On behalf of the PBI Board of Directors and staff, it is our pleasure to welcome you to the PBI 2026 Annual Dinner.
Tonight, we celebrate the extraordinary power of pro bono work and the people, partnerships, and institutions advancing access to justice. This evening marks two important milestones — PBI’s 30th Anniversary and the 20th Anniversary of its Corporate Pro Bono Challenge® initiative. We also recognize the exceptional pro bono achievements and innovations of all the 2026 awardees.
We are deeply grateful to our Dinner Co-Chairs, Marcus Brown and Jake Phillips, for their leadership and generous support, and to our sponsors, attendees, and friends whose commitment strengthens PBI’s mission.
May the stories and achievements shared tonight inspire continued action, deeper collaboration, and renewed dedication to expanding access to justice for all.
Thank you for being part of this remarkable community. #ProBonoProud
FIRST COURSE
Co-Chairs’ Welcome Remarks
Marcus Brown, Executive Vice President and General Counsel, Entergy Corporation (Retired)
Jake Phillips, Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary, GE Aerospace
Pro Bono Institute
30th Anniversary Video
Institutionalizing Pro Bono:
From Commitment to Client Impact
Jonathan P. Harmon, PBI Board Chair
Chairman, McGuireWoods
Deon Jones, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher Pro Bono Client
PRESENTATION OF THE
2026 JOHN H. PICKERING AWARD
Joshua A. Geltzer, Partner and Co-Chair of Defense, National Security, and Government Contracts Practice, WilmerHale
Katie Marquart, Partner & Pro Bono Chair, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher
SECOND COURSE
PRESENTATION OF THE CPBO PRO BONO PARTNER AWARDS
Expanding Collaboration: Strengthening Communities
Jake Phillips presents the
Corporate Pro Bono Partner Award
Stacey Friedman, Executive Vice President and General Counsel, JPMorganChase
THIRD COURSE
Innovation in Action:
Enhancing Pro Bono Service
Marcus Brown presents the
Corporate Pro Bono Partner Award
Gindi Eckel Vincent, General Counsel, Low Carbon Energy and Industrial Solutions & Chair, Global Pro Bono, Honeywell Technologies
FOURTH COURSE
The Future of Pro Bono & Closing Remarks
James J. Sandman, PBI Board Member & Distinguished Professor of Practice and Public Service, University of South Carolina Joseph F. Rice School of Law
Eve Runyon, President & CEO, PBI
DESSERT RECEPTION
On May 30, 2020, while peacefully protesting following the murder of George Floyd, Deon Jones was shot in the face with a rubber bullet by a Los Angeles Police Department officer. Mr. Jones, represented by Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP, sued the City of Los Angeles and the officer for violating his constitutional rights in what became the landmark case Deon Jones v. City of Los Angeles.
Marcus Brown
Entergy Corporation (Retired)
Jake Phillips
GE Aerospace
Laura Atkinson-Hope
Latham & Watkins
Scott A. Barshay
Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison
Kiamesha Colom
Taft
Sharon Crane
Practising Law Institute
Leon F. DeJulius Jr.
Jones Day
Brenna DeVaney
Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom
Lisa Dewey
DLA Piper
Daniel T. Falstad
Entergy Corporation
David Flavell
PepsiCo, Inc.
Stacey Friedman
JPMorganChase
Joshua A. Geltzer
WilmerHale
Denisse Gonzalez
Cisco Systems, Inc.
Jonathan P. Harmon
McGuireWoods
Jennifer Hess
Merck & Co., Inc.
Joe Lee
Cisco Systems, Inc.
Katie Marquart
Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher
Bridget McGraw
GE Aerospace
Jon Monson
The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc.
Sabastian Niles
Salesforce
Hossein Nowbar
ServiceNow, Inc.
Joy O’Brien
The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc.
Regina Pisa
Goodwin Procter
Craig S. Primis, P.C.
Kirkland & Ellis
Dana Remus
Covington & Burling
Steven H. Schulman
Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld
Phil Seckman
Dentons
Laura Stein
Mondelēz International
J. Tracy Walker IV
McGuireWoods
Tommy Williams
Thomson Reuters
David A. Zapolsky
Amazon
Accenture
Arnold & Porter
Ashurst Perkins Coie
Clifford Chance
Comcast NBCUniversal
GSK
Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company
Holland & Knight
Koch Capabilities, LLC
Paul Hastings
The Procter & Gamble Company
Wiley
Alston & Bird
Charles River Associates
Cravath, Swaine & Moore
Davis Wright Tremaine
Foley & Lardner
Medtronic
MetLife, Inc.
Microsoft Corporation
Morgan, Lewis & Bockius
Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company
Pinterest, Inc.
Quarles & Brady
Eve Runyon
Squire Patton Boggs
Uber Technologies, Inc.
UFC
Wheeler Trigg O’Donnell
Balch & Bingham
Dinsmore & Shohl
Haynes Boone
Honeywell Technologies
Intel Corporation
K&L Gates
Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris,
Glovsky and Popeo
Munger, Tolles & Olson
Quattlebaum, Grooms & Tull
U.S. Bank
WTW
PBI is especially grateful to sponsors that support both PBI’s Annual Conference and Annual Dinner with a minimum combined sponsorship of $30,000.
Founded in 1996, Pro Bono Institute (PBI) is the respected resource for all things pro bono with an unparalleled depth of knowledge, resources and expertise. Through its work with law firms, in-house corporate legal departments, and public interest organizations, PBI is the global thought leader in exploring, identifying, evaluating, catalyzing, and taking to scale new approaches to and resources for the provision of legal services to the poor, disadvantaged, and other individuals or groups unable to secure legal assistance to address critical problems.
PBI LAW FIRM PRO BONO PROJECT
The PBI Law Firm Pro Bono Project is the only global effort designed to support and enhance the pro bono culture and performance of major law firms in the United States and around the world. The Law Firm Project’s goal is to fully integrate pro bono into the practice, philosophy, and culture of firms so that large law firms provide the institutional support, infrastructure, and encouragement essential to fostering a climate supportive of pro bono service and promoting partner and associate participation.
LAW FIRM PRO BONO
CHALLENGE® INITIATIVE
Learn more about PBI’s definition of pro bono and aspirational goals uniquely tailored to the resources and practice of major law firms.
MEMBERSHIP
Become a Member Law Firm, support the Law Firm Project’s work through annual dues, and receive a wide range of free and discounted services.
PBI CORPORATE PRO BONO PROJECT
The PBI Corporate Pro Bono (CPBO) project is designed to substantially increase the amount of pro bono work performed by in-house counsel and to enhance the pro bono culture of in-house legal departments through technical assistance to the in-house community, targeted research and publications, online information and services, and outreach and educational programming. The CPBO project also works closely with Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC) chapters to focus their resources and agendas on pro bono service.
CORPORATE PRO BONO
CHALLENGE® INITIATIVE
Celebrating its 20th anniversary in 2026, the CPBO Challenge initiative is a voluntary statement of commitment to pro bono service by legal departments, their lawyers and staff.
