In the Media
Los Angeles Office Achieves Record Pro Bono Participation
In the Media
Los Angeles Office Achieves Record Pro Bono Participation
March 24, 2017
In 2016, Winston & Strawn’s Los Angeles office achieved a record 100 percent pro bono participation rate. This significant achievement was highlighted in the Daily Journal’s article “Record Pro Bono Work for Winston in Los Angeles” published on March 24, 2017.
Nearly 70 attorneys dedicated at least 20 hours of pro bono work each with an overall total of 6,129 pro bono hours in 2016, up from 2,569 in 2015. The office leapt from a 77 percent participation rate in 2015 to 100 percent in a single year. No office has reached 100 percent participation since the firm began tracking pro bono hours in 2002.
“People are actually hungry for it. They are hungry for it with all the pressures of regular law practice,” a Winston spokesperson said.
The article discusses the demands attorneys face to build profitable books of business and how effective pro bono programs need support from firm management.
“Having buy-in from management at the firm is so helpful,” said Maria Kutnick, Winston’s Pro Bono Counsel. Maria observed that the Los Angeles managing partner was actively involved in pro bono work throughout 2016 and how he encouraged other attorneys to seek pro bono opportunities, which trickled down from partners to associates in the office.
One of Maria’s principal roles at the firm is to work with attorneys to find pro bono cases they care about. “What is unique about the Los Angeles office is we have a wide spectrum of work that people do,” Maria explained. “But I find they are the most rewarding because they are helping people in their day-to-day life who are vulnerable.”
Attorneys in the office worked on several immigration cases, including one that involved securing asylum for a gay man who fled persecution and discrimination in Cameroon. A team of attorneys also represented several clients with disabilities who were not receiving adequate educational services at their schools.
Learn more about the firm’s Pro Bono initiatives here.