WASHINGTON—Covington has ranked first in average pro bono hours performed by lawyers based in the United States in 2021 for the fourth year in a row, according to The American Lawyer's newly released Annual Pro Bono Survey.
The American Lawyer also ranked Covington second overall among Am Law 200 firms in its annual survey. The scorecard considers the average number of pro bono hours per lawyer and the percentage of lawyers who performed more than 20 hours of pro bono work.
Alan Pemberton, chair of Covington's pro bono committee, said the firm’s lawyers simply “make time” for pro bono, despite the demands of their billable work.
The firm’s lawyers devoted many hours in 2021 to voting rights work, Alan said, including litigation challenging Ohio redistricting “otherwise known as gerrymandering” and another impact suit in Florida in which the firm succeeded in enjoining provisions of a new voting law that would have a vote-suppressive effect on poor people and minorities.
According to Kelly Voss, the firm’s pro bono counsel, lawyers also worked on many individual matters, such as immigration work, and represented individuals in housing conditions and housing assistance work.
Since its founding in 1919, Covington has maintained a strong commitment to public service. The firm encourages all of its lawyers to participate in pro bono work and devotes significant resources to finding pro bono projects that reflect the diverse interests of its lawyers. Covington’s pro bono work is anchored in meeting local needs and serving economically disadvantaged individuals and families in our surrounding communities, but the firm also has a long history of serving vulnerable clients and important causes throughout the U.S. and the world.
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