In June 2020, Mayer Brown launched Project Equity in recognition of the important role that law firms and lawyers have to play in addressing social justice issues and promoting equity in the law. The project is designed to broaden the firm’s strategic engagement on issues of critical importance and to help bring about meaningful change. The firm has pledged to devote 50,000 hours to Project Equity initiatives over three years - a goal which it surpassed. The firm has now renewed its commitment, pledging another three-years and 50,000 hours to Project Equity initiatives. In collaboration with our nonprofit partners, we have developed pro bono and community service opportunities focused on five issue areas: (1) voter rights, (2) criminal justice and policing reform, (3) housing and economic stability, (4) education and (5) assistance to small business owners and entrepreneurs. Our pro bono work has received many accolades, including most recently from the City Bar Justice Center, which honored Mayer Brown for its work on the Center's Homeowner's Stability Project.
To learn more about our work with the City Bar Justice Center, please watch this video.
Our Structure
Mayer Brown strongly encourages every lawyer to participate in the pro bono program and provides credit for the hours they donate. In the United States, we are a signatory to the “Law Firm Pro Bono Challenge,” which commits us to devote 3 percent of total billable time to pro bono work. We are also a signatory to the “UK Joint Protocol on Pro Bono Work,” which stipulates that pro bono legal work must be carried out to the same standard as chargeable work, and a signatory of the Pro Bono Declaration of the Americas (PBDA), reaffirming our commitment to advancing access to justice throughout the region.
Our program is managed by the Global Director of Pro Bono and a dedicated team of four fulltime attorneys. It is overseen by the firm’s Global Pro Bono Committee, which is made up of lawyers from every office and almost every practice. In addition, there are local and regional pro bono committees to ensure a robust and diverse pro bono program.
Our Pro Bono Work
The guiding purpose of our program is to use the resources of one of the world’s largest law firms to attack systemic problems. We have formalized projects that allow us to maximize impact while still encouraging our lawyers to find individual cases and issues of importance to them.
Through our pro bono program, we not only help individuals to rebuild and restore their lives, we help to foster the industries and organizations that address the underlying issues and challenges.
In addition to donating time, the firm regularly makes financial contributions to public and legal services organizations, and was among the first large law firms to integrate charitable giving and the pro bono program.
Our Community Service Work
Our lawyers and staff participate in community service activities around the world, often partnering with both public interest and private corporate clients in a variety of activities.
One of the crucial ways we fulfill our social responsibility is through supporting education-related programs and organizations. These include reading, mentoring, and clean-up initiatives in schools in and around London, New York, Washington DC, Chicago and Los Angeles.
In addition to serving on boards of directors of public service and civic organizations, our lawyers and staff in the United States, Europe and Asia also participate in programs to build homes, assist food banks, visit elderly centers, raise funds, and arrange donations of food, furniture and other items for community organizations.
