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Pro Bono & Philanthropy

Pro Bono Legal Services
Accolades
Charitable Giving
Attorney and Staff Community Service
Pro Bono Video

Seyfarth Shaw is committed to playing an active, positive role in the communities in which we work and live. We believe that leadership means stepping beyond the boundaries of “business as usual” and taking the initiative to help our fellow citizens. As the firm has grown, our opportunities to give back to our communities also have increased.

We take a holistic approach to giving back to our communities by integrating our pro bono legal services, charitable giving, and community service activities. We have a Pro Bono & Philanthropy Department, which consists of a Partner and Coordinator, both of whom dedicate their time to promoting and managing these programs. Our approach is an example of how we carry out our core value of innovation, and we believe it is unique among large law firms.

Our Managing Partner, J. Stephen Poor, says, “As an organization, Seyfarth Shaw is committed to being an outstanding corporate citizen and an active contributor to our communities. Whether through our pro bono activities, the charitable grants made by our Charitable Foundation, or our other community service programs, the people of Seyfarth Shaw have embraced this commitment enthusiastically. We are incredibly proud of the work our people are doing and the ability of the Firm to support that work. We truly hope that, through our efforts, we are able to improve individual people’s lives and strengthen our communities as a whole.”

Pro Bono Legal Services

We encourage all of our lawyers to devote time to pro bono legal work and we make a concerted effort to help them find pro bono projects that reflect their own unique values, interests, and personal styles. Thus, the firm is able to offer the services and experience of its attorneys to a broad range of individuals and organizations in our communities who are unable to pay for legal representation.

We also have expanded the ways in which we meet the legal needs of the underserved by partnering with our clients on pro bono projects. We recognize that busy in-house counsel want to do pro bono legal work, but do not always have the time or resources to create or support large-scale pro bono programs. We work with our clients to find pro bono opportunities that meet their needs and interests, and then team up with them to share the work.

Seyfarth Shaw has signed the Pro Bono Institute’s Law Firm Pro Bono Challenge. The firm's contributions have been recognized by the Public Interest Law Initiative and through the receipt of numerous awards, such as:

In addition to full-time pro bono staff, the firm has a Pro Bono Committee comprised of partners and associates. Each U.S. office has at least one representative on the Pro Bono Committee. More information regarding Seyfarth's pro bono policy and Pro Bono Committee is available in the following documents:

Areas of law in which our attorneys frequently provide pro bono legal services include:

Asylum, amnesty, immigration, and naturalization;
Family law, adoption, guardian ad litem, divorce, and foster care benefits;
Assistance to creative artists;
Executive clemency;
Civil rights;
Landlord and tenant disputes;
Employee benefits;
Estate planning;
Commercial litigation;
Corporate, real estate and tax counseling;
Labor and employment counseling;
Serving as general counsel to non-profit organizations.

Charitable Giving

In 2004, we established the Seyfarth Shaw Charitable Foundation, a firm-sponsored private foundation with an annual budget through which we provide grants to qualified organizations on behalf of the firm. All of our employees, including attorneys and staff, can submit requests to the Foundation on behalf of a specific organization.

The mission of the Seyfarth Shaw Charitable Foundation is to improve the quality of life in our communities and to encourage and support the charitable efforts of the people of Seyfarth Shaw by contributing to the charitable organizations in which our people are involved.

Each office in the firm has a Charitable Giving Committee comprised of both attorneys and staff members. These committees direct the charitable giving activities of the local office and prepare an annual charitable giving budget for consideration by the Seyfarth Shaw Charitable Foundation Board. The office budgets are based on individual and group requests for support of volunteer activities. View a list of Charitable Giving Committee Chairs for each office.

Many of the offices have adopted “flagship” charities which are particularly meaningful to the people in those offices. These flagship charities receive the highest level of financial and volunteer support from the office and usually are associated with organized fundraising or service events in which everyone in the office is invited to participate.

In 2008, the firm gave more than $1 million to 256 charitable organizations. View the complete list of 2008 grants.

Attorney and Staff Community Service

The firm strongly encourages all of our attorneys and staff to donate their time to help those in the community, whether as volunteers, fundraisers, board members, or participants in runs, walks, bike rides, or service projects. The firm annually gives the Seyfarth Shaw Community Service Award to the individual who best demonstrates a commitment to giving back to the community and making a difference. Everyone in the firm is eligible, and the winner receives a $1000 cash prize and a $2500 donation to his or her chosen charity.

Attorneys and staff contribute significant amounts of time to a number of charitable organizations and volunteer activities. In the Seyfarth Shaw Volunteer Profile, we regularly feature the community service activities of an individual in the Firm. To read more about these volunteers, click on the links below:

Additionally, a few examples of community service from each office include:

Attorneys and staff contribute significant amounts of time to a number of charitable organizations and volunteer activities. A few examples from each office include:

Members of the Atlanta office participate in the Race for the Cure on behalf of the Susan G. Komen Foundation, the Corporate Challenge to support Boys & Girls Clubs, a build day with Habitat for Humanity, the AIDS Walk Atlanta, and hold an annual Secret Santa Toy Drive for local low-income families. View photos of Atlanta office events.

The Boston office’s flagship charity is Best Buddies International, an organization dedicated to helping those with intellectual disabilities; as a result, Seyfarth is a major sponsor of the Audi Best Buddies Challenge Hyannis Port bike ride, and also provides free office space to Best Buddies. The Boston office also supports the Fenway Alliance for cultural and academic advancement (including the delivery of pro bono legal services), supports the Berklee College of Music program for the disadvantaged, and gives away turkeys to low-income families at Thanksgiving. View photos of Boston office events.

The Chicago office has two flagship charity partners, the American Cancer Society and the American Heart Association. In the Spring, the Chicago office rallies to support the ACS through participation in the Relay for Life, the Discovery Ball, and various related fundraising activities. In the Fall, Seyfarth fields a huge team for the AHA’s Heart Walk in Grant Park. The Chicago office has been the top law firm fundraiser for the Heart Walk in 2005, 2006, and 2007. Chicago attorneys and staff also serve on mentoring teams for ten Chicago public high school students and participate in numerous other individual and group activities. View photos of Chicago office events.

Our Houston office fields a team and sponsors and staffs a sandwich break station for the MS150 two-day bike ride from Houston to Austin, which raises funds for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, the flagship charity of the Houston office. The Houston office also participates in the Race for the Cure on behalf of the Susan G. Komen Foundation. View photos of Houston office events.

In Los Angeles, we support Para Los Ninos, which provides child care and schooling to at-risk youth, build houses with Habitat for Humanity, and participate in a walk to support the Arthritis Foundation. View photos of Los Angeles events.

Members of our New York office work with New York Cares on a coat drive, volunteer with Habitat for Humanity, participate in City Harvest’s “Feed the Kids” campaign, and host a visit from Santa Claus for local children, in addition to participating in events to support the New York office’s flagship charity, Jumpstart for Young Children. View photos of New York office events.

The Sacramento office participates in the Race for the Cure on behalf of the Susan G. Komen Foundation, and supports its flagship charity, the American Cancer Society, by participating in the ACS’s Annual Capitol Invitational Golf Tournament.

Attorneys and staff from San Francisco participate in the Audi Best Buddies Challenge Hearst Castle bike ride, volunteer at a local mission to provide meals to the homeless, and turn out in force to walk in the AIDS Walk, which raises money for the San Francisco AIDS Foundation, the flagship charity of the San Francisco office. View photos of San Francisco office events.

In Washington D.C., attorneys and staff assemble twice per year to make sandwiches for Martha’s Table, an organization that feeds low-income and homeless people, participate in the Susan G. Komen three-day Breast Cancer Walk to raise funds to support cancer research, and host an arts and crafts-making event at the National Children’s Medical Center for patients and their families. View photos of Washington, D.C. office events.

Our commitment to community service also extends to efforts to minimize the impact of our operations on the environment.. Several of our offices have established Go Green committees which work with local office management and organizations within the community to learn how we can make a difference. Individual office successes are shared throughout the firm so that we can adopt best practices. Go Green initiatives include but are not limited to: providing desk-side paper recycling and floor-wide bottle and can recycling bins; using recycled paper; encouraging paper use reduction and double-sided printing; encouraging use of filtered water instead of bottled water; switching to compact fluorescent lighting; providing bicycle storage and showering facilities; and encouraging employees to turn off lights, computers, and other electronics when not in use. Seyfarth Shaw is committed to moving along the path to sustainability in order to enhance the well-being of our communities.

Through our individual and office-based pro bono, charitable giving, and community service activities, we demonstrate that the Seyfarth Shaw name stands for more than superior legal services. Our commitment to giving back to our communities is a testament to the firm’s culture and core values.

To learn more about the firm’s pro bono, community service, or charitable giving programs, please contact Allegra Rich at arich@seyfarth.com or 312-460-5523.