The American Lawyer has ranked Orrick #3 for pro bono impact among the nation’s top 200 law firms, a jump of six spots over last year and the fifth consecutive year our firm has ranked in the top ten. We ranked #6 in the international pro bono rankings for the second year in a row.
The rankings reflect a true team effort: 96.4 percent of our U.S. lawyers contributed at least 20 hours of pro bono service, averaging 134 hours, and the firm’s lawyers worldwide contributed more than 104,000 pro bono hours.
Examples of our firm’s impact include a successful constitutional challenge to Missouri’s underfunded public defender system; crafting legislation adopted in more than a half dozen states criminalizing sexual extortion; persuading a federal court to invalidate Louisiana’s “debtor prisons; and successfully blocking key parts of a California ballot measure that hastened death penalty appeals. Our appellate practice won significant victories for immigrant rights in the U.S. Supreme Court.
We secured a rare grant of asylum in Japan on behalf of an Ethiopian refugee, helped grow pro bono clearinghouses in Germany and Italy and advised on an innovative impact financing in the Middle East..
The American Lawyer interviewed Orrick Board member
Annette Hurst, who observed that pro bono is “simply an ingrained part of the firm’s culture.”
Amy Heading, who joined Orrick’s London office in March to head our international pro bono practice in collaboration with
Rene Kathawala, pro bono counsel in New York, told the publication that the profession’s focus on pro bono is “gaining steam” in Europe and Asia. “The progression that has happened, specifically in the last five to 10 years, is incredible,” Amy said. “I’m really excited to see what is going to happen in the next five to 10 years.”
Earlier this year,
The National Law Journal named the firm to its pro bono “Hot List” for the third time. In addition,
Law360 has recognized us as a “Pro Bono All Star.”