Pro Bono - A World of Good

• Ranked #1 in Legal Week’s “Best Law Firms for Pro Bono in the UK” 2023 rankings.  (The complete rankings can be found here.)
• Craig Druehl was honored at the New York State Unified Court System’s Office for Justice Initiatives Pro Bono Awards Ceremony – for his over 12 years in supporting the New York City Family Court Volunteer Program.   Hassan Ahmed, Allan Brilliant, Allison Fumai, and Shmuel Vasser were  also recognized for their dedication to the Family Court program.
• Melissa Wollis was named to VOL’s Pro Bono Dean’s List. Read an interview about her pro bono experiences.
• On behalf of Dechert,  Arielle Dragon and Andrew Stahl accepted the Hero of Service Award at NYLAG’s 2023 Pro Bono Awards for their work (along with Ben Rosenberg and Chip Boisvert) on a public benefits class action. 
• Pete McGinley received a  Pro Bono Star Award by Human Rights First for his immigration work.  He was one of only four honorees nationwide (out of thousands of volunteers).
• Mark Thierfelder and Maurico España accepted the Legal Aid Society of New York’s 2023 Honorable Jonathan Lippman New York Pro Bono Publico & Public Service Law Firm Award - Read more
• For the second year in a row, Dechert was recognized by The National Law Journal  as an “ESG and Community Impact Leader”.
• Green Pro Bono honored Dechert with its 2023 Green Pro Bono Creative Collaborator Award for helping develop their first “Office Hours Program.”
• For the Financial Times Innovative Lawyers Awards North America, Dechert is shortlisted in the “Innovative Lawyers in Access to justice and civil rights” category for our work with Freedom Now.
• Dechert’s Boston office was one of only six firms/organizations to make the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court’s Pro Bono Honor Roll  this year.   Additionally, we had 25 attorneys named to the two individual honor rolls: high honor roll (100 plus hours) and honor roll  (50-99 hours) -- Read more
• 2023 Samuel E. Klein Pro Bono Awards - Dechert's annual Samuel E. Klein Pro Bono Awards recognize and honor those in the Dechert community who have demonstrated exceptional commitment to providing pro bono legal services. The awards were established in memory of Dechert partner Sam Klein, whose skill as a highly regarded First Amendment lawyer was as evident in his passion for public service as it was in his private practice. All award recipients are able to designate a legal services charity to which the Firm will make a donation.
• The National Legal Aid & Defender Association (NLADA) awarded Dechert with a 2023 Beacon of Justice Award for its pro bono work
• Champion of Democracy Award – Neil Steiner was honored at the 2023 Common Cause New York Awards Reception for his dedicated efforts to preserve voting rights and help Common Cause New York fight for democratic values.
• TrustLaw named Dechert International Law Firm of the Year 2023 for Pro Bono Service
• DC 40@50 Award – Dechert’s DC office was recognized as part of the DC 40@50 awards by the D.C. Circuit Judicial Conference Standing Committee on Pro Bono Legal Services as a law firm with at least 40% of lawyers contributing a minimum of 50 pro bono legal services in 2022
  
• Chambers Ireland, at their Sustainable Business Impact Awards, recognized Dechert with their Volunteering Award for our work in uniting with the Irish Red Cross to deliver legal outreach clinics and frontline support to 840 displaced Ukrainians.

2022 Samuel E. Klein Pro Bono Awards - Dechert's annual Samuel E. Klein Pro Bono Awards recognize and honor those in the Dechert community who have demonstrated exceptional commitment to providing pro bono legal services. The awards were established in memory of Dechert partner Sam Klein, whose skill as a highly regarded First Amendment lawyer was as evident in his passion for public service as it was in his private practice. All award recipients are able to designate a legal services charity to which the Firm will make a donation.

In its 2022 edition, The American Lawyer ranked Dechert #2 for international pro bono work and #9 for U.S. pro bono work. 

Law.com International ranked Dechert #2 in their list of top law firms for pro bono in the U.K. in 2022.

The National Law Journal Legal Award selected Dechert for their ESG & Community Impact Award.

DC 40@50 Award – Dechert’s DC office was recognized as part of the DC 40@50 awards by the D.C. Circuit Judicial Conference Standing Committee on Pro Bono Legal Services as a law firm with at least 40% of lawyers contributing a minimum of 50 pro bono legal services in 2021.

2022 Beacon of Justice Award – the National Legal Aid and Defender Association honored Dechert with its Beacon of Justice Award for the firm’s pro bono work in the area of racial justice.

White Hat Award – In October 2022, Dechert was awarded Philadelphia's Legal Clinic for the Disabled’s White Hat award for your team's hard work throughout the pandemic to continue pro bono work for our clients.

2022 Award for Humanitarian Service - In recognition of the invaluable pro bono assistance provided by Dechert LLP, Urban Pathways honored the firm with their 2022 Award for Humanitarian Service.

The Law Society of Hong Kong's Pro Bono and Community Work Recognition Program recognized Dechert's Hong Kong office with its Gold Law Firm Award and Distinguished Pro Bono Law Firm Award – the highest possible honor. (Only one other firm received this award). Many individual lawyers in the Hong Kong office also received Gold, Silver and Bronze awards in recognition of their own pro bono work.

2021 Samuel E. Klein Pro Bono Awards - Dechert's annual Samuel E. Klein Pro Bono Awards recognize and honor those in the Dechert community who have demonstrated exceptional commitment to providing pro bono legal services. The awards were established in memory of Dechert partner Sam Klein, whose skill as a highly regarded First Amendment lawyer was as evident in his passion for public service as it was in his private practice. All award recipients are able to designate a legal services charity to which the Firm will make a donation.

In its 2021 edition, The American Lawyer ranked Dechert #1 for international pro bono work and #7 for U.S. pro bono work. 

In 2021, UK Legal Week ranked Dechert #6 in its annual Best Law Firms for UK Pro Bono rankings.

2021 Thurgood Marshall Award for Exceptional Commitment to Pro Bono Service – presented to Neil Steiner for his voting rights work by The Federal Bar Council.

2021 Beacon of Justice Award – the National Legal Aid and Defender Association honored Dechert with its Beacon of Justice Award for the firm’s pro bono work.

At the Boston Bar Association Beacon Awards, Dechert received the 2021 Empowerment Award as part of a consortium of firms that participated in the COVID-19 Relief Coalition.

Dechert’s Charlotte office received the Pro Bono Award at the annual meeting of the Mecklenburg Bar Association for pro bono work with the Council for Children's Rights.  

A Brussels-based pro bono team was recognized in The Financial Times Innovative Lawyers report for Europe for “Innovation in Sustainability and ESG” in 2021 for their pro bono work achieving change in competition law to accommodate fair trade and sustainability initiatives.

Dechert’s Paris office was honored at the Alliance des Avocats pour les Droits de l’Homme’s 2021 gala for work helping unaccompanied minors with immigration proceedings.

The Legal Aid Society of New York recognized two Dechert teams as recipients of the 2021 Pro Bono Publico Award for work in the area of labor trafficking and a class action foster parent disqualification matter.   

The Hong Kong Law Society's 2021 Pro Bono and Community Work Recognition Program awarded Dechert the Gold Law Firm Award as well as the Improvement Award. 

In October 2021, Dechert was honored by Pro Bono Partnership at its annual gala with a special “Pandemic Response Award” in recognition of its work advising nonprofits applying for government relief through the Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program.

In October 2021, Allison Fumai was recognized for her outstanding work and dedication to the New York City Family Court Volunteer Attorney Program.

Chicago Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights presented Dechert with its 2021 Law Firm Pro Bono Award for “outstanding pro bono partnership around voting rights.” 

Pro Bono Publico Award 2020 - American Bar Association
Neil Steiner was recognized for extraordinary and sustained commitment to pro bono service. For nearly 15 years, Neil has led pro bono teams at Dechert in challenging discriminatory voting restrictions adopted by a large number of states.

Pro Bono Award - LexisNexis Legal Awards 2020
Dechert was named winner of the “Pro Bono Award” at the LexisNexis Legal Awards 2020 for the work of an international pro bono team in helping win the release of Mohammed Ould Mkhaitir, a Mauritanian blogger condemned to death for apostasy. 

Pro Bono Hot List 2020 - The National Law Journal
The NLJ profile featured the work of senior staff attorney James Figorski, who dedicated years of work to win freedom for two pro bono clients imprisoned for crimes they didn’t commit. 

Pro Bono Recognition Roster - Public Interest Law Initiative (PILI) – Chicago

National Public Service Award 2020 - ABA Business Law Section

National Public Service Award 2019 - American Bar Association’s Business Law Section
Eric Brunstad was honored in recognition of his extraordinary commitment to pro bono service. Brunstad has represented many parties in bankruptcy and bankruptcy-related cases that, without his assistance, would likely never have seen their “day in court”.

European Innovative Lawyers Awards 2019 - Financial Times
Commended in the “Access to Justice” category. A team of Moscow-based lawyers, including associates Yuri Makhonin, Maryana Batalova and Pavel Dunaev, was commended for fighting on a pro bono basis to win systemic reform on mental health issues in Russia. 

Pro Bono Awards 2019 - LawWorks
- “Best International Pro Bono Award”, winner – for the work of an international pro bono team led by London partner Paul Kavanagh and Paris-based national partner Marie Fillon in helping win the release of Mohammed Ould Mkhaitir, a Mauritanian blogger condemned to death for apostasy. 
- “Best New Pro Bono Activity”, joint winner – for a multi-firm project in which Dechert worked with Bail for Immigration Detainees (BID) and three other law firms to secure funding to cover the legal costs of particularly vulnerable clients who faced deportation.

Citizens Bank Achievement Award 2019 - Philadelphia Bar Association
Ethan Fogel was awarded the Philadelphia Bar Association’s Citizens Bank Achievement Award 2019. Ethan, who chairs the Pro Bono Committee in Dechert’s Philadelphia office, set up a process providing representation to tenants facing eviction and advocated successfully to establish a right to counsel in Philadelphia for all low-income tenants.

Hall of Fame - Community Legal Services of Philadelphia
This prestigious award honors Dechert’s commitment to providing exceptional pro bono services to low-income individuals alongside CLS for several decades. Only two other law firms have received this honor since CLS’ inception over 50 years ago.

2019 Advocacy Firm of the Year - Human Trafficking Legal Center
This award honors a law firm that has shown extraordinary commitment to legal advocacy and research to support the rights of trafficking survivors. Dechert has done heroic anti-trafficking pro bono work, both litigation and research. In 2018, the firm worked closely with HT Legal to create a toolkit on using CEDAW’s Optional Protocol to combat human trafficking of women and girls. The firm has also successfully litigated multiple domestic servitude cases against diplomats.