Pro Bono Brochure

Here at MoFo, our lawyers invest time in more than 1,000 pro bono matters each year, for individuals, nonprofit organizations, small businesses, and social entrepreneurs. While these pages offer a glimpse at what pro bono matters are, it would take volumes to tell the whole story. But why does pro bono matter? That we can answer.

Pro Bono Matters

Inclusive to the Core

As the first ethnically diverse chair of the firm, I am committed to moving the needle forward on DEIA through more actively supporting the recruitment, retention, and advancement of diverse attorneys at the firm.”

Eric McCrath, Chair

Diversity in the Partnership —

“In addition to attracting, developing, and advancing the most talented and diverse group of attorneys, MoFo strives to provide all its professionals the tools necessary to lead in equitable and inclusive ways, both inside and outside of the firm, and we do this because of our unwavering commitment to advancing DEIA in the legal industry.”

Why It’s Needed Today More than Ever

View the full list of committee members

Natalie Kernisant, Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer

Reproductive Rights

In the aftermath of the U.S. Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade, MoFo continues to support reproductive rights as an anchor law firm in the Abortion Defense Network and in litigation to enforce medically necessary exceptions to state abortion bans.

Attorney Development & Engagement

We aim to develop the next generation of diverse leaders, with support at all levels.

Immigration

After five years of litigation spanning three presidential administrations, MoFo won a court order that requires beds, showers, quality food, and medical screenings for immigration detainees held more than 48 hours in Customs and Border Patrol facilities near the Arizona-Mexico border.

Client Partnerships

We partner with clients to raise the profile of our diverse attorneys and increase D+I within the profession.

Cutting Edge Advocacy

Our Mission

The Diversity Strategy Committee

The Diversity Strategy Committee (DSC) guides the firm’s global diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) strategy, and is supported by the Affinity Networks, the Allies Network, and local affinity groups. Through this structure, we connect and empower leaders at the firm to help us execute our strategy at every level and to model our shared value of being “inclusive to the core.”

Many Stories, One Firm

Read about our culture and our commitment to diversity.

Diversity in Practice: Reflections of a Latino Lawyer featuring San Francisco partner and DSC co-chair Alexis Amezcua

Law.com’s “How I Made It” featuring New York partner and DSC co-chair Haima Marlier

Law.com’s “How I Made It” featuring New York partner and DSC co-chair Mark Whitaker

Alexis A. Amezcua

Haimavathi V. Marlier

Mark L. Whitaker

View article

Resources

Affinity Networks

MoFo’s wide-ranging partnership with The Nature Conservancy advances innovative approaches to climate action to build a future where nature and people can thrive. One example: creating a “reverse auction” to pay farmers to flood their fields, off-season, in California’s Central Valley, creating temporary wetlands needed to support shorebird migration. As a proud co-founder of Lawyers for a Sustainable Economy, we support creative thinkers who are testing new concepts to address global warming—like promoting local investment in community solar energy projects, creating a mechanism for crowdsourced investments in sustainable energy, and using microbiology to develop sustainable, cultured foods. Pacific Environment is an NGO that partners with local activists to protect Pacific Rim communities and wildlife. Our attorneys in Shanghai and Beijing helped Pacific Environment meet the requirements of the Overseas NGO Management Law in China, registering a local office that enables it to continue its operations there.

Affinity Networks

At Morrison Foerster we believe that respect for people, ideas, and differences makes us stronger colleagues and advisors. MoFo Affinity Networks are cross-office groups of attorneys and business professionals who share a particular affinity. There are currently six MoFo Affinity Networks: Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI), Black, Latinx, LGBTQ+, Disability Affinity, and MoFo Vets. These groups meet on a regular basis, both virtually and in-person, to network and build community among members. Within each network, the partners meet frequently to help development within the affinity, with a particular focus on recruitment, retention, and advancement. Unlike the Affinity Networks, MoFo Affinity Groups are associate-led groups (with partner sponsors) that operate at the office level and can be made up of both attorneys and business professionals. Affinity Groups conduct in-office social and professional development and recruiting programs throughout the year. There are more than 35 affinity groups across our 18 offices. View the full list of MoFo Affinity Groups here.

Every Voice Is Heard

Explore our Diversity in Practice podcast, where we share the perspectives of our clients, colleagues, subject matter experts, and lawyers.

Allyship Is Action

Allyship In Action

At MoFo, we pair diversity of perspective with a strategic consultative approach to craft the tailored strategies our clients need. We foster trusted partnerships that are defined by winning for our clients when it matters most. For example, MoFo has formed special task forces to address issues of racial injustice, seek new ways to amplify diverse voices, and collaborate with legal partners and nonprofits to help those underserved in our communities and underrepresented in the legal profession. In 2021, we became one of only two major law firms to launch an active Allies Network. The Allies Network was created by collapsing the four engagement committees on racial equity, created in response to the outpouring of interest in diversity, equity, and inclusion after the George Floyd tragedy, into a single firmwide Network. The Network was designed to carry on the momentum of that movement by supporting active allyship and serves as a counterpart and supplement to the work of our Affinity Networks.

Pursuing Racial Justice

MoFo’s offers several options for clients on how to partner in order to advance our shared values of diversity and inclusion. Click the tabs to see more

Skill-Building Workshops

Bringing Balance

Voter Rights

Combating Discrimination

“Tough on crime” bills passed in the 1970s led to mass incarceration that has disproportionately affected communities of color in the United States. MoFo joined with the Southern Poverty Law Center to redress the impact of Mississippi’s harsh “Three Strikes” law by filing petitions to request parole hearings for some 100 SPLC clients who were originally given no-parole sentences for non-violent offenses.

Bringing Balance

Combating Discrimination

MoFo sued a local school district on behalf of four Black and Hispanic girls who, as middle-schoolers, were hauled into the school nurse’s office and subjected to intrusive searches because their school principal found it suspicious that they were “giddy” at lunchtime.

Voter Rights

In 2018, Florida restored voting rights to people with past felony convictions. In response, the state legislature passed a law requiring that, to register, these newly eligible voters must also pay any conviction-related fees. Would-be voters have no easy way to determine whether they owe such fees, and face potential criminal charges if they erroneously register. At the request of the Southern Poverty Law Center, MoFo contacted officials in all 68 Florida counties to gather information on each county’s procedures.

Skill-Building Workshops

MoFo specialists are available to lead workshops on a variety of D+I and related skills, including communicating across difference and presenting to diverse audiences.

We partnered with Northrup Grumman Corporation and George Washington University Law (“GW Law”) to more meaningfully invest in the next generation of diverse leaders and launched a joint mentoring program. The program is open to highly motivated GW law students from historically underrepresented groups who expressed an interest in government contracting law; seven students are participating in the program.

MoFo Values:

A strong culture doesn't happen by chance

It requires a thoughtfulness in how we approach our work and each other. It takes a shared set of values to guide how we act internally and engage with clients and our communities externally.

The firm continues to participate in Fellows, Pathfinder, and 1L Scholars Programs with the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity (LCLD) each year since its inception in 2011, with lawyers participating as Fellows or Pathfinders and multiple summer associates participating in LCLD’s 1L Scholars Program. The firm has also participated in Out Leadership development programs throughout the year for our LGBTQ+ lawyers. The Biennial Diversity Summit, established in 2004, provides LGBTQ+ lawyers, lawyers of color, and local alumni of color a two-day workshop that focuses on professional development and skill-building. Learn more about the opportunities we provide for our diverse, LGBTQ+, and women lawyers.

In recognition of the disproportionate amount of time diverse and women attorneys contribute to drive the firm’s commitment to DEIA and to encourage greater engagement more broadly, we offer all MoFo lawyers and timekeeper staff up to 50 hours of billable hour credit annually for approved activities performed in support of the firm’s commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion. MoFo’s David Kaufman, Jocelyn Greer, and Gerardo Gomez Galvis spoke to Law360 about the firm’s billable credit for attorneys’ diversity, equity, and inclusion work.

In celebration of Black History, Women’s History, Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage, Pride, Latinx Heritage, and Disability Employment Awareness Months, the firm hosts firmwide education programs for all employees.

Our Commitment

Here at MoFo, our lawyers invest time in more than 1,000 pro bono matters each year, for individuals, nonprofit organizations, small businesses, and social entrepreneurs. While this offers a glimpse at what pro bono matters are, it would take volumes to tell the whole story. But why does pro bono matter? That we can answer.

Pro Bono Matters...

Give a voice to the unrepresented. Bring justice to individuals. Help small businesses survive disaster. Empower visionaries to create change. Tackle urgent social issues. Uplift our communities.

of office practice group leaders are diverse

of U.S. lawyers on the board of directors are diverse

of U.S. firm leadership are diverse

of U.S. lawyers are diverse

Diverse defined as ethnicity, gender, LGBTQ+, veteran, or disability status

Introduction

Cutting Edge Advocacy

Sustainability and the Environment

Pursuing Racial Justice

Additional Matters

Social Enterprise

Youth and Education

The firm has a longstanding commitment to diversity and inclusion and is regularly recognized as a leader by third-party organizations and market commentators such as Diversity Lab, The American Lawyer, Human Rights Campaign, Law360, Seramount, and Yale Law Women. Take a closer look at MoFo’s ongoing and ever-evolving awards and recognitions.

Pro bono matters change lives – our clients’ lives, and our lawyers’ lives, as well.

MoFo doesn't hold back when justice demands bold advocacy

LGBTQ+ Rights

The firm’s proud legacy of advocacy for marriage equality has gone international as MoFo helped to win support of bar associations and business leaders for same sex marriage in Japan.

Protecting the Vote

MoFo’s lawsuit on behalf of Georgia voters led the state to abolish its antiquated, electronic-only voting system that was highly vulnerable to cyberattack, and to adopt a system that includes paper ballot back-ups.

Sustainability and the Environment

Providing pro bono legal assistance is a core value of Morrison Foerster – a value that our attorneys live out, in every one of our offices, every day. Pro bono work engages our lawyers’ intellects and develops their professional skills. And perhaps most important, these close encounters with society’s most pressing needs teach lessons of the heart that last throughout a lawyer’s career.

Pro Bono Matters

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Social Enterprise

Helping Small Business Survive and Thrive

Youth and Education

Social Enterprise

Helping Small Business Survive and Thrive

And So Much More

As COVID-19 devastated small businesses, MoFo was a catalyst for creating the California Small Enterprise, or CASE Task Force, providing short-term legal and business advice and long-term loans to entrepreneurs affected by the pandemic. We are proud partners of Start Small, Think Big, which offers pro bono legal and financial counsel to small businesses in New York and the San Francisco Bay Area. In Miami, we work with the global nonprofit Endeavor, which selects high-impact entrepreneurs for extensive pro bono support to increase opportunity in the local economy. London transactions attorneys regularly volunteer at qLegal, guiding law students as they advise start-ups and entrepreneurs on legal issues at a clinic sponsored by Queen Mary University of London.

Social entrepreneurs reach beyond traditional nonprofit structures to tackle important social problems in ways that are financially sustainable. Our guides for social enterprise, published in conjunction with TrustLaw and the UK’s UnLtd, help get social enterprises off the ground. London attorneys have assisted AEROPOWDER, an awardwinning startup aimed at capturing some of the tons of feathers generated by the poultry industry each day and creating novel materials from this lightweight, strong, insulating resource that would otherwise go to waste. MoFo patent attorneys work with many social enterprises including Prakti, whose highly efficient cookstoves address the enormous burden that fuel-gathering places on millions of women and children; Angaza Design, whose pay-as-you-go solar systems allow low-income families access to electricity in sub-Saharan Africa; and Participant Assistive Products, whose wheelchairs for children are easily transportable and adaptable for recreational activities.

MoFo and Public Counsel sued California for denying the right to achieve literacy to students attending schools where just 4%-11% of students were graded “proficient” in reading. We reached a settlement that provided over $50 million to promote literacy. The new funds are targeted toward 75 low-performing elementary schools while also supporting literacy statewide. Lawyers in our New York office succeeded in holding the Mount Vernon City School District accountable for its pervasive failure to provide legally required support to children with learning disabilities. The district is now implementing wide-ranging reforms as recommended by an independent expert. Children in foster care in California, Hawaii and New York are reaping the benefits of litigation brought by MoFo to require that foster parents get financial support sufficient to meet the requirements of the federal Child Welfare Act.

Youth and Education