Pro Bono
O’Melveny’s commitment to exceptional client service extends to the underrepresented through the firm’s award-winning pro bono practice.
Our pro bono program tackles the critical issues of the day, including immigration, housing, women’s rights, criminal justice, education, veterans affairs, voting rights, racial justice, LGBTQ+ rights, and community building. Our clients—from immigrants seeking refuge to nonprofits stitching together a social safety net—are as diverse as the communities we serve. And we continue to challenge ourselves to do more.
Our lawyers have overturned wrongful convictions, secured legal status for immigrants fleeing persecution, protected low-income tenants facing abuse by slumlords, and fought for women’s reproductive rights and critical healthcare, among many other life-changing victories.
We regularly take our fights on behalf of the civil rights of traditionally marginalized groups all the way to the Supreme Court. And by providing critical corporate, governance and business advice, we help community-based charitable entities as well as local small businesses realize their goals of bringing vital services to our communities.
Explore our 2022-2023 Pro Bono Program Review.
Focus Areas
Community Partners
O’Melveny’s relationships with legal services organizations are critical to the success of its pro bono program.
“We often rely on these legal services organizations to identify worthy cases, based on their work in low-income communities," said David Lash, O’Melveny’s managing counsel for pro bono and public interest services. "Those organizations identify client needs, screen cases, and often mentor our attorneys in areas of law in which their staff attorneys have deep expertise.”
O’Melveny collaborates with local, state, and national legal services organizations on the front lines and entirely devoted to reducing the justice gap, where “[l]ow-income Americans do not get any or enough legal help for 92% of their substantial civil legal problems,” according to research by Legal Services Corporation, the single largest funder of civil legal aid for low-income Americans.
Together, O’Melveny and these legal services organizations assist clients who desperately need legal help but lack the resources and knowledge to hire counsel to help protect and assert their rights in areas including immigration, civil rights, small business assistance, women’s health issues, racial justice, and much more.
O’Melveny is honored to work closely with a wide range of organizations committed to serving low-income Americans and helping them secure critical and sometimes even life-changing legal representation.
“We often rely on these legal services organizations to identify worthy cases, based on their work in low-income communities," said David Lash, O’Melveny’s managing counsel for pro bono and public interest services. "Those organizations identify client needs, screen cases, and often mentor our attorneys in areas of law in which their staff attorneys have deep expertise.”
O’Melveny collaborates with local, state, and national legal services organizations on the front lines and entirely devoted to reducing the justice gap, where “[l]ow-income Americans do not get any or enough legal help for 92% of their substantial civil legal problems,” according to research by Legal Services Corporation, the single largest funder of civil legal aid for low-income Americans.
Together, O’Melveny and these legal services organizations assist clients who desperately need legal help but lack the resources and knowledge to hire counsel to help protect and assert their rights in areas including immigration, civil rights, small business assistance, women’s health issues, racial justice, and much more.
O’Melveny is honored to work closely with a wide range of organizations committed to serving low-income Americans and helping them secure critical and sometimes even life-changing legal representation.
- ABA Death Penalty Representation Project
- ABA Immigration Justice Project
- Abortion Defense Network
- Advocates for Children
- The Alliance for Children’s Rights
- A-Mark Foundation
- American Civil Liberties Union
- Animal Legal Defense Fund
- Anti-Defamation League
- Appleseed Foundation
- Asian American Justice Center
- Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund
- Asian Americans Advancing Justice
- Asian Law Caucus
- The Asylum Seeker Advocacy Project (ASAP)
- Austin Bar Foundation
- Austin Bar Foundation
- The Bar Association of San Francisco
- The Bazelon Center
- Berkeley Law Death Penalty Clinic
- Bet Tzedek Legal Services
- Boys and Girls Club of America
- Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence
- The Brennan Center for Justice
- The Bronx Defenders
- Brooklyn Defender Services (BDS)
- The California Habeas Project
- California Rural Legal Assistance
- California Women’s Law Center
- Capital Area Immigrants’ Rights Coalition (CAIR)
- Catholic Charities of Houston
- Catholic Charities of Los Angeles
- Catholic Charities of New York
- The Center for Constitutional Rights
- Center for Reproductive Rights
- Child Justice, Inc.
- Children’s Institute
- Children’s Law Center of Los Angeles
- The Children’s Partnership
- The City Bar Justice Center
- Community Legal Aid of Southern California
- Community Legal Services in East Palo Alto
- Community Organization Representation Project
- Compassion & Choices
- Constitutional Rights Foundation
- Cornell Law School Death Penalty Project
- Criminal Justice Act Panel, Eastern and Southern Districts of New York, Northern
- District of California, and Central
- Dallas Volunteer Attorney Program
- DC Pro Bono Clinic
- DC Volunteer Lawyers Project (DCVLP)
- Disability Rights Maryland
- District of California
- District of Columbia Bar Association
- The Door
- Dress for Success
- DV Leap/Network for Victim Recovery of DC
- East Bay Community Law Center
- EDNY Pro Se Office
- Education Law Center
- Emerson Collective
- Esperanza Immigrant Rights Project
- Everytown
- Family Violence Appellate Project
- The Federal Defenders of New York
- First Star
- Ford’s Theatre
- Freedom from Hunger
- Georgetown Center on National Security
- The Georgetown University Health Alliance (Cancer Law Project)
- Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence
- Grameen Foundation
- Homeless Court
- Hope Events, Inc.
- Houston Bar Association
- Houston Volunteer Lawyers
- Human Rights First
- Human Rights Watch
- The Humane Society of the United States
- If/When/How
- Immigrant Justice Corps
- Immigration Equality
- Inner City Law Center
- The Innocence Project
- Institute for Justice
- International Refugee Assistance Project
- Invisible Children, Inc.
- Irvine Barclay Theatre
- Jewish Family Service
- The Jewish Journal
- Justice & Diversity Center—The Bar Association of San Francisco
- Justice for Children
- Kids In Need of Defense (KIND)
- Kidspace Museum
- LA Center for Law & Justice
- LA Library Foundation
- Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund
- Lamp Community
- Latino Business Chamber of Commerce
- The Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence
- Law Firm Antiracism Alliance
- The Law Foundation of Silicon Valley
- The Lawyering Project
- Lawyers Alliance for New York
- Lawyers for a Sustainable Economy
- Lawyers For Good Government
- Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Pro Bono Asylum Program
- Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law
- LCCR Legal Services for Entrepreneurs
- Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles
- Legal Aid Society – Employment Law Center
- The Legal Aid Society (of New York)
- Legal Aid Society of San Diego
- Legal Aid Society of San Mateo County
- Legal Aid Society of the District of Columbia
- Legal Services NYC (LSNYC)
- Levitt & Quinn Family Law Center
- London Legal Advice Centres
- Los Angeles 2024 (Now called Los Angeles 2028)
- Los Angeles County Bar Association
- MacArthur Justice Center
- MAZON
- The Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund
- Montgomery County Public Defender’s Office
- MS Center for Justice/MS Volunteer Lawyers Project
- NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund (LDF)
- National Abortion Federation
- National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers
- National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials
- National Center for Access to Justice
- National Health Law Project
- National Immigrant Justice Center
- National Immigration Law Center
- National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty
- National Veterans Legal Services Program
- National Women’s Law Center
- Natural Resources Defense Council
- Neighborhood Legal Services – Los Angeles
- New York City Law Department
- New York Civil Liberties Union
- New York Lawyers for the Public Interest (NYLPI)
- New York Legal Assistance Group (NYLAG)
- Ninth Circuit Pro Bono Appellate Project
- NY Attorney General Task Force on Reproductive Rights
- Oceana
- Office of the Appellate Defenders
- Office of the Maryland Public Defender
- One Justice
- Orange County Bar Association
- Partners for Women & Justice
- Phoenix House
- PILnet
- Planned Parenthood Federation of America
- Post-Conviction Justice Project
- Pro Bono Partnership
- Public Counsel
- Public Interest Law Institute
- Public Law Center
- Rainbow Services
- Rainforest Alliance
- Riverkeeper
- San Francisco Food Bank
- Sanctuary for Families
- SDNY Pro Se Office
- SEE-LA
- The Sentencing Project
- Sixth Circuit Pro Bono Appellate Project
- Skirball Cultural Center
- SOL-LA Music Academy
- Southern Poverty Law Center
- Special Olympics
- Start Small Think Big
- Tahirih Justice Center
- Teen Court
- Texas Defender Service
- Texas Innocence Network
- Third Circuit Pro Bono Appellate Project
- TMC Development Working Solutions
- Transgender Legal Defense & Education Fund
- Trial Advocacy Prosecution Program (TAPP)
- TrustLaw
- United Way
- Urban Justice Center
- US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit
- US District Court, Central District of California, Pro Bono Panel
- US Volleyball
- US Water Polo
- The Veterans Consortium Pro Bono Program
- VLSP Community Organization Representation Project
- Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts
- Volunteers of Legal Services (VOLS)
- Washington Lawyer’s Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs
- Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless
- The Weingart Center
- Western Center on Law and Poverty
- Whitman-Walker Health
- The Williams Institute
- Women for Women International
- Women’s Cancer Resource Center
- The Wunderglo Foundation
- X-Prize
- XQ Institute
- YMCA