NewsCentury City Bar Association Pro Bono Law Firm of the Year
Irell & Manella LLP has been named the 2013 Pro Bono Law Firm of the Year by the Century City Bar Association (CCBA). Irell received the award in honor of the thousands of hours the firm dedicated to pro bono legal representation in 2012, the value of which exceeds $7.5 million. The award was presented at the CCBA's 45th Annual Installation Banquet & Awards Ceremony on March 19, 2013.
Together with a number of local and national public-interest and legal aid organizations, Irell attorneys handle a variety of pro bono matters ranging from the representation of military personnel and veterans, to the representation of victims of mortgage fraud, child trafficking and elder abuse, and the representation of refugees in life or death situations in the Middle East. Each year, Irell attorneys and summer associates also assist with finalizing adoptions of foster children. The firm has filed numerous amicus briefs in support of overturning Proposition 8 and recently filed an amicus brief on behalf of 16 lawyer groups urging the California Supreme Court to admit an undocumented immigrant who passed the bar exam to the State Bar of California.
The award also recognizes the firm's new pro bono initiative established in 2012. The program requires that all new hires, associates and laterals, complete 60 hours of pro bono work in their first year at the firm. Each new attorney is assigned a pro bono work coordinator and given the opportunity to partner with legal services and public-interest organizations. Associate pro bono hours are counted equally with client billable hours.
The event also marked the end of Irell partner emeritus Jane Shay Wald's term as immediate past president of the CCBA. She will continue on the CCBA Board of Governors.
With more than 4,000 lawyers in Century City, the CCBA's mission is to provide top-quality legal programming, enhance and promote the sense of community among Century City lawyers, honor Century City attorneys who have achieved extraordinary accomplishments, and provide leadership opportunities to lawyers who participate in the CCBA.