ABA 2026 Pro Bono Publico honorees recognized for extraordinary service in the field

June 17, 2026

ABA 2026 Pro Bono Publico honorees recognized for extraordinary service in the field

CHICAGO, June 17, 2026 - A Chicago litigator, a New York public-interest lawyer and a Midwestern law school pro bono clinic 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, where he has served for more than 54 years. 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) and more than $5 million last year in Illinois, where he practices. He has advised state agencies and bar foundations on adopting the rules in Arizona, Michigan, Texas, Vermont and Washington and provided guidance when the Council of Chief Justices recently adopted a resolution encouraging additional states to follow suit. Boies has personally devoted hundreds of hours to the issue and recruited a team of top lawyers who have devoted thousands more to this work. His expertise in this area has become the catalyst for what is now one of the most impactful 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 years, he has devoted a major portion of his legal practice to pro bono initiatives, including tackling complex cases demonstrating his deep commitment to social justice. He has helped countless individuals access legal representation and justice that they would not have otherwise been able to attain, including many individuals incarcerated in New York State prisons. In one case, an individual sentenced for murder and housed at Sullivan Correctional Facility in a civil matter pending in New York's Southern district asserted that they were subjected to cruel and unusual punishment by corrections officers, who routinely failed to provide their life-saving medication, destroyed their religious materials and physically and verbally assaulted them. Britt and colleague Joseph C. Akalski worked tirelessly with the client over the course of many years to successfully settle the case before a trial was set. "During the entirety of the case, Jonathan ensured that the client's family was able to visit and that all deadlines and appearances were met," Akalski said. "Jonathan built a solid rapport with the client and his family. He kept the family informed of the progress of the case and routinely checked in on their well-being. The client regularly provided positive comments on how Jonathan and the team were able to break complex issues down so that he could easily understand them and how the team was a true force to be reckoned with."

Marquette University Law School Volunteer Legal Clinics. Established 23 years ago, the Marquette Volunteer Legal Clinics (MVLCs) have evolved 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 6,137 client visits in 2024 alone. Each year, over 250 volunteer attorneys, an equal number of law student volunteers and undergraduate students offer their time and to 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, virtual clinics on Zoom and a Mobile Legal Clinic van reaching underserved urban areas. 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 ensures that those facing legal obstacles receive the help 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 serve as a legal aid ecosystem but also act as a primary referral source for overwhelmed legal aid providers, ensuring that individuals seeking assistance do not fall through the cracks.

Past recipients can be found here.