PRO BONO
Top five offices Richmond, Va Hq | Washington, D.C. | Atlanta | New York | Dallas
Total attorneys 850
Major departments/practices Corporate/Finance | Litigation
First-year salary $100,000
2001 summer associates 51*
2001 fall first-years 128*
Who to call Christine Tracey, Legal Recruiting Manager, 212-309-1217
Web site hunton.com
At many firms, the pro bono requirement seems like a little bit more than the legal equivalent of a canned food drive-give a bit, feel better about yourself. But at Richmond, Virginia-based Hunton & Williams, serving people in need is an everyday priority.
H&W makes it clear even before attorneys sign on that pro bono work is endemic to its culture (H&W’s recruiting literature states that the firm expects all 850 of its attorneys “to perform substantial pro bono legal services”). Then the firm backs that up. Pro bono hours actually count toward an associate’s annual billable-hours target and are considered during a lawyer’s annual compensation review. The firm also operates two dedicated pro bono offices, one in Richmond, the other in Atlanta. The offices were set up as part of H&W’s ongoing effort to make low-cost legal work an integral part of its mission.
The net result is a shop where 98 percent of associates and 88 percent of partners devote an average of 63 pro bono hours each year. Others have taken notice of those impressive stats. Local bar associations including North Carolina’s and New York’s have recognized H&W for its pro bono contributions in their states. And in 1999, the American Bar Association recognized H&W’s work with a Pro Bono Publico Award.
Associate Amy Rhodes is the coordinator of the firm’s September 11 volunteer efforts-efforts that involved fully half of the attorneys in the New York office. Pro bono work, she says, is intrinsically rewarding. It’s also a great way for young lawyers to get experience-like trial experience-says H&W pro bono coordinator Tatum Hoffer.
For lawyers especially dedicated to making a difference, H&W offers two two-year pro bono fellowships-after the second year, there’s no obligation to stay with the firm. Fellows are paid more than what they’d get working for Legal Aid but less than the $100,000 first-years take home. Pro bono fellow Margaret Duval likes the fact that she can pay off some of her loans from her three years at the University of Virginia School of Law, then move on to a public-interest job after the two-year commitment. That, she says, “is the best of both worlds.”
(* Estimates reported to NALP)
Also Consider
Attorneys at New York’s 522-lawyer Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison (paulweiss.com) also log well-above-average pro bono hours. High-profile death-penalty and abortion-rights cases are among the matters the firm regularly handles.
