Morgan Lewis recognizes the great public need for pro bono legal services in the communities in which it practices and understands that the promise of equal justice can only be achieved if legal services are made available to those who are unable to afford them. The firm has a long history of service to the traditionally underrepresented members of society, and prides itself on its clear institutional commitment to stimulating and supporting pro bono work by its attorneys. The firm recognizes and endorses the basic responsibility and ethical obligation of each lawyer to provide public interest legal services and encourages its lawyers to fulfill that responsibility in accordance with this policy.
The firm is a signatory to the PBI Pro Bono Challenge and has pledged to annually contribute, at a minimum, an amount of time equal to three (3) percent of the firm’s total billable hours to pro bono work. Consistent with this commitment, the firm strives to ensure that its pro bono clients receive representation that is, in all respects, on par with the representation provided to the firm’s other clients.
Among other things, this policy continues the firm’s tradition of not distinguishing between pro bono hours and other billable hours in assessing the time of its attorneys in all respects, including for purposes of compensation.