We take pride in the work of our lawyers in the community and assisting those in need. We regularly support and partner with organizations that are committed to excellence through diversity and inclusion and have a long-standing commitment to pro bono work.
The firm has a long history of supporting the NAACP Legal Defense Fund (“LDF”) and the Washington Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs. Moreover, senior counsel David Kendall has served on NAACP LDF’s board of directors for many years, and Edward Bennett Williams was one of the founders of the Washington Lawyers’ Committee.
Williams & Connolly continues its two-decade commitment to the Thurgood Marshall Academy, a Charter School in the District of Columbia that serves students (mostly, African-American) who hope to pursue a legal career. Williams & Connolly lawyers have served on the school’s board and employees have volunteered at the school. In addition, lawyers and firm staff have tutored Thurgood Marshall students for over 15 years. The firm also partners with Georgetown Law Center to teach the Street Law class at Dunbar High School (a historically Black high school). Each year, firm attorneys coach the Dunbar students in a mock trial competition.
Williams & Connolly has been ranked among the top firms in the D.C. area in terms of pro bono work and was honored by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit for its commitment. Our attorneys perform pro bono work on a wide range of matters, including representation of veterans seeking benefits, indigent criminal defendants, immigrants and asylum-seekers, low-income individuals in housing cases, and victims of domestic violence in civil protective order cases. Much of this works benefits underserved minorities and women. Since 2001, we have partnered with the Maryland Public Defender’s Office to handle numerous felony trials and appeals. Moreover, each year we provide 2-4 associates to the Public Defender’s Office for six-month paid secondments, which provide an intensive trial and hearing experience. In addition, the firm has a strong asylum and immigrants’ rights pro bono practice. For example, the firm partners with the Texas Civil Rights Project, the Capital Area Immigrants’ Rights Coalition, and other organizations to represent numerous families currently seeking asylum. We also have established a pro bono partnership with the National Veterans Legal Services Program (“NVLSP”). Matters have included representing veterans before service-specific discharge upgrade boards and appellate cases before the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims. Lastly, since 2020, Williams & Connolly has supported the Law Firm Antiracism Alliance and its efforts to end structural racism.
The firm sponsors and partners with several organizations, including the following:
- Access to Justice Commission
- Asian Pacific American Bar Association Educational Fund
- Capital Areas Immigrants’ Rights Coalition
- Center for WorkLife Law at UC Hastings College of Law
- Children's Law Center
- Code the Dream
- Corporate Counsel Women of Color
- D.C. Bar Foundation
- D.C. Bar Pro Bono Foundation
- D.C. Volunteer Lawyers Project
- Equal Justice Initiative
- Equal Justice Works
- Foundation for Advancement of Diversity in IP Law
- Gifts for the Homeless
- Human Rights First
- Lambda Legal
- Law Firm Antiracism Alliance
- Leadership Council on Legal Diversity
- Legal Aid Society of D.C.
- Legal Counsel for the Elderly
- Mid-Atlantic Innocence Project
- NAACP Legal Defense Fund
- National Asian Pacific American Bar Association
- National Immigration Litigation Alliance
- National Partnership for Women and Families
- National Veterans Legal Services
- National Women's Law Center
- Network for Victim Recovery of D.C.
- Pro Bono Institute
- Sponsors for Educational Opportunity
- Thurgood Marshall Academy
- Washington Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs
- Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless