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 amid the pandemic exacerbate the problem of unequal access to quality legal representation, the need is greater than 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. Since our current policy was instituted in 2005, Weil has performed more than 1 million hours of pro bono work and has had a meaningful effect on thousands of lives.

Read Celebrating Years of Pro Bono Commitment and Service for a timeline of the past 15 years of pro bono at Weil.

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; eliminating the Innocence Project’s backlog of more than 5,000 prisoner requests for assistance and pressing for the release of those wrongfully convicted of crimes; assisting victims of domestic violence and human trafficking; and upholding the First Amendment right to religious freedom. 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 Paris 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’s leadership position and longstanding 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 areas, each having extensive experience with not-for-profit organizations.

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• Ed Gander, Co-Chair
• Benjamin E. Marks, Co-Chair
• Miriam Buhl, Pro Bono Counsel

Former Pro Bono Committee Co-Chair Steven Reiss has been recognized for his dedication to pro bono service and to achieving access to justice for all.

 View the 2020 Pro Bono Annual Review

Many Weil attorneys and paralegals dedicated 50 hours or more to pro bono service in 2020.
View the list of 50-Hour Plus Performers.