Washington, D.C. – — In recognition of this year’s National Celebration of Pro Bono (Oct. 25-31, 2026), Lawyers for Good Government (L4GG), a leading nonprofit mobilizing pro bono legal support for human rights and justice initiatives, is proud to present its 2026 Pro Bono Awards to two exceptional partners.
This year’s honorees exemplify the power of pro bono work at every stage of a legal career:
“A commitment to pro bono can start at any point in a legal career,” said Lauren Worsek, L4GG’s director of pro bono initiatives. “McDermott Will & Schulte partners and associates brought their everyday practice to three very different areas of our work. UC Irvine School of Law students take on meaningful work in their first weeks of law school. Both show how much the legal community can accomplish when lawyers, and future lawyers, bring their skills to the people who need them.”
McDermott Will & Schulte: Work Permits, Environmental Justice and Transgender Rights
In 2025, McDermott Will & Schulte attorneys contributed more than 1,200 pro bono hours across three areas of L4GG’s work.
Through L4GG’s Asylum Work Permit Clinic, McDermott attorneys helped people seeking asylum apply for the authorization they need to work legally while their cases are pending, often for years. When the federal government terminated environmental justice grants that communities had already been awarded, the firm’s government contracts attorneys joined L4GG’s Climate Change and Environmental Justice effort to help those communities pursue funding they were owed. McDermott attorneys also helped maintain L4GG’s Policy Resource Hub for Transgender Rights, a public database of federal and state policies in all 50 states, updated every business day by pro bono attorneys.
From intellectual property litigators to energy and project finance associates, McDermott’s volunteers show that pro bono work does not require a new specialty. It requires lawyers willing to apply the skills they already have for a new set of clients.
UC Irvine School of Law: Pro Bono From the First Weeks of Law School
UC Irvine School of Law (UC Irvine Law) students contribute to L4GG’s Reproductive Rights Media Project, part of L4GG’s Gender Justice and Health Equity program. Students can join in their first weeks of law school, conducting media research that supports L4GG’s reproductive rights work. Since the project launched in fall 2022, 68 UC Irvine Law students have contributed more than 825 hours to it.
The partnership continues to grow. This academic year, UC Irvine Law and L4GG are launching a new externship partnership that builds on the students’ work.
Celebrating a Decade of Pro Bono Partnership
As L4GG marks 10 years since its founding in 2016, McDermott Will & Schulte and UC Irvine School of Law represent the partnerships that have powered its work: firms that commit attorneys across issue areas, and law schools that make public service part of legal education.
L4GG is honored to celebrate both partners for their contributions. Their work demonstrates the impact of pro bono advocacy in addressing urgent needs and advancing justice.
In the spirit of professionalism and purpose, L4GG thanks its 2026 Pro Bono Award recipients for showing that when lawyers unite behind human rights and democratic values, the outcomes change lives. Learn more at L4GG.org/PB2026.
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Lawyers for Good Government (L4GG) is a nonprofit organization that harnesses the power of 125,000 lawyers, law students and advocates in the fight for justice. We identify where lawyers can make the greatest impact and mobilize them to defend democracy and the rule of law, protect civil and human rights, and advance environmental justice through coordinated legal action and advocacy efforts that create meaningful change for all Americans.