Pro bono isn’t just what we do, it is part of who we are and has been for more than a century
Milbank was ranked sixth for pro bono on the American Lawyer’s elite 2011 A-List, and our commitment to pro bono dates back to our founding.
Milbank is one of the few firms to require each and every attorney, regardless of status or practice area, to dedicate 20 hours minimum to pro bono work annually. In 2010 our domestic lawyers averaged 125 hours each of pro bono work, totaling 55,427 hours.
Our unique Fellowship program for first-year and fourth-year associates enables associates to work at full pay for three months at a pro bono legal services provider of their choice. In the program’s more than 10 years of existence, associates have volunteered in excess of half a million hours.
Long Tradition of Public Service
Name partner Harrison Tweed set the stage for pro bono at Milbank by also serving as president of the Legal Aid Society of New York for more than a decade. Since then, public service has been part of who we are. From prior Chairman, Alexander Forger, who served as President of both The Legal Services Corporation and The Legal Aid Society, to our current Chairman, Mel Immergut, who serves as Vice Chairman and as a Trustee of the Legal Aid Society, our committment to public service remains strong.
We were an original signatory to the American Bar Association’s Law Firm Pro Bono Challenge, which requires firms to contribute, at a minimum, an amount of time equal to 3 percent of the firm’s total billable hours to pro bono work. In 2010, Milbank far exceeded this goal.
Milbank was also the first major New York law firm to appoint a partner, Joseph Steven Genova, to serve as the Director of Public Service.
In addition to our strong ties to the Legal Aid Society, we have longstanding relationships with dozens of exceptional programs around the country that provide pro bono opportunities, and that list continues to grow.
In the late 1930s, Harrison Tweed wrote "providing competent legal services for all is an obligation of the bar." More than half a century later, public service remains an obligation we’re proud to fulfill.