Pro Bono

As an integral part of Taft’s community values, Taft attorneys are committed to providing legal services to low-income individuals, nonprofit and community organizations, and public interest causes, ranging from direct legal work for the indigent to extensive assistance to the courts. Because of our specialized skills and the role we play as part of the justice system, Taft attorneys have a unique opportunity to lead and serve on these issues.

We believe it is our professional duty to provide pro bono services and to approach them with the same client-first mindset and service we bring to every other matter.

Each year, we devote thousands of hours to individuals, groups, and nonprofit organizations who otherwise are unable to afford legal services. Our pro bono areas of service include civil rights, housing, appeals, guardianship, nonprofit governance, consumer, tax, veterans, immigration, intellectual property, family law, and service to the judicial system. This dedication to the public interest is inherent in Taft’s culture; our founding partners were heavily engaged in public and political service, and our current attorneys continue that legacy.

Pro bono work is encouraged throughout the firm, from new associates to senior partners with extensive experience. Taft associates, in particular, benefit in many ways from performing pro bono work, as it provides them with hands-on experience and helps them develop as leaders in law and public service. To support their efforts, Taft offers billable credit for up to 100 hours of pro bono work performed by associates.

Awards

Each year, Taft recognizes attorneys who best exemplify Taft’s commitment to giving back to its communities with Pro Bono Awards. The Pro Bono Awards are based on overall pro bono achievements, the time, talent, and energy invested into the cases handled, and the positive impact of the work. Each award recipient or group of recipients can direct a donation by Taft to a charitable organization of their choice.

See past winners here.

Organizations We Serve

We urge our attorneys to match a cause that inspires them with a legal need in the community. Some of the pro bono and legal aid organizations and related programs that Taft attorneys have partnered with, or that Taft supports, are:

• The Advocates for Human Rights
• Alliance to Lead Impact Global Human Trafficking (ALIGHT)
• Anti-Defamation League
• Ascend Justice
• Chicago Bar Foundation
• Chicago Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law
• Chicago Volunteer Legal Services
• Child Advocates of Marion County (Indiana)
• Children’s Law Center (Kentucky)
• Children’s Law Center of Minnesota
• Cincinnati Bar Foundation
• Coalition for Our Immigrant Neighbors (COIN)
• Colorado Lawyers Committee
• Colorado Legal Aid
• Columbus Bar Foundation
• Detroit Bar Association
• Georgia Lawyers for the Arts
• Greater Dayton Volunteer Lawyers Project
• Great Northern Innocence Project
• Heartland Pro Bono Council
• HVAF of Indiana, Inc.
• Illinois Supreme Court Volunteer Pro Bono Program for Criminal Appeals
• Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota
• Indiana Legal Services
• Indianapolis Bar Foundation
• Indianapolis Legal Aid Society
• Jewish Federation of Metro Detroit/Gesher
• Just Deeds (Minnesota)
• Kory Wise Innocence Project
• Lakeshore Legal Aid
• Legal Aid Chicago
• Legal Aid Society of Cleveland
• Legal Aid of Southeast and Central Ohio
• Legal Aid Society of Greater Cincinnati
• Legal Aid of the Bluegrass
• Legal Aid of Western Ohio and Advocates for Basic Legal Equality (LAWO/ABLE)
• LegalCORPS
• Metro Volunteer Lawyers
• Michigan Advocacy Program (MAP)
• Michigan Immigrant Rights Center (MIRC)
• Mid-Minnesota Legal Aid
• Minnesota Disability Law Center
• Minnesota Justice Foundation
• National Homelessness Law Center
• National Immigrant Justice Center
• National Veterans Legal Services Program
• Neighborhood Christian Legal Clinic (Indianapolis)
• Ohio Justice & Policy Center
• Pro Bono Collaborative (Cleveland)
• Pro Bono Partnership of Ohio
• Pro Se Project—Minnesota Chapter of Federal Bar Association
• Public Interest Law Initiative
• Rocky Mountain Immigrant Advocacy Network (RMIAN)
• Southern Minnesota Regional Legal Services
• Statewide Training and Assistance Network (STAN, Ohio Pro Bono Immigration Initiative)
• Veterans Consortium
• Volunteer Lawyers for the Poor
• Volunteer Lawyers Network (Minnesota)

Accolades

Following are some examples of how we have been recognized for our pro bono efforts across our offices:

• Taft received the 2023-2024 Illinois State Bar Association’s (ISBA) John C. McAndrews Pro Bono Service Award.
• Taft Indianapolis attorneys Jason Covert and Christine Walsh and Chicago attorney Liliana Jiménez won an asylum victory for a Haitian pro bono client with the help from an Indiana University Maurer School of Law student extern and the National Immigrant Justice Center.
• Taft Cleveland partner Lynn Rowe Larsen was honored with the 2024 Access to Justice Award at The Legal Aid Society of Cleveland’s annual meeting.
• Taft Dayton attorney Kristin Hardy was presented at the Pro Bono Partnership of Ohio CLE program titled “Helping Nonprofits: Understanding Their Legal Issues.”
• Taft Cleveland partner Lynn Rowe Larsen was profiled in a #MyLegalAid story, published by The Legal Aid Society of Cleveland on Oct. 7, 2024.
• The American Bar Association recognized Taft as a 2023 Free Legal Answers Pro Bono Leader.
• Taft Minneapolis legal assistant Phyllis Roden has been recognized by Minnesota Lawyer as a 2023 Unsung Legal Hero honoree.
• Taft attorneys Kristin Hardy, Art McMahon, and Anthony Ramicone were recognized by the Pro Bono Partnership of Ohio (PBPO) for volunteering their time and legal expertise to local nonprofit organizations.
• On June 26, Taft won an important appellate victory in the Indiana Supreme Court on behalf of a victim of domestic abuse. In this case, the Indiana Supreme Court found the father did “represent a credible threat” to mother and her child and affirmed the issuance of a two-year protective order against the father. Taft Indianapolis attorneys Matt Albaugh and Brittni Wassmer represented our clients pro bono.
• Taft Cincinnati attorney Emily Cashell joined the Board of Directors for the Immigrant and Refugee Law Center to support its mission of providing accessible legal services to immigrant and refugee families in the Greater Cincinnati community.
• Twenty Taft Minneapolis attorneys were selected by the Minnesota State Bar Association as 2023 North Star Lawyers. Honorees have volunteered at least 50 hours of pro bono service in the 2023 calendar year.
• The American Bar Association named Taft a 2022 Free Legal Answers Pro Bono Leader. This recognition is given to individuals, law firms, corporate law departments, and other organizations that provide extraordinary pro bono services through the Free Legal Answers platform.
• Taft Northern Kentucky attorney Amanda Johnson was named 2022 Outstanding Volunteer of the Year by the Northern Kentucky Bar Association for her extensive pro bono work and volunteer efforts.
• Susan Wheatley was honored as a 2022 Cincinnati Bar Association Volunteer Lawyer of the Year.
• Taft Columbus partner-in-charge Janica Pierce Tucker was named the 2021 recipient of the Ohio Access to Justice Foundation Presidential Award. The Presidential Award for Pro Bono Service recognizes outstanding leadership in the delivery of pro bono legal services.
• Taft was named in the Public Interest Law Initiative (PILI) 2021 Pro Bono Recognition Roster. The Pro Bono Recognition Roster recognizes law firms and corporations that have shown significant commitments and contributions to pro bono throughout the state of Illinois.
• Andrew Carlson was among 33 honorees selected for Minnesota Lawyer’s 2020 Attorneys of the Year for his work spearheading Taft’s firm-wide pro bono efforts.
• Timothy Eaton has been honored by Chicago Lawyer magazine as its 2020 Person of the Year. Eaton was recognized for his many contributions to the Chicago legal community, including chairing the Court Operations During COVID-19 Task Force.
• A team of firm attorneys, including attorneys Emily Collins, Kirsten Pagel, and Joey Balthazor, received the 2019 Human Rights Volunteer Award for their pro bono service as part of the “Somali 92 team” at The Advocates for Human Rights Awards Dinner, an annual event honoring significant contributions to the human rights and to The Advocates’ work.
• Taft partner Tom McDonald served as pro bono lead counsel for a national civil rights case centered around the Indian River School District’s George Washington Carver Academy, a public school. The lawsuit alleged that this academy disproportionately placed upwards of 1,000 African American male students in a special needs program for more than a decade. The effort lead to a consent order including measures to create more supportive and fair learning environments for students. The case can be cited as a significant civil rights win in the state of Delaware and is responsible for crucial systemic educational reforms in the state today.