Milbank LLP is pleased to announce that it has been ranked #9 for Breadth of Commitment to Pro Bono, with over 91% of US lawyers committing 20 or more hours to pro bono work, in The American Lawyer’s 2020 Pro Bono Scorecard. The firm also ranked #21 on the Pro Bono scorecard, which ranks Am Law 200 firms based on the average number of pro bono hours per US lawyer and the percentage of lawyers in the US who dedicated over 20 hours to pro bono work.
Underscoring Milbank’s dedication to pro bono service and advocacy, the firm averaged 80.9 pro bono hours per US-based lawyer in 2019 and contributed over 62,000 pro bono hours globally. Milbank is among the few firms that requires attorneys of all practices to dedicate a minimum of 25 pro bono hours each year.
“We’re deeply honored to be once again recognized for our firm-wide commitment to pro bono work,” said Milbank Chairman Scott A. Edelman. “We will continue to advocate for change and access to justice by facilitating pro bono projects that support affected communities.”
“The events of the past few months—from the COVID-19 pandemic and its outsize impacts on disadvantaged communities, to nationwide demonstrations over the need for racial justice and police accountability—have only further highlighted the importance and need of our participation in pro bono matters,” he added.
The firm has already had a number of pro bono successes and notable cases in 2020. This includes winning an appeal reviving a lawsuit by inmate Carlos Bowman alleging abuse by guards, a victory at the Supreme Court of New York when it ordered the New York Police Department to release unredacted footage of the 2018 shooting of Susan Muller, and its ongoing representation of All Muslim Association of America Inc. (“AMAA”) in its lawsuit against efforts to block AMAA’s development of a religious cemetery. Furthermore, following Milbank’s filing of an amicus brief arguing that the Fifth Circuit’s decision to uphold a Louisiana abortion law applied an “erroneous causation analysis,” the US Supreme Court struck down the Circuit court’s decision in June Medical Services LLC v. Russo.
Additional information on this year’s Am Law 200 Pro Bono Scorecard can be found here. Read more about Milbank’s dedication to pro bono work here.
