Suzanne E. Turner

Suzanne E. Turner is a partner and the chair of Dechert’s firm-wide Pro Bono practice, which provides legal representation to individuals and organizations that otherwise can not afford it. Her practice involves a wide range of human rights and civil rights litigation. 

Throughout her career, Ms. Turner has been active in many organizations focused on access to justice and civil rights issues. Currently, Ms. Turner serves on board of directors of several organizations including PILnet (which she formerly chaired), the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, and the National Homelessness Law Center.  She also serves on the advisory committee of the Quattrone Center at the University of Pennsylvania School of Law.

From 2005-2009, she served as a member of the American Bar Association’s Standing Committee on Pro Bono and Public Service. She is the former chair of the Philadelphia Bar Association’s Public Interest Section, founded and co-chaired the Philadelphia Bar Association’s Law Firm Pro Bono Committee and served as vice-chair of the American Bar Association’s Section of Individual Rights and Responsibilities Equal Access to Civil Justice Committee. Ms. Turner also chaired the board of the Philadelphia Volunteers for the Indigent Program and served on the boards of Community Legal Services and the Education Law Center in Philadelphia and LawWorks in London. Additionally, she was the program coordinator of the Plaintiff’s Employment Panel of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and a member of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit Task Force on Counsel for Indigent Litigants in Civil Cases. Ms. Turner also served as a board member of City Year Philadelphia and was the chair of the School District of Philadelphia’s Law and Public Safety Stakeholder Partnership.

Ms. Turner is the recipient of the 1992 Pro Bono Publico Award from the American Bar Association.  Other awards include the Equal Justice Award from Community Legal Services in Philadelphia, the Philadelphia Bar Association’s Fidelity Award, the Striving Towards Excellence Award from Pennsylvania Legal Services and a Volunteer Award from The Advocates for Human Rights. In 2004, she was named by The Lawyer (London) as one the UK’s “Hot 100” Lawyers. She has also been named by the ABA Journal as a “Legal Rebel,” a ranking that recognize lawyers bringing innovations and news ideas to the legal profession. In 2024, at its North America Innovative Lawyers Awards, the Financial Times named Ms. Turner as the Intrapreneur of the Year, noting her "early vision and impact in making pro bono work integral and planned within law firms."

Prior to joining Dechert, Ms. Turner was a partner in the employment group of a U.S. law firm, where she also created and ran an award-winning pro bono program. From 2000-2001, she was a visiting fellow at the Institute for Advanced Legal Studies, University of London and served as a legal consultant for INTERIGHTS, an international human rights law center based in London.