Weil’s commitment to pro bono work is deeply ingrained in our culture. We believe that it is our obligation to volunteer our skills to those who would otherwise face severe challenges as victims of injustice or abuse without legal representation. As economic difficulties exacerbate the problem of unequal access to quality legal representation, the need is as great as ever, and we continue to respond to it. Along with helping individual clients, Weil considers it essential to assist groups that work on behalf of the public to address issues of economic and social justice.

The importance Weil places on providing these services to the community is demonstrated by our goal of having all lawyers at the Firm perform 50 hours of pro bono work each year. Toward that end, every partner is expected to work on a pro bono matter every year, and every new attorney – including lateral partners – is required to take on a pro bono matter. During the past decade, Weil has performed more than 900,000 hours of pro bono work and has had a meaningful effect on thousands of lives.

This past year, our combined efforts – and the skill, dedication, energy, and empathy of Weil attorneys – again led to outcomes that transformed lives. These included winning asylum for those persecuted in their home countries; protecting the rights of thousands of tenants on the brink of homelessness; pressing for the release of those wrongfully convicted of crimes; protecting the right to vote from unwarranted state interference; and supporting the search for solutions to the world’s ecological problems. It is for good reason that we call the time we spend on pro bono work "our finest hours".

Our pro bono efforts extend across our offices in the United States and well beyond. Weil attorneys from Miami to Silicon Valley and London to Warsaw donate their time, skill, and energy to improving the lives of fellow citizens in their own cities. They support an array of not-for-profit organizations, many of which work to redress legal wrongs and ameliorate humanitarian problems well beyond their own national borders. Each year Weil holds a Pro Bono Week to highlight and galvanize these efforts in every office.

Weil is particularly proud of its externship programs, which allow full-time associates the opportunity to work exclusively on pro bono matters with leading public service and charitable organizations for a period of several months.

Weil’s leadership position and premier expertise in counseling not-for-profit organizations is overseen and marshalled by the Firm’s Not-for-Profit Practice Group. Founded in 2006, the Group consists of Weil lawyers, from a wide cross-section of practice specialties, each having extensive experience with and highly regarded for his or her work with not-for-profit organizations.

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• Ed Gander, Co-Chair
• Steven A. Reiss, Co-Chair
• Jared Friedmann, Vice-Chair
• Miriam Buhl, Pro Bono Counsel

Many Weil attorneys and paralegals dedicated 50 hours or more to pro bono service in 2017:
View the list of 50-Hour Plus Performers.