Menu Open Search HOMEWHY MINTZ Pro Bono MEET OUR MANAGING MEMBER OUR HISTORY DIVERSITY PRO BONO The Richard Mintz Pro Bono Award Pro Bono Honors Pro Bono Committee COMMUNITY SERVICE ALUMNI LEADERSHIP AWARDS & RECOGNITION INTERNATIONAL LAW FIRM NETWORK IN MEMORIAM Collaborating to Improve Lives and Communities Pro bono service is at the heart of our culture and identity. For our founders, helping people in need was an essential part of doing business. More than 85 years later, we advise and represent in excess of 300 pro bono clients each year. Attorneys and staff members from every Mintz office participate. Our partners in this work include nonprofits, legal service organizations, in-house legal departments, and other law firms. Together, we provide individuals with life-changing assistance and support the nonprofit organizations that care for our communities. Mintz Cares Sue Finegan “I always wanted to be a lawyer so that I could help people... We’re really privileged to be at this firm where we are able to do systemic change work throughout the state and throughout the country around accessing justice for low-income litigants.” PREVIOUS NEXT There’s more to being an attorney than knowing the law. It’s participating in your community, and, to a large extent, giving back. We need to bring our services to those who can use them most. Bob PopeoMintz Chairman Changing the Narrative Legal challenges can be life-changing. Having capable legal counsel can make the difference. Our pro bono team has stood with individuals, families, and communities throughout the United States in their pursuit of justice and a better life. In Landmark Victory, Immigrants Reclaim Their Rights Under the Constitution, the government can’t take away someone’s liberty without establishing why it’s necessary. Nevertheless, thousands of immigrants across the United States are being detained in jails until they can show they shouldn’t be. Last year, Mintz partnered with the ACLU of Massachusetts to file and win a class action case on behalf of Gilberto Pereira Brito and two other immigrant detainees. In the ensuing months, Brito has been the foundation for obtaining the release of unjustly detained immigrants across New England. An appeal is currently pending in the First Circuit. VIEW STORY Providing Access to Justice Amid a Shutdown When the COVID-19 pandemic prompted Massachusetts to close court buildings, the Massachusetts Access to Justice Commission stepped in to help litigants who needed to access the courts remotely but faced daunting challenges, such as a lack of access to technology and limited English-language proficiency. Pro Bono Committee Chair Sue Finegan, Co-chair of the commission’s COVID-19 Task Force, directed the effort, which relied on assistance from more than 140 volunteers. Their work resulted in numerous website and other improvements that are making it easier for individuals across the state to navigate the court system, even as court buildings reopen. VIEW STORY Equality Wins with Massachusetts Voters When opponents of a Massachusetts bill protecting transgender people from discrimination in public places tried to overturn the law by adding a referendum question to the 2018 state ballot, transgender people and their allies approached the legal community for support in upholding their civil rights. With our assistance, their Yes on 3 campaign was successful – making the Commonwealth the first state in the nation to defend transgender rights by popular vote. VIEW STORY Securing a Future for Human Trafficking Survivors Mintz played an integral role in a multiyear effort to secure passage of a Massachusetts law that streamlines the process for human trafficking victims seeking post-conviction relief for prostitution-related convictions and some drug offenses. The firm collaborated with the Immigrants’ Rights & Human Trafficking Program at the Boston University School of Law, Massachusetts State Representative Michael S. Day, and other stakeholders. The post-conviction language is included in an omnibus criminal justice reform law signed by Governor Charlie Baker in 2018. Since the signing of the law, the Mintz team has been raising awareness and planning trainings for interested Massachusetts attorneys. VIEW STORY Quick Teamwork on the Travel Ban The day after President Trump signed his first travel ban, we learned that incoming travelers had been detained at Logan Airport. Pro Bono Chair Sue Finegan and a Mintz team including Immigration Practice Chair Susan Cohen responded immediately. They worked late into the night with the ACLU and immigrant advocates at Boston’s US District Courthouse to craft arguments for a temporary injunction. At 2 am, the judges ruled in their favor. The seven-day hold on the ban helped many travelers, and the team’s arguments were used across the country to extend restrictions on the ban. VIEW STORY Help for Katrina’s Most Vulnerable Survivors Congress allotted $5.5 billion in emergency funds to Mississippi following Hurricane Katrina. Then the state decided wind-damaged properties, mainly in black low-income neighborhoods, didn’t qualify for assistance. Mintz filed a federal lawsuit against HUD that put pressure on Mississippi and eventually resulted in a settlement of $213 million for 5,253 families. VIEW STORY Pro Bono Journals Read our annual pro bono journals for more stories about our pro bono clients. The courage they display in their pursuit of better lives — for themselves, their families, and our communities — inspires us to do our best on their behalf. Resilience 2020 Journal Every year, Mintz works with hundreds of pro bono clients who have survived exceptionally difficult circumstances and persevered to overcome additional hardships, any one of which might have derailed their lives and dreams forever. In the firm’s annual pro bono journal, we bring you some of their stories. The resilience these clients demonstrate inspires us to help them pursue their legal rights and challenge the inequities that threaten the health of our communities. View journal Perspectives 2019 Journal Capable legal representation can alter the course of a life and affect many others in a client’s extended community. We witness the life-changing power of the law through the eyes and experiences of more than 300 pro bono clients each year. View journal Previous Journals 2018 2012 2017 2011 2015-2016 2010 2014 2009 2013 Driving Innovative Programs and Solutions Mintz has been instrumental in creating and promoting new collaborative partnerships to expand access to justice in our communities. These efforts are made possible through the firm’s long-standing pro bono partnerships. Partnering with Our Clients Mintz has partnered with our clients on pro bono projects for over a decade. In one such initiative, Mintz has collaborated with a number of partners to host the Clinic in a Box® pro bono workshops that train in-house lawyers to provide day-of pro bono service to nonprofits. Our partners have included Corporate Pro Bono, the Association of Corporate Counsel–Northeast, and Lawyers Clearinghouse. Over the course of nine years, Mintz has hosted almost 300 in-house lawyers at the annual clinic. Access to Justice Commission and Fellows Program Mintz has been at the forefront of promoting access to justice in Massachusetts. For several years, Pro Bono Committee Chair Sue Finegan has served as the co-chair of the Massachusetts Access to Justice Commission with the Chief Justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court. The Commission provides leadership and vision on efforts to remove barriers to civil justice for low-income and disadvantaged people. As a notable example, the firm played a key role in launching the Access to Justice Fellows Program. Primarily the brainchild of Mintz Member Martha Koster and Sue, this innovative program pairs retired lawyers and judges with legal services organizations, nonprofits, and the courts. To date, 139 retired and retiring lawyers have devoted nearly 100,000 pro bono hours as part of the Fellows Program. Appellate Assistance & Representation In 2013, Mintz’s Sue Finegan co-chaired a Massachusetts Access to Justice Commission committee that eventually developed the Appellate Pro Bono Project. Mintz has worked closely with the Volunteer Lawyers Project to manage a weekly clinic for self-represented litigants at the Massachusetts Appeals Court, staffed by Mintz and other law firms. As of October 2019, over 300 attorneys from 20 different law firms have helped more than 700 low-income litigants navigate the civil appellate process. Recent Honors For information on recent pro bono honors, click here. ABA Pro Bono Publico Award Mintz was honored to receive a Pro Bono Publico Award from the American Bar Association for its work on the Domestic Violence Project, which continues to develop and create means to address and eradicate domestic and sexual violence. 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