WilmerHale has again been recognized as one of the nation's leading law firms for pro bono service, earning the number five spot on The American Lawyer's 2026 Pro Bono Scorecard. The annual ranking weighs both the depth of participation across a firm's lawyers and the average hours each lawyer contributes.
Pro bono has been part of WilmerHale's identity for generations. In 2025, WilmerHale attorneys handled more than 1,400 pro bono matters and contributed over 151,000 pro bono hours, with 100 percent of US lawyers meeting or exceeding 20 hours of service.
Highlights from the past year include:
- winning jury verdicts totaling $108 million on behalf of two members of the "Buffalo Five," including the largest wrongful-conviction jury award to an individual plaintiff in US history;
- securing final approval of a $12.5 million settlement for a class of Black special agents challenging the US Drug Enforcement Administration's racially discriminatory employment practices;
- persuading the US Supreme Court, in Glossip v. Oklahoma, to vacate the conviction and death sentence of Richard Glossip;
- obtaining and enforcing a class action settlement with the US Department of Homeland Security to protect certain mixed-status families from immigration enforcement in New England;
- protecting procreative autonomy in a victory at the Montana Supreme Court, which permanently enjoined three state laws that would have severely limited abortion access;
- representing asylum seekers through a long-standing partnership with Human Rights First, which honored the firm with the Marvin E. Frankel Award; and
- advocating for incarcerated individuals seeking religious accommodations and for veterans pursuing disability benefits.
To learn more about the firm's pro bono practice and public service initiatives, visit WilmerHale's Public Service and Pro Bono page.