What We Do
Through the Firm’s Pro Bono Committee, we offer attorneys many opportunities to provide pro bono legal advice and support to underserved individuals, communities and organizations.
In 2025, Willkie pro bono volunteers devoted over 92,000 hours on more than 715 pro bono matters, with 232 new pro bono matters opened in 2025 alone.
Willkie has a long-standing commitment to serving the underprivileged and communities in need, and we take great pride in the volume and variety of work the firm performs on a pro bono basis. Willkie’s global pro bono work with underrepresented clients is extensive and encompasses a broad range of causes and issues. Willkie is proud to be a member of and to support the following organizations:
- Alliance for Asian American Justice, a nationwide coalition formed to provide legal support and advocacy to survivors of anti-Asian hate crimes and harassment.
- Willkie is a member of Appleseed Network’s Pro Bono Advisory Council. Appleseed is a network of justice centers in the United States and Mexico working to reduce poverty and fight discrimination.
- Willkie is an ambassador for the Institute of International Education – Scholar Rescue Fund Alliance, a global network that supports the rescue of an unprecedented number of threatened and displaced scholars around the world.
- Lawyers for Racial Justice, a long-term initiative through the Lawyers for Good Government, addressing issues such as voting rights, immigration and police reform.
- Legal Alliance for Reproductive Rights, a nationwide coalition of law firms offering pro bono legal services to individuals seeking reproductive care in the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson. Willkie is also a member of the Southern California Legal Alliance for Reproductive Justice.The Law Firm Antiracism Alliance, a private law firm collaboration with the goal of dedicating pro bono resources to address systemic racism.
Willkie consistently exceeds the benchmarks set by the following commitments and is recognized across multiple jurisdictions for its attorneys' dedication to pro bono service:
- Willkie is a signatory to the Pro Bono Institute’s Law Firm Challenge, committing to annually contributing a minimum amount of pro bono time equal to 3 percent of the firm’s total billable hours or 60 hours per attorney to pro bono work.
- Willkie is also a signatory to the Pro Bono Declaration for the Americas, committing to an average of 20 hours of pro bono work annually per attorney.
- Willkie has dozens of attorneys, admitted to the New York bar, who provide 50 or more hours of pro bono service annually, who are recognized each year by the New York State Bar Association as Empire State Counsel® honorees.
- Willkie is consistently recognized by the D.C. Circuit at its annual 40 at 50: Judicial Pro Bono Recognition Event, which recognizes firms where at least 40% of a firm’s D.C. lawyers perform at least 50 hours of qualifying pro bono legal service in a given year.
- Willkie attorneys, admitted to the D.C. bar, who provide 50 or more hours of pro bono service annually, are recognized each year by the D.C. Court of Appeals on the Capital Pro Bono Honor Roll.
- Willkie London office barristers and solicitors, who have given 25 or more hours of pro bono legal assistance annually, are recognized each year on the Pro Bono Recognition List of England & Wales.
Firm Awards
- Conservancy Award, Frank Llyod Wright Building Conservancy (2026)
- Outside Counsel Community Impact Award, LPL Financial (2025)
- A-List Firm, The American Lawyer (2023, 2024, 2025)
- Pro Bono Scorecard, The American Lawyer (2024, 2025)
- Pro Bono Honor Roll, National Women's Law Center (2024, 2025)
- Stir Splatter + Roll Honoree, Publicolor (2025)
- Free Legal Answers Summer Associate Challenge, Shortlisted, ABA (2025)
- The Lawyer Awards UK 2025, Shortlisted – Pro Bono Initiative of the Year
- Environmental & Sustainability: Outstanding Firm, Chambers USA Awards (2024)
- Outstanding Firm for Pro Bono, Shortlisted, Chambers USA Awards (2023, 2024)
- Leaders of Influence: Most Admired Law Firms to Work for 2024, The Los Angeles Business Journal
- Empire State Counsel Law Firm Award, NYSBA (2023, 2024)
- Pro Bono Innovators, Bloomberg Law (2023, 2024)
- Most Effective Pro Bono Partnership, LawWorks 2023 UK Pro Bono Awards
Individual Awards
- Inner City Law Center Humanitarian Award Recipient (2026)
- Legal Aid Chicago Volunteer of the Year Award Recipient (2025)
- ABA Military Pro Bono Project Outstanding Services Award Recipient (2025)
- 2025 Empire State Counsel Outstanding Pro Bono Volunteer
- Legal Aid Society 48th Annual Servant of Justice Award (2025)
- 2025 Excellence in Pro Bono and Public Interest Service Award, U.S. Court for the Northern District of Illinois (awarded posthumously to partner Michael Babbitt)
- The AmLaw Litigation Daily Litigator of the Week – multiple Willkie pro bono teams recognized (2023, 2024, 2025)
- NYSBA 2024 LGBTQ+ Vanguard Award
- The American Lawyer 2024 Attorney of the Year Finalist
- The Legal Aid Society Pro Bono Publico Awards (annually)
- UCLA School of Law 2023 U. Serve L.A. Award
- Legal Services NYC 2023 Jazz for Justice Honoree