June.28.2021
The American Lawyer again ranked Orrick among the top law firms in pro bono impact in the U.S. and internationally. We ranked #4 in the U.S. among the top 200 firms in the nation, the fourth consecutive year our team has been in the top five on the list. We ranked #5 in international pro bono this year, the sixth straight year as one of the top ten pro bono firms globally.
The rankings reflect our strong commitment to making a pro bono impact amid the Covid-19 pandemic and demand for social, racial and economic justice around the nation. Nearly 100 percent of our U.S. lawyers contributed at least 20 hours of pro bono service this past year, while more than 86 percent of our international team met that standard.
The work of our teams included securing a court order protecting immigrants against Covid in border detention facilities; shutting down a political robocall campaign designed to dissuade minority voters from going to the polls; ensuring public disclosure of police misconduct records in New York; protecting the rights of asylum seekers in the Greek islands; gaining an unprecedented order from California’s governor to re-examine the case of a death row inmate who may be innocent; and collaborating with PayPal on its first investment program for black and Latinx VC funds, social enterprise Maziwa in China and the Rainforest Foundation in the UK.
“There was real commitment and motivation, given the rather dire circumstances we saw in society in the pandemic,” Pro Bono Counsel Rene Kathawala told the publication.
In addition to Rene, International Pro Bono Counsel Amy Grunske led our pro bono efforts.