Dechert LLP's Pro Bono Program was recently recognized by The Financial Times and Law360 for its on-going efforts. The firm was also selected by American Lawyer earlier this year as a top pro bono firm.

One of 10 firms named as a Pro Bono Firm of 2010 by Law360, Dechert was singled out for its worldwide commitment to pro bono. Suzanne Turner, Dechert's pro bono chair since 2001, noted that the firm has a "big tent philosophy" with goals to match "skill sets in the firm with the needs of a community." The Law360 award "honors firms that stood out above the rest, not only for the amount of free legal work performed by their lawyers but for their willingness to tackle tough pro bono cases with the same commitment that they bring to paid work."

Law360 profiled several Dechert pro bono projects, including a human trafficking case and a civil rights case for a paraplegic man in Philadelphia, as well as the firm's long-standing prison civil rights program.

Dechert was one of four firms named to the "Standout" level for pro bono in the December 1 issue of "Innovative Lawyers" in The Financial Times, which cited the firm's landlord-tenant program in Philadelphia -- the same program highlighted in The American Lawyer's July issue on pro bono.

Dechert was also recently honored at the 12th Annual McKinney-Vento Awards hosted by the National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty on October 14 in Washington, D.C. The firm was given the Pro Bono Counsel Award at that event. Dechert and individual attorneys David Hoffner, Sarah Mendola and K. Keely Rankin, were honored for outstanding service at the Legal Aid Society of New York's 2010 Pro Bono Awards held November 4.

Legal Services of New York, in its annual Pro Bono Recognition Awards Breakfast scheduled for December 7, will recognize Dechert attorneys Kira Brereton, Daniel L. Clausen, Claudia de Alba, Elise Dolan, Malcolm Dorris, Adam Fox, Nicole Herther-Spiro, Steven Kirberger, Jeffrey Mispagel, James Moore, Debra O'Gorman, Darina O'Connor, Thomas Rayski, Glenn Siegel, Steven Smith and Derek Winokur for their work on pro bono matters during 2010.