Personally satisfying, professionally enriching, helping those unable to pay for legal assistance is fundamental to who we are and we’ve been doing it for more than 100 years. Milbank was among the first law firms to have a partner solely devoted to our pro bono practice with the goal of making it easy to work hard for people and organizations in need of advocacy or advice. As evidence that we lead with our hearts, in 2012 our domestic lawyers averaged of 77.5 hours each of pro bono work, totaling 33,570 hours dedicated to volunteer efforts.
Time Well Spent
We have no cap on pro bono hours. In fact, we go out of our way to find you a great project. We’ll match you with an individual client or not-for-profit organization. Or follow your own passion, cause or concern, whether that’s obtaining rights for the disabled, reuniting a child with her mother or helping someone navigate the legal system.
Go Ahead, Change the World
We encourage associates to take advantage of Milbank’s Fellowship program. Our first and fourth years can work for three months at full pay in service to a person, organization or cause they deem worthy. In the program’s more than 10 years of existence, associates have volunteered in excess of half a million hours.
“When I heard the story of Leyda Cuellar, I thought this degree of injustice can’t be true. Her daughter gets abducted in broad daylight at an Australian airport by the child’s father and a Federal judge refuses to grant her relief. This was the first time I ever dealt with a case where the stakes were so high on such a personal level. I argued before the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit to return the child to her home country of Panama, and fortunately, we won.”
--Kevin Ashby/Senior Associate/New York
“An uncontested divorce really isn’t a complex matter. But when you’re poor, and you don’t know the law and you don’t speak the language every step seems daunting. One woman I’m helping told me ‘this is the first time in my life I feel like I’ve accomplished something.’ It’s hard not to take these cases personally. The emotional payoff can be bigger than when you close a billion dollar deal. ”
--Roland Estevez/Senior Associate/New York
“I had worked with people with disabilities so I knew that I wanted to be involved with their protection and advocacy. For my Fellowship, I volunteered with Disability Rights California on litigation against the Los Angeles juvenile halls, where youth with developmental disabilities weren’t receiving appropriate services and support. We actually settled the case, and as a result, the halls are implementing policies, procedures and programs for minors with disabilities.”
--Alisa Schlesinger/Midlevel Associate/Los Angeles