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Our pro bono work and philanthropy have garnered numerous awards and honors, including the following:
- 2010 - The American Bar Association's Litigation Section awarded WilmerHale with their John Minor Wisdom Public Service and Professionalism award. The award is presented to individuals and firms who have made "outstanding contributions to the quality of justice in their communities, ensuring that the legal system is open and available to all." Since 2001, only four other firms have received the award.
- 2010 - WilmerHale was honored with the 2010 Robert B. Fraser Award for Pro Bono Excellence by the Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts of Massachusetts, Inc. (VLA). The Fraser Award is given annually by the VLA—which is a program of the Arts & Business Council of Greater Boston—to an individual lawyer and law firm that show a sincere dedication to serving the legal needs of the cultural and artistic communities of Massachusetts.
- 2010 - WilmerHale's International Arbitration practice was awarded the honor of Pro Bono Team of the Year at The Lawyer Awards 2010 in London for the firm's work on behalf of The Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A).
- 2010 - WilmerHale received an Outstanding Achievement Award in recognition of the firm’s pro bono efforts from the Washington Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs.
- 2010 - WilmerHale was presented with the “Maya Way Award for Community Service,” and recognized as a social justice champion and community partner by the See Forever Foundation, during a fundraiser to support the Maya Angelou schools in Washington DC.
- 2010 - WilmerHale was honored by City Year for 20 years of service representing City Year as its pro-bono national counsel.
- 2005-2009 - WilmerHale has consistently ranked in the American Lawyer Pro Bono Scorecard's list of the top firms for pro bono, most recently ranking 9 out of 100 law firms on the 2009 Pro Bono Scorecard.
- 2003-2009 - Firm recognized in the annual American Lawyer "A-List", a compilation that lists the leading US firms and honors overall excellence, including financial success, commitment to pro bono work, workforce diversity and the training and development of younger lawyers.
- 2009 - The Boston Business Journal named WilmerHale to its 2009 list of the "Largest Charitable Contributors in Massachusetts." The firm is the highest ranking law firm on the list, based on 2008 Massachusetts giving.
- 2009 - The Boston Business Journal named WilmerHale the "Area's Largest Pro Bono Law Firm" on their 2009 list, comprised of 25 local law firms. The rankings were based on the number of pro bono hours worked in Massachusetts in 2008.
- 2009 - Bread for the City named WilmerHale its 2009 Corporate Partner of the Year, at their Fourth Annual Good Hope Awards celebration in Washington DC. WilmerHale earned this title for the firm’s significant financial and volunteer two-year commitment to Bread for the City in 2008.
- 2009 - The National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty (NLCHP) awarded WilmerHale with its 2009 Pro Bono Counsel Award at the McKinney-Vento Awards Dinner in Washington DC.
- 2008 - WilmerHale Partner Jennifer M. O’Connor was the recipient of the New York State Association of Criminal Defense Lawyer’s “Gideon Champion of Justice” Award. She received this award for her 9 year-long pro bono effort in securing a reversal of client Martin Tankleff’s wrongful conviction for the murders of his parents in 1988.
- 2008 - Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly named Robert C. Kirsch and Stephen Oleskey “Lawyers of the Year” in 2008 for their work on Boumediene v. Bush, which resulted in five out of six of the firm clients being ordered released by the Supreme Court after being held without trial at Guantanamo Bay Detention Center for more than seven years.
- 2008 - Cathedral High School recognized WilmerHale for its longstanding and passionate commitment to the students and faculty of Cathedral High School, which includes not only financial support, but investment in the students through volunteer work, mentoring and career engagement.
- 2007 - The American Bar Association Death Penalty Representation Project honored WilmerHale for its pro bono work representing death row prisoners
- 2007 - The Boston Business Journal honored WilmerHale with Education Partner of the Year Award
- 2007 - The Corporate Volunteer Council (CVC) of Greater Boston recognized WilmerHale with its 2007 CVC Award
- 2007 - The firm was presented with the Beacon of Justice award by the National Legal Aid & Defender Association (NLADA) in recognition of the firm's work on behalf of Guantanamo detainees.
- 2007 - Boston Bar Association honors 12 WilmerHale lawyers for their representation of men imprisoned in Guantanamo Bay
- 2007 - WilmerHale honored by the D.C. Circuit Judicial Conference for meeting the Conference's pro bono goal of at least 40% of all associates, counsel and partners meeting 50 pro bono hours per year. WilmerHale has has met this goal every year since 2003
- 2007 - Partner Stephen Oleskey received the American Bar Association’s 2007 Pro Bono Publico Award. The Pro Bono Publico Awards program, presented by the ABA’s Standing Committee on Pro Bono and Public Service, identifies and honors individual lawyers and law firms, government attorney offices, corporate law departments and other institutions in the legal profession that have enhanced the human dignity of others by improving or delivering volunteer legal services to our nation’s underprivileged. Click here to view Mr. Oleskey's award video clip.
- 2007 - WilmerHale was the recipient of a pro award from the National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys for work done on an amicus brief filed in the Supreme Court in Marrama v. Citizen's Bank of Massachusetts
- 2007 - Lawyers Weekly recognizes WilmerHale partner Wendell C. Taylor as one of five “Diversity Heroes” in Massachusetts
- 2006 - Three WilmerHale lawyers honored by the The Legal Aid Society of New York as recipients of the group’s 2006 Pro Bono Award
- 2006 - The Boston Bar Association named WilmerHale as the recipient of the highly prestigious Thurgood Marshall Award for extraordinary work in representing low-income clients on a pro bono or reduced fee basis
- 2006 - The Boston Business Journal placed the firm in the top 15 largest corporate philanthropists in the Commonwealth
- 2006 - Team of seventh graders mentored by WilmerHale lawyers wins the Ninth Annual Thurgood Marshall Mock Trial Competition
- 2006 - Recipient of the Massachusetts Bar Association’s 2006 Law Firm Pro Bono Award
- 2006 - WilmerHale Ranks Near the Top of Vault’s List of Most Prestigious Law Firms for Pro Bono work
- 2006 - Awarded to receive one of only four 2006 Pro Bono Awards from the National Law Journal
- 2005 - Seth Waxman named “Lawyer of the Year” by Lawyers Weekly USA for victory in pivotal death penalty case
- 2005 - Chris Meade and John Rothermich honored with the Legal Aid Society Pro Bono Award for Outstanding Service given in honor of exceptional pro bono efforts
- 2005 - Presented with The Pro Bono Institute’s inaugural John H. Pickering Award for extraordinary pro bono culture and exceptional commitment to pro bono legal assistance
- 2005 - Ranked in the top 10 in The American Lawyer's AmLaw 200 Pro Bono survey
- 2005 - Top 15 in "Quality of Life" ranking for pro bono work in the Vault Guide to the Top 100 Law Firms (2006 edition)
- 2004 - Ranked number one and designated "Cream of the Crop" Pro Bono Program among AmLaw 200 firms
- 2003 - DC Bar Law Firm Pro Bono Award
- 2003 - Special recognition from the American Bar Association (ABA) for successfully defending the country’s IOLTA programs against Fifth Amendment constitutional challenges
- 2002 - ABA Distinguished Service Award from the Standing Committee on Legal Assistance for Military Personnel for our participation in the September 11th Pro Bono Legal Relief Project
- 2002 - Leaders in Philanthropy Award from the Massachusetts Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals
- 2002 - National Law Journal Pro Bono Award
- 1998 - ABA Pro Bono Publico Award
- 1989 - ABA Section of Litigation’s Annual Pro Bono Award<
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