Washington, DC, May 12, 2017 – Miller & Chevalier is pleased to announce that the firm was named the 2017 Pro Bono Firm of the Year by the DC Bar. This award recognizes exemplary service by a law firm in providing direct legal services to low-income individuals in the District of Columbia. Miller & Chevalier will be honored, along with other Bar award winners, at the Celebration of Leadership: The DC Bar Awards Dinner and Annual Meeting on Wednesday, June 14.

"We are honored to receive this recognition from the DC Bar," said Anthony F. Shelley, Chair of Miller & Chevalier's Executive Committee. "The firm has always had a strong tradition of pro bono work and we intensified our commitment in 2016, requiring that all of our lawyers devote at least 50 hours to pro bono work annually. To see our contributions recognized in such a significant way is truly gratifying."

Under the supervision of Miller & Chevalier's Pro Bono Committee, chaired by Member Timothy P. O'Toole, nearly 80 percent of the firm's employees exceeded the firm's 50-hour benchmark, which resulted in more than two-thirds of the firm's lawyers being listed on the DC Bar's 2016 Pro Bono Honor Roll. In total, pro bono hours made up more than seven percent of the total billable hours for 2016.

"One of the hallmarks of our program is the involvement of firm lawyers at all levels, who lead many of our pro bono representations," said O'Toole. "This allows us to commit the equivalent of a substantial portion of billable hours to pro bono representations and provide the best counsel possible to the people and organizations that need it in the community."

The firm's 2016 program highlights include:

• Worked on 121 pro bono matters
• Advised 20 local tax-exempt organizations and an additional 20 national tax-exempt organizations
• Prepared and filed nine appellate briefs
• Served as lead counsel in a U.S. Supreme Court decision decided January 2016
• Resolved disputes for 10 children in D.C. Superior Court
• Represented 18 incarcerated clients

Pro Bono Counsel Kathleen Wach manages the daily operations of the firm's pro bono cases, matches lawyers with cases, provides training, and coordinates service opportunities with a number of clinics in the District, including through the DC Bar's Pro Bono Center, the Landlord Tenant Resource Center, Catholic Charities, Whitman-Walker’s Name & Gender Change Clinic, and Tax Clinics for the Legal Counsel for the Elderly, among others. 

"I am excited about the dedication Miller & Chevalier lawyers have to serving our community," Wach said. "We appreciate the DC Bar's recognition and look forward to working with their Pro Bono Center and other community programs in the future."

The firm was also recognized as a pro bono leader in Washington, DC by the federal Chief Judges of the District of Columbia at their annual "40 at 50" Judicial Pro Bono Recognition Breakfast on April 21, 2017. Miller & Chevalier was one of only three law firms with 60 percent or more of their attorneys contributing 50 or more hours of pro bono service in 2016, and the firm received special recognition by Chief Judge Beryl Howell for having more than 40 percent of its Members meet the 50-hour standard.

About the DC Bar

The District of Columbia Bar, created by the DC Court of Appeals in 1972, is among the largest unified bars in the United States. The precipitating force for the DC Bar’s creation was the legal community's desire to have a single organization that could uphold the ethical standards and rules of professional conduct.

About Miller & Chevalier

Founded in 1920, Miller & Chevalier is a Washington, DC law firm with a global perspective and leading practices in Tax, Employee Benefits (including ERISA), International Law and Business, White Collar and Internal Investigations, Complex Litigation and Government Affairs. In an era of big law, Miller & Chevalier is a top-ranked firm sharply focused on targeted areas that interact with the federal government. Over the past three years, the firm's lawyers have represented more than 40 percent of the Fortune 100, one-quarter of the Fortune 500 and approximately 30 percent of the Global 100. Based in Washington, DC, a significant number of firm lawyers have held senior positions in the U.S. government and have written many of the regulations they currently help clients navigate. For more information on the firm, visit www.millerchevalier.com.

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CONTACT:

Laura Miller, Media Relations, Greentarget, 312.252.4104