The power of partnerships
Innovation, dedication, and collaboration are the driving forces behind our pro bono work.
At Davis Wright Tremaine, we have fostered a strategic model for pro bono that combines the talents of the lawyers and legal professionals in our firm with those of our corporate partners in order to best serve our communities. These mutually beneficial relationships are fueled by our shared commitment to equal justice for all.
When we work together as a team, we can make a powerful difference for in-need communities.
We’ve created a host of first-of-their-kind tools to engage our corporate clients and inspire them to join us in helping the underserved. These tools include service days, an annual Pro Bono Summit, ongoing legal clinics, and our widely celebrated platform for connecting volunteers to opportunities, the In-House Gateway to Good. We also offer trainings to help in-house legal departments build and scale their own do-good programs.
In 2024 alone, we hosted 47 service days and initiatives with 52 companies, drawing in a total of 1,362 in-house volunteers.
Our corporate partnership approach results in powerful and enduring strategic alliances that have been recognized nationally for successfully addressing critical needs. ALM | Law.com named Microsoft and DWT “Best Client-Law Firm Team” at the 2024 American Lawyer Industry Awards, recognizing the impact of our partnership project, ProJourn, which provides no-cost legal services to journalists and small, local, or nonprofit news organizations.
The power of partnerships
Innovation, dedication, and collaboration are the driving forces behind our pro bono work.
At Davis Wright Tremaine, we have fostered a strategic model for pro bono that combines the talents of the lawyers and legal professionals in our firm with those of our corporate partners in order to best serve our communities. These mutually beneficial relationships are fueled by our shared commitment to equal justice for all.
When we work together as a team, we can make a powerful difference for in-need communities.
We’ve created a host of first-of-their-kind tools to engage our corporate clients and inspire them to join us in helping the underserved. These tools include service days, an annual Pro Bono Summit, ongoing legal clinics, and our widely celebrated platform for connecting volunteers to opportunities, the In-House Gateway to Good. We also offer trainings to help in-house legal departments build and scale their own do-good programs.
In 2024 alone, we hosted 47 service days and initiatives with 52 companies, drawing in a total of 1,362 in-house volunteers.
Our corporate partnership approach results in powerful and enduring strategic alliances that have been recognized nationally for successfully addressing critical needs. ALM | Law.com named Microsoft and DWT “Best Client-Law Firm Team” at the 2024 American Lawyer Industry Awards, recognizing the impact of our partnership project, ProJourn, which provides no-cost legal services to journalists and small, local, or nonprofit news organizations.
Sean Davis, Senior Corporate Counsel at Microsoft, describes the benefits of a partnership between an in-house legal team and DWT:
Alone and siloed, we’re fractured and not as powerful. We have a great in-house program, but having more eyes on issues to serve more people is always a great thing, a great advantage.
Sean Davis, Senior Corporate Counsel at Microsoft, describes the benefits of a partnership between an in-house legal team and DWT:
Alone and siloed, we’re fractured and not as powerful. We have a great in-house program, but having more eyes on issues to serve more people is always a great thing, a great advantage.
Pete Johnson, DWT partner, sees value from both sides when law firms and companies combine their resources and ambitions to do good in their communities:
One of the things I’ve observed with our large corporate partnerships is we both bring our own visions into it, and the combined vision can be even bigger.
A digital breakthrough in access to justice
DWT’s Gateway to Good is a groundbreaking digital platform providing exclusive access to 450+ pro bono and social impact opportunities for DWT and its in-house clients, empowering users to engage with communities and causes that matter most to them in just one click.
The platform also offers educational programs, including various CLEs, which explore key ethical considerations and the business case for in-house pro bono.
A digital breakthrough in access to justice
DWT’s Gateway to Good is a groundbreaking digital platform providing exclusive access to 450+ pro bono and social impact opportunities for DWT and its in-house clients, empowering users to engage with communities and causes that matter most to them in just one click.
The platform also offers educational programs, including various CLEs, which explore key ethical considerations and the business case for in-house pro bono.
DWT’s Gateway to Good enables us to offer a diverse array of pro bono opportunities fitting the interests of our geographically distributed team of in-house attorneys and legal professionals.
George Wukoson
GENERAL COUNSEL | Everyday Health Group
DWT’s Gateway to Good enables us to offer a diverse array of pro bono opportunities fitting the interests of our geographically distributed team of in-house attorneys and legal professionals.
George Wukoson
GENERAL COUNSEL | Everyday Health Group
Uber Senior Regulatory Counsel Nicole Benincasa praises DWT's Gateway to Good for helping her company increase pro bono engagement on a global scale:
The Gateway to Good platform is first-of-its-kind. It’s really unlocked a whole new world of opportunities for us.
IN-HOUSE INSIGHTS
We are going into our 4th Season of our In-House Insights peer-to-peer learning video series, which disseminates our corporate partners’ collective wisdom on a broad range of topics related to pro bono programs, leadership, and opportunities.
IN-HOUSE INSIGHTS
We are going into our 4th Season of our In-House Insights peer-to-peer learning video series, which disseminates our corporate partners’ collective wisdom on a broad range of topics related to pro bono programs, leadership, and opportunities.
BEYOND BILLABLE
We focus every day on our key values: prioritize people, act with purpose, and make a difference beyond the billable hour.
As part of that commitment, we launched our newest video series, Beyond Billable, co-hosted by Joanna Boisen and DWT’s chief diversity, equity, and inclusion officer, Yusuf Zakir. Joanna and Yusuf, together and with their extraordinary guests, explore the critical intersection between DEI and pro bono work, both historically and today.
Featured Episodes
Chief Justice Steven Gonzalez
Washington Supreme Court
Justice Sal Mungia
Washington Supreme Court
BEYOND BILLABLE
We focus every day on our key values: prioritize people, act with purpose, and make a difference beyond the billable hour.
As part of that commitment, we launched our newest video series, Beyond Billable, co-hosted by Joanna Boisen and DWT’s chief diversity, equity, and inclusion officer, Yusuf Zakir. Joanna and Yusuf, together and with their extraordinary guests, explore the critical intersection between DEI and pro bono work, both historically and today.
Featured Episodes
Chief Justice Steven Gonzalez
Washington Supreme Court
Justice Sal Mungia
Washington Supreme Court
Partner events bring focus to collaborative pro bono
DWT invites our corporate partners to join us for Service Days and other collaborations where we serve our communities shoulder to shoulder, strengthen our bonds, and multiply our impact.
Partner events bring focus to collaborative pro bono
DWT invites our corporate partners to join us for Service Days and other collaborations where we serve our communities shoulder to shoulder, strengthen our bonds, and multiply our impact.
PRO BONO WEEK
For Pro Bono Week 2024, 44 DWT volunteers, joined by 76 volunteers from 16 of our clients’ in-house teams, partnered on four fast-track, high-impact pro bono projects:
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PROJECT |
NONPROFIT PARTNER |
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Met with and provided advocacy to low-income New York City parents to clear their name from the State Central Registry in cases where they were wrongfully reported for suspected child maltreatment. |
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Identified and mapped racially restrictive covenants that linger in property deeds in Washington, D.C. — some dating back to the segregation era. |
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Researched barriers that formerly incarcerated individuals face in obtaining vital food and health benefits through federal programs. |
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Educated older adults at Chicago senior centers about the signs and dangers of financial fraud. |
PRO BONO WEEK
For Pro Bono Week 2024, 44 DWT volunteers, joined by 76 volunteers from 16 of our clients’ in-house teams, partnered on four fast-track, high-impact pro bono projects:
|
PROJECT |
NONPROFIT PARTNER |
|
|
Met with and provided advocacy to low-income New York City parents to clear their name from the State Central Registry in cases where they were wrongfully reported for suspected child maltreatment. |
||
|
Identified and mapped racially restrictive covenants that linger in property deeds in Washington, D.C. — some dating back to the segregation era. |
||
|
Researched barriers that formerly incarcerated individuals face in obtaining vital food and health benefits through federal programs. |
||
|
Educated older adults at Chicago senior centers about the signs and dangers of financial fraud. |
FINANCIAL INSTITUTION PRO BONO DAY
Financial Institution Pro Bono Day brought together DWT and our corporate partners in the banking industry to educate communities about financial fraud, assist veterans with discharge upgrades, and draft expungement declarations. About 100 volunteers from companies including Bloomberg, Capital One, Citi, Discover Financial Services, Key Bank, Intuit, Navy Federal Credit Union, Wells Fargo, and Zurich North America participated in one or more of the events.
EMPOWERING PRO BONO DAY
We hosted two legal clinics on EmPOWERing Pro Bono Day, an annual service day that brings together in-house legal teams from energy companies to assist underrepresented communities. In collaboration with The Veterans Consortium Pro Bono Program and Legal Services for Children, 23 volunteers from five of our corporate partners joined DWT volunteers at legal clinics to help veterans seeking military discharge upgrades and youth seeking asylum in the U.S.
FINANCIAL INSTITUTION PRO BONO DAY
Financial Institution Pro Bono Day brought together DWT and our corporate partners in the banking industry to educate communities about financial fraud, assist veterans with discharge upgrades, and draft expungement declarations. About 100 volunteers from companies including Bloomberg, Capital One, Citi, Discover Financial Services, Key Bank, Intuit, Navy Federal Credit Union, Wells Fargo, and Zurich North America participated in one or more of the events.
EMPOWERING PRO BONO DAY
We hosted two legal clinics on EmPOWERing Pro Bono Day, an annual service day that brings together in-house legal teams from energy companies to assist underrepresented communities. In collaboration with The Veterans Consortium Pro Bono Program and Legal Services for Children, 23 volunteers from five of our corporate partners joined DWT volunteers at legal clinics to help veterans seeking military discharge upgrades and youth seeking asylum in the U.S.
DWT hosted our Sixth Annual Pro Bono Summit, “The Top 4 Equity and Justice Priorities for In-House Legal Teams.” Legal team members from 70 companies attended. Sessions included:
- General Counsels Prioritizing Justice: How Great Leaders Advance Business While Impacting Community
- Doing More with Less: Optimizing Impact, Time, and Resources
- Creating Value, Impact, and Inclusion through Social Impact
- Your New Roman Empire: The Ethics of Doing Good
Panelists joined us from Cisco, Entergy, Everyday Health Group, Microsoft, Smartsheet, Uber, and Wells Fargo, among others.
Our success is rooted in the strength of our collaborations. We are grateful to our many corporate partners, including those highlighted below, who joined us in doing good in 2024.
Our success is rooted in the strength of our collaborations. We are grateful to our many corporate partners, including those highlighted below, who joined us in doing good in 2024.
DAVIS WRIGHT TREMAINE LLP
Ability, integrity, and service to others – these are the three pillars on which Davis Wright Tremaine was built. As our founding partner once famously said, “…unless we are serving mankind to the top extent of our ability and putting our best talent into that service, what good is life?”
Learn More at DWT.COM
CONTENTS
What We Do and Why >
The Power of Partnerships >
Civil Rights and Social Justice >
- Voting Rights
- Journalists/First Amendment
- Women’s Rights
- LGBTQIA+
- Prisoner/Civil Rights
Advocacy for Underserved Communities >
- Veterans
- Homelessness Prevention
- DV Protection
- Immigration
Awards and Recognition >
Our Pro Bono & Social Impact Team >
CONTENTS
What We Do and Why >
The Power of Partnerships >
Civil Rights and Social Justice >
- Voting Rights
- Journalists/First Amendment
- Women’s Rights
- LGBTQIA+
- Prisoner/Civil Rights
Advocacy for Underserved Communities >
- Veterans
- Homelessness Prevention
- DV Protection
- Immigration
Awards and Recognition >
Our Pro Bono & Social Impact Team >
DAVIS WRIGHT TREMAINE LLP
Ability, integrity, and service to others – these are the three pillars on which Davis Wright Tremaine was built. As our founding partner once famously said, “…unless we are serving mankind to the top extent of our ability and putting our best talent into that service, what good is life?”
Learn More at DWT.COM
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