NEW YORK, July 1, 2015 – Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy LLP’s exceptional commitment to pro bono is reflected in the firm’s strong showing on The American Lawyer’s 2015 Pro Bono Report.
For the second year in a row, the firm rose in Am Law’s national Pro Bono rankings, placing 13th among the Am Law 200, up from 15th last year, and 17th the year before. The rankings are based on a score that combines the percentage of lawyers who worked 20 or more pro bono hours, which Am Law uses to measure a firm’s “breadth of commitment,” with the average number of hours contributed for the year. Am Law also ranked those components independently for the first time this year, placing Milbank 10th in breadth of commitment and 17th in average hours (at 94 hours per US lawyer, or just over 44,000 hours in 2014).
Pro bono performance is factored into Am Law’s annual A-List of elite firms, to be published later this summer. In 2014, Milbank earned the fourth-place spot on the A-List.
At Milbank, pro bono service is an essential part of the firm’ s culture and lawyers’ careers. All lawyers are expected to devote at least 20 hours annually to pro bono, and first-year associates have the opportunity to spend three months, at full salary, working at a pro bono legal services organization of their choice. The firm’s recent pro bono work includes cases involving the death penalty, essential benefits for individuals with disabilities, voting, immigration, and other civil rights.
