By American Bar Association
A Chicago litigator, a New York trial lawyer and a Midwestern law school’s pro bono initiatives are recipients of the American Bar Association 2026 Pro Bono Publico Award, which annually recognizes individuals and groups for their commitment to volunteer legal services for low-income and disadvantaged persons.
The awards, which began in 1984, represent the top honor given by the ABA Standing Committee on Pro Bono and Public Service, which over the years has spotlighted pro bono efforts of individual lawyers and small and large law firms, government attorney offices, corporate law departments and other institutions in the legal profession. The awards will be presented during a special awards ceremony in October.
The Pro Bono Publico Award honorees are:
• Bill Boies. Boies is senior counsel at McDermott Will & Schulte in Chicago. He is a nationally recognized litigator specializing in the defense of complex financial class action litigation. For more than two decades, Boies has been a leading advocate for the use of residual and unclaimed class action settlement funds — commonly known as cy pres awards — to support legal aid and other nonprofit organizations serving low-income communities. The awards, a critical funding source for legal aid, totaled more than $77 million nationwide in 2021 (the most recent year the ABA reported overall access-to-justice funding data). When opponents of legal aid funding file procedural and constitutional objections to cy pres awards in large class action settlements and then take appeals, Boies and his firm file amicus briefs for national and local legal aid organizations arguing in support of cy pres awards. He has advised state agencies and bar foundations on adopting state court cy pres rules in Arizona, Illinois, Michigan, Texas, Vermont and Washington. Boies also advises national and state IOLTA programs about political challenges to IOLTA interest going to fund legal aid providers. Boies has personally devoted hundreds of hours to speaking at bar and legal aid conferences and publishing articles about cy pres awards and has recruited a team of top lawyers who have devoted thousands more hours to this work. His expertise in this area has become the catalyst for what is now one of the most impactful pro bono practices supporting legal aid organizations in the country.
• Jonathan Brit. Brit is a trial lawyer, public-interest advocate and partner in the New York office of Kirkland & Ellis. Over the course of his career, he has devoted a major portion of his practice to pro bono legal work, including complex, resource-intensive cases that underscore a sustained and principled commitment to equal access to justice and the fair administration of law. He has enabled numerous individuals to obtain legal representation and meaningful relief that would otherwise have been out of reach, including for many individuals incarcerated in New York State prisons. In one matter, an individual convicted of murder and housed at Sullivan Correctional Facility brought a civil action in the Southern District of New York alleging that corrections officers subjected them to cruel and unusual punishment by repeatedly denying life-sustaining medication, destroying religious materials and engaging in physical and verbal abuse. Brit and colleague Joseph Akalski worked relentlessly with the client over several years to drive the case to a successful settlement before trial. “From start to finish, Jonathan ensured that the client’s family remained informed, supported and confident in the process, while every deadline and court appearance was met without exception,” Akalski said. Brit built a deep and enduring rapport with the client and his family, translated complex legal issues with clarity and precision, and led a team the client came to trust as a powerful and unwavering advocate. Among other cases, Brit is currently representing a client on Tennessee’s death row in a post-conviction proceeding involving alleged constitutional violations.
• Marquette University Law School. The Marquette Volunteer Legal Clinics (MVLCs) have developed into a lifeline for unrepresented litigants facing civil legal challenges. From modest beginnings in 2002, handling just 106 client visits, the MVLCs have grown exponentially, recording 6,160 client visits in 2025 alone. Each year, over 250 volunteer attorneys and an equal number of law student volunteers donate their time to clients through the clinics. The MVLCs now operate across multiple locations, including the Milwaukee County Courthouse, the Milwaukee County Veterans Service Office, community-based social service agencies, a Mobile Legal Clinic van reaching underserved urban areas and virtual clinics on Zoom reaching across Wisconsin. The clinics provide legal guidance across a wide array of civil matters, including family law, child support, small claims, landlord-tenant disputes, evictions, debt resolution, probate, guardianships and immigration law. This expansive and adaptable service model helps those facing legal obstacles receive the assistance they need. In a state where only one legal aid attorney is available for every 4,300 individuals living at or below 125% of the federal poverty level, pro bono programs like the MVLCs both serve as a legal aid ecosystem and engage with legal aid providers, helping ensure that individuals seeking assistance do not fall through the cracks.
(http://www.americanbar.org/news/abanews/aba-news-archives/2026/06/2026-pro-bono-publico-honorees-recognized/)
A Chicago litigator, a New York trial lawyer and a Midwestern law school’s pro bono initiatives are recipients of the American Bar Association 2026 Pro Bono Publico Award, which annually recognizes individuals and groups for their commitment to volunteer legal services for low-income and disadvantaged persons.
The awards, which began in 1984, represent the top honor given by the ABA Standing Committee on Pro Bono and Public Service, which over the years has spotlighted pro bono efforts of individual lawyers and small and large law firms, government attorney offices, corporate law departments and other institutions in the legal profession. The awards will be presented during a special awards ceremony in October.
The Pro Bono Publico Award honorees are:
• Bill Boies. Boies is senior counsel at McDermott Will & Schulte in Chicago. He is a nationally recognized litigator specializing in the defense of complex financial class action litigation. For more than two decades, Boies has been a leading advocate for the use of residual and unclaimed class action settlement funds — commonly known as cy pres awards — to support legal aid and other nonprofit organizations serving low-income communities. The awards, a critical funding source for legal aid, totaled more than $77 million nationwide in 2021 (the most recent year the ABA reported overall access-to-justice funding data). When opponents of legal aid funding file procedural and constitutional objections to cy pres awards in large class action settlements and then take appeals, Boies and his firm file amicus briefs for national and local legal aid organizations arguing in support of cy pres awards. He has advised state agencies and bar foundations on adopting state court cy pres rules in Arizona, Illinois, Michigan, Texas, Vermont and Washington. Boies also advises national and state IOLTA programs about political challenges to IOLTA interest going to fund legal aid providers. Boies has personally devoted hundreds of hours to speaking at bar and legal aid conferences and publishing articles about cy pres awards and has recruited a team of top lawyers who have devoted thousands more hours to this work. His expertise in this area has become the catalyst for what is now one of the most impactful pro bono practices supporting legal aid organizations in the country.
• Jonathan Brit. Brit is a trial lawyer, public-interest advocate and partner in the New York office of Kirkland & Ellis. Over the course of his career, he has devoted a major portion of his practice to pro bono legal work, including complex, resource-intensive cases that underscore a sustained and principled commitment to equal access to justice and the fair administration of law. He has enabled numerous individuals to obtain legal representation and meaningful relief that would otherwise have been out of reach, including for many individuals incarcerated in New York State prisons. In one matter, an individual convicted of murder and housed at Sullivan Correctional Facility brought a civil action in the Southern District of New York alleging that corrections officers subjected them to cruel and unusual punishment by repeatedly denying life-sustaining medication, destroying religious materials and engaging in physical and verbal abuse. Brit and colleague Joseph Akalski worked relentlessly with the client over several years to drive the case to a successful settlement before trial. “From start to finish, Jonathan ensured that the client’s family remained informed, supported and confident in the process, while every deadline and court appearance was met without exception,” Akalski said. Brit built a deep and enduring rapport with the client and his family, translated complex legal issues with clarity and precision, and led a team the client came to trust as a powerful and unwavering advocate. Among other cases, Brit is currently representing a client on Tennessee’s death row in a post-conviction proceeding involving alleged constitutional violations.
• Marquette University Law School. The Marquette Volunteer Legal Clinics (MVLCs) have developed into a lifeline for unrepresented litigants facing civil legal challenges. From modest beginnings in 2002, handling just 106 client visits, the MVLCs have grown exponentially, recording 6,160 client visits in 2025 alone. Each year, over 250 volunteer attorneys and an equal number of law student volunteers donate their time to clients through the clinics. The MVLCs now operate across multiple locations, including the Milwaukee County Courthouse, the Milwaukee County Veterans Service Office, community-based social service agencies, a Mobile Legal Clinic van reaching underserved urban areas and virtual clinics on Zoom reaching across Wisconsin. The clinics provide legal guidance across a wide array of civil matters, including family law, child support, small claims, landlord-tenant disputes, evictions, debt resolution, probate, guardianships and immigration law. This expansive and adaptable service model helps those facing legal obstacles receive the assistance they need. In a state where only one legal aid attorney is available for every 4,300 individuals living at or below 125% of the federal poverty level, pro bono programs like the MVLCs both serve as a legal aid ecosystem and engage with legal aid providers, helping ensure that individuals seeking assistance do not fall through the cracks.
(http://www.americanbar.org/news/abanews/aba-news-archives/2026/06/2026-pro-bono-publico-honorees-recognized/)
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