Debevoise & Plimpton LLP has received the 2022 John H. Pickering Award from the Pro Bono Institute (PBI) at its 2022 Annual Dinner. The award, which was given in conjunction with Wilmer Hale and the Pickering family, recognizes the firm’s “outstanding institutional commitment to pro bono and the inspiring pro bono performance of its attorneys and staff.” The award is named after the late John H. Pickering, a distinguished appellate attorney and leader in the legal profession who was equally well known for his extraordinary commitment to pro bono and the public interest.

At the event, Presiding Partner Peter A. Furci accepted the award on behalf of the firm, and Dr. Sharon Austin, a professor of political science at the University of Florida and pro bono client, gave remarks about the firm’s pro bono work, noting its help securing long-term free speech rights for the university’s faculty members. Learn more about the firm’s First Amendment victory against the University of Florida, led by litigation partner David O’Neil in this video.

Debevoise provides a wide array of pro bono legal services to marginalized communities and underserved populations on matters ranging from landmark international and national disputes to representations of low-income individuals. We also partner with clients on a range of corporate, litigation and tax pro bono matters in clinic settings, and on individual matters. In 2021, the firm’s lawyers in the U.S. provided over 70,000 hours of free legal services to individuals, nonprofit organizations and low-income entrepreneurs. See an overview of the firm’s pro bono program in this new video.