Skip to Main Content

News

10.26.21

Goldberg Kohn has been honored by the Pro Bono Institute with its 2021 Corporate Pro Bono Partner Award for the firm’s ongoing commitment to help asylum applicants obtain legal status in the United States.

Corporate Pro Bono (CPBO), a project of the Pro Bono Institute, created the CPBO Pro Bono Partner Award to recognize innovative pro bono collaborations of in-house legal departments with law firms and public interest organizations. Pro bono partnerships that include at least one in-house legal department with one or more law firms and/or public interest organizations are eligible. The award recognizes honorees that have demonstrated a sustained impact addressing a critical legal need in vulnerable communities through pro bono legal work.

Goldberg Kohn is a proud recipient of one of only two CPBO awards issued in 2021.

For the past five years, Goldberg Kohn has partnered with McDonald’s and its in-house legal team, the National Immigrant Justice Center and Jenner & Block to provide this valuable pro bono legal counsel to those seeking asylum.

Throughout this partnership, Goldberg Kohn has seen positive results regarding the engagement of participating attorneys and individuals receiving critical assistance. 

“Pro bono has been a big part of my career and it’s a big part of the fabric of Goldberg Kohn,” said principal David Morrison. “We’ve worked on a lot of cases that have had a significant impact on Chicago, but it wasn’t until the partnership with Jenner, NIJC and McDonald’s that we were really able to bring so many people into the pro bono part of our practice and work on meaningful cases.”

Watch the following video to learn more about Goldberg Kohn’s commitment to pro bono work:

We are proud of our partnership with McDonald's, which founded its pro bono program in 2000 as a way to give back to the community and promote charitable advocacy within its legal department. Under the guidance of individuals such as past interim general counsel Mahrukh Hussain and current general counsel Desiree Ralls-Morrison, McDonald’s has succeeded in breaking down social and economic barriers to underrepresented groups.