WASHINGTON, D.C. – Pro Bono Institute (PBI) is proud to present James L. Volling, Senior Counsel, Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP, with the 2025 Chesterfield Smith Award for his extraordinary courage and commitment to pro bono as a legal leader. PBI will present the Award at the Reception on Thursday, February 27, during the PBI Annual Conference. The award is not given annually, rather only when warranted by outstanding achievement.
“It’s an honor to recognize Jim with this award for both his extensive work on pro bono cases and strong leadership in the pro bono and legal communities,” said Eve Runyon, PBI President and CEO. “His commitment to innovative, impactful, and collaborative pro bono projects sets an example for future generations of pro bono leaders and helps to expand access to justice for all.”
“As lawyers, we have a vitally important role and responsibility to ensure access to justice for all – that is what defines and differentiates our profession as a calling and not just a business,” said Jim Volling, recipient of the 2025 Chesterfield Smith Award. “I am deeply honored and humbled to receive the Chesterfield Smith Award. I hope this acknowledgement encourages others to engage in pro bono, which always results in a lawyer receiving much more in return than they give. It has been and remains the most satisfying and rewarding aspect of my life as a lawyer.”
The impetus for Jim’s dedication to pro bono came while serving as a Supreme Court law clerk to Chief Justice Warren E. Burger working on the majority opinion in a Texas death penalty case, Estelle v. Smith. Jim was shocked by the inadequate and inexperienced defense in numerous death penalty cases, particularly with life or death at stake, and vowed to do something to rectify that injustice.
Since then, Jim has dedicated much of his professional life to the development and delivery of pro bono legal services, focusing efforts largely in three areas: children, post-conviction representation, and prisoner reentry.
Jim’s post-conviction work, which began more than four decades ago, continues to the present day. Since 2003, Jim has led a team of lawyers in Minnesota and Colorado representing a man in post-conviction proceedings challenging his convictions for second-degree murder and arson. Jim is also leading a team of firm attorneys in various offices working with the Great North Innocence Project, of which he Chairs the Board of Directors and the Executive Committee, representing in Mississippi post-conviction proceedings a woman who was convicted of murdering an infant in her care and sentenced to life imprisonment.
In 2017, Jim became lead plaintiffs’ counsel in a putative class action filed in federal court on behalf of certain minor children against Hennepin County in Minnesota and various Minnesota government officials challenging on constitutional grounds the County’s child protection and child welfare system. The hotly contested litigation was ultimately resolved with a landmark settlement mandating a four-year settlement period, requiring sweeping reforms, and providing for a Settlement Subcommittee headed by an Independent Neutral (a former judge) to monitor compliance with the settlement terms.
Working with PBI, Jim serves on the Steering Committee of the Minnesota Collaborative Justice Project, which is focused on prisoner reentry. The Project was initiated several years ago, and Jim was the driving force behind choosing prisoner reentry as the theme. Jim has also led the effort to provide civil legal services to participants in Federal Reentry Court in Minnesota, to federal releasees at halfway houses or under supervision in Minnesota, and to certain inmates at federal correctional facilities in Minnesota.
LEARN MORE about Jim’s legacy and outstanding leadership in pro bono service.
About James L. Volling
Following the judicial clerkships that began his legal career, Jim joined the law firm now known as Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP where he was a Partner for 37 years and now serves as Senior Counsel. Faegre Drinker is a founding member of the PBI Law Firm Pro Bono Project and a Law Firm Pro Bono Challenge® Signatory.
Jim is an attorney in the Business Litigation Group of Faegre Drinker in Minneapolis and practices in the areas of complex civil and criminal commercial litigation and internal and government investigations. Jim has also been an adjunct faculty member at the University of Minnesota Law School and has been trained and has worked as a qualified neutral. He has served in various leadership roles at the firm, including as a member of the Legal Personnel Committee, as Chair of the Pro Bono and Community Service Committee, as Chair of the Governance Task Force, as Head of the Business Litigation Group, as a member of the Management Committee and Management Board. Jim has been recognized in Best Lawyers in America (selected in 2017, 2022, and 2023 as a Lawyer of the Year, twice for Securities Litigation and once for Antitrust Litigation), Chambers U.S.A., Super Lawyers, and Benchmark Litigation as an exceptional business litigator.
Jim serves on the Advisory Committee of the PBI Law Firm Pro Bono Project initiative, which supports and enhances the pro bono culture and performance of major law firms in the U.S. and around the world promoting partner and associate participation in pro bono service. As the Law Firm Pro Bono Project celebrates its 30th anniversary of the Law Firm Pro Bono Challenge initiative in 2025, it is especially fitting to recognize Jim for his commitment and leadership in law firm pro bono.
About the Chesterfield Smith Award
The Chesterfield Smith Award is named after the late Founder and Chairman Emeritus of Holland & Knight LLP, who believed passionately and completely in equal justice for all, while standing firm in his conviction that public service and pro bono are absolutely essential elements in the lives of lawyers and in the work of great law firms.
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About Pro Bono Institute
Founded in 1996, Pro Bono Institute (PBI) is a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit organization. With an unparalleled depth of knowledge, resources and expertise, PBI is the respected resource for all things pro bono. Through our 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.