Pro Bono Institute (PBI) is honored to present Wells Fargo and Ellen Patterson, Senior Executive Vice President and General Counsel, with the 2026 Laurie D. Zelon Pro Bono Award at the PBI 2026 Annual Conference on March 5.
This annual award recognizes an individual or organization’s exceptional commitment to pro bono as demonstrated by exemplary engagement in pro bono legal services.
Wells Fargo formally launched its Pro Bono Program in 2014. Since then, pro bono has become an integral part of Wells Fargo’s commitment to volunteerism, community service, and charitable giving. The Pro Bono Program’s efforts are part of Wells Fargo’s Philanthropy and Community Impact, which focuses on housing access and affordability, small business growth and financial opportunities. Employees in the company’s legal department engage in pro bono matters related to these community needs. In 2025, Wells Fargo employees across the U.S. volunteered more than 900,000 hours across a range of volunteer efforts.
The Pro Bono Program is a testament to the Wells Fargo Legal Department’s dedication to making a difference in the communities it serves by providing access to justice for those who cannot afford legal services.
The Program is led by the Pro Bono Steering Team with local coordinators covering 16 offices around the globe. Pro bono is available to all members of the legal department, including paralegals, business support professionals, and administrative staff members. Since 2022, Wells Fargo legal professionals have contributed more than 16,000 pro bono hours.
In partnership with law firms and local legal services providers and nonprofits, Wells Fargo’s volunteer legal professionals participate in a variety of projects. Recent clients include tenants facing eviction, survivors of domestic violence and human trafficking, and veterans. The Program also expanded recently to respond to urgent needs for disaster relief legal services, most notably assisting those affected by hurricanes in North Carolina and wildfires in California.
Wells Fargo’s pro bono initiatives include:
Financial Institution Pro Bono Day
The Financial Institution Pro Bono Day® (FIPBD®) event, hosted by PBI and its Corporate Pro Bono project, brings together volunteer attorneys and legal staff from financial institutions across the country and around the globe to provide pro bono legal assistance to address critical legal needs of unrepresented individuals in communities. Wells Fargo has sponsored or co-sponsored 33 FIPBD events since its inception in 2019, aiding in a variety of legal issues across the nation, most notably in California, New Jersey, and North Carolina.
Pro Bono Week
Each year, the American Bar Association (ABA) celebrates the National Celebration of Pro Bono (Pro Bono Week) to increase engagement around pro bono legal services. Wells Fargo participates in Pro Bono Week each year through in-person and virtual activities, such as legal service clinics, trainings, panel discussions, workshops, and research opportunities. In 2025, over 250 Wells Fargo volunteers participated in 22 Pro Bono Week events, partnering with 14 nonprofits and legal services providers and over 18 law firms.
Charlotte Triage Pro Bono Partnership
The Charlotte Triage Pro Bono Partnership, created in 2018, is led by Wells Fargo, Bank of America, Duke Energy, Husqvarna, McGuireWoods, and Moore & Van Allen. The partnership supports Legal Aid of North Carolina-Charlotte and the Charlotte Center for Legal Advocacy. PBI recognized the Charlotte Triage with the 2020 CPBO Pro Bono Partner Award, which celebrates innovative pro bono partnerships between law firms, in-house legal departments, and public interest organizations.
Eviction and Housing Support
Working with Legal Services of Eastern Missouri (LSEM), Wells Fargo’s legal department has provided pro bono counsel to people facing eviction and housing issues.
Wills for Warriors Clinic
Wells Fargo’s Legal Department in Charlotte partners with McGuireWoods, the Charlotte Center for Legal Advocacy, and the Wells Fargo Foundation to host the annual Wills for Warriors Clinic, now in its eighth year. The clinic provides low‑income veterans and their families with free end‑of‑life planning documents. In the most recent clinic, more than 50 Wells Fargo and community volunteers assisted 25 veteran clients.
About Ellen Patterson
Ellen Patterson is Senior Executive Vice President and General Counsel of Wells Fargo & Company. As General Counsel, Ellen leads the company’s global legal affairs by providing strategic legal counsel to the company’s business lines and functions, overseeing litigation and regulatory enforcement matters, and advising on corporate governance. Ellen serves on the Wells Fargo Operating Committee and as co-executive sponsor of Wells Fargo’s Women’s Connection.
Before joining Wells Fargo as General Counsel in March 2020, Ellen served as general counsel of another major financial institution and was a partner at Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP, focusing on mergers and acquisitions.
About the Laurie D. Zelon Pro Bono Award
PBI named the award as a tribute to the Honorable Laurie D. Zelon, retired Associate Justice of the California 2nd District Court of Appeal, who was one of the originators of the PBI Law Firm Pro Bono Challenge® initiative. Justice Zelon served as chair and was a longtime member of the California Access to Justice Commission. She has been active with several statewide judicial committees addressing justice administration issues.
