PBI interviews access to justice leaders, Tony West, Karen Lash, and Maha Jweied who all played an integral part in leading the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) first office for Access to Justice, which was formally established in 2016.  Hear Tony, Karen, and Maha share more about the exciting recent announcements by the President and Attorney General on relaunching some of the work...

"We have to challenge the status quo and model the way." In this episode, PBI interviews Jo-Ann Wallace, President and CEO of the National Legal Aid and Defender Association (NLADA), to learn more about NLADA’s continued efforts to assist civil legal aid, public defenders and client and community advocates through the pandemic. Hear how NLADA is addressing unemployment benefits, remote court syste...

In this episode, PBI interviews Ron Flagg, President of the Legal Services Corporation (LSC), to learn more about the LSC eviction study that launched in September 2020. With many out of work and unable to pay rent due to the coronavirus pandemic, the nation finds itself in a heightened eviction crisis. Hear more about the LSC eviction study and what steps LSC is taking to prepare for and address...

"Don't let good be the enemy of the ok." PBI interviews Becky Troth, Executive Director of the DC Bar Pro Bono Center. As the largest provider of pro bono legal services in DC, the DC Bar Pro Bono Center continues to offer pro bono help amidst the global pandemic. Hear more about how the DC Bar Pro Bono Center is serving the District while keeping the spirit of teamwork, collaboration and voluntee...

"This is about justice." PBI interviews Judge Jonathan Lippman, of counsel at Latham & Watkins in New York City and a former Chief Judge of the New York State Court of Appeals. Judge Lippman is also the chair of New York's COVID-19 Pro Bono Network, a task force created by the New York State Bar Association, in partnership with the state court system. Hear more about the the work of the task force...