PBI is proud to present the 2024 John H. Pickering Award to Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP* (MTO). This prestigious award, presented in conjunction with Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr*† (WilmerHale) and the Pickering family, recognizes MTO’s outstanding institutional commitment to pro bono work and the inspiring performance of its attorneys and staff.
A Legacy of Consequential Pro Bono Work
From its founding, MTO has set a high standard in the legal community with its dedication of resources to pro bono efforts that address critical issues such as voting rights, civil liberties, racial and criminal justice, housing, women’s rights, and LGBTQIA+ rights. MTO was a charter signatory to the PBI Law Firm Pro Bono Challenge® initiative, and its attorneys have consistently devoted more than 6 percent of their billable time to pro bono work. This includes significant time and resources dedicated to the firm’s MTO Police Reform Initiative, an offshoot of its Combatting Systemic Racism Task Force. Through this initiative, the firm partners with ACLU California affiliates to obtain records of police misconduct via California’s Public Records Act. The initiative has resulted in the release of thousands of pages of records from law enforcement agencies related to police misconduct, including officer-involved deaths, which will be made available to the public at large.
Recent Achievements
In 2023 and 2024, MTO’s pro bono efforts led to several landmark victories, including:
Commitment to Pro Bono Excellence
Since 2020, MTO has devoted more than 182,000 hours to pro bono matters, including:
In 2023, MTO lawyers and professional staff worked on 198 pro bono matters, devoting 41,897 hours to pro bono work, with partners and associates averaging 136.8 hours of pro bono work per lawyer. As a result of MTO’s work, the firm has been ranked multiple times in the top ten on The American Lawyer’s Pro Bono Scorecard.
Learn more about Munger, Tolles & Olson’s ongoing pro bono work by visiting the firm’s website.
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About the John H. Pickering Award
PBI’s award is given in honor of the late John H. Pickering, a distinguished appellate attorney and leader in the legal profession who was equally well known for his extraordinary commitment to pro bono and the public interest. PBI presents the award in conjunction with his law firm, Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr (WilmerHale), and the Pickering family to honor a law firm for its outstanding commitment to pro bono legal services. Read more about the award and view a list of previous recipients.
* denotes a Law Firm Pro Bono Challenge® signatory
** denotes a Corporate Pro Bono Challenge® signatory
† denotes a Law Firm Pro Bono Project® member