TrustLaw

The 2025 Awards

Overview

The TrustLaw Awards celebrate the remarkable legal teams and pro bono projects undertaken by the network’s legal members for NGOs, independent media and social enterprises around the world.

During this year’s Awards campaign, we will be recognising nominees and awarding one winner for each of the following categories: International Law Firm of the Year, Regional Law Firm of the Year, In-House Legal Team of the Year, Lawyer of the Year, Impact Award, Collaboration Award, and Powered by Pro Bono Award. We will also be awarding one firm with our 15-year Anniversary Award.

For more information on the criteria for each award category, please read our Award Categories for 2025.

Throughout June, we will be celebrating the nominees and winners of the TrustLaw Awards across our website and LinkedIn. Join the conversation on LinkedIn with the hashtag #TrustLawAwards via the link below.

Vote for the Lawyer of the Year Award

This Award honours an individual lawyer (or team of lawyers) who has gone above and beyond in providing exceptional pro bono support to TrustLaw members. We had an open call for nominations during April and the winner will be decided through a public vote. Deadline for voting is 13 June, 2025

Vote now

Nominees

Impact Award

The Impact Award recognises an outstanding legal research project that has had demonstrable change and significant outcomes for the work done by the pro bono client, for example within their community, for the beneficiaries they serve, within legal frameworks, or on the issues on which they work.

This award is carefully considered and selected by the TrustLaw team. The award winner will be announced in late June 2025.

Nominees

A view of the U.S. Capitol Dome from a skylight inside the building, in Washington, U.S., December 18, 2020.

Combatting international corruption: The pro bono research behind the landmark Foreign Extortion Prevention Act

Construction workers stand on a crane as they work at a building site in Lekki, near Lagos, Nigeria September 12, 2017. Picture taken September 12, 2017.

Empowering Nigeria’s blue-collar workers: A pro bono partnership for labour justice

A child walks next a doll before a visit by Ann M. Veneman, UNICEF Executive Director, at the Notre Dame orphanage in Port-au-Prince

From advocacy to change: Pro bono’s pivotal role in the decades-long campaign to outlaw child marriage in Colombia

Collaboration Award

The Collaboration Award showcases highly effective working relationships between pro bono providers and recipients that exemplify the power and best practices of pro bono.

This award is carefully considered and selected by the TrustLaw team. The award winner will be announced in late June 2025.

Nominees

Figurines with computers and smartphones are seen in front of the words "Artificial Intelligence AI" in this illustration taken, February 19, 2024.

Digital rights defenders: How free legal support shaped Peru’s AI bill

Workers arrive at a plantation in Kinabatangan in Malaysia's state of Sabah on the Borneo island February 20, 2009. Growing economic pain may increasingly force consumers to turn to palm oil, one of the cheapest cooking oils, a move that could scupper nascent plans to slow deforestation in Southeast Asia. Photo taken February 20, 2009. To match analysis:

Unlocking impact capital: Pro bono legal experts develop a new roadmap for impact investing

Young girls look at their phones as they sit on a hillside after sun set in El Paso, Texas, U.S., June 20, 2018.

Access for all: Pro bono legal collaboration breaks down barriers to digital inclusion across the African continent

Powered by Pro Bono Award

The Powered by Pro Bono Award recognises a legal team and an NGO or social enterprise for a pro bono project(s) which has enabled the organisation to scale up their operations, improve the delivery of their social mission or pivot their activities to make a greater impact on the businesses and people they support.

This award is carefully considered and selected by the TrustLaw team. The award winner will be announced in late June 2025.

Nominees

A man listens to a radio to hear news on election results at Mishomoroni area of Kenya's coastal city of Mombasa March 6, 2013. Kenyan authorities were racing to gather final election results on Wednesday after a partial count gave the lead to a politician wanted in The Hague over violence following the previous vote. Counting since Monday's voting has been slow and complicated by hitches in a new electronic system. Politicians have complained about flaws in the process, stirring fears of a repeat of the troubles after the election five years ago.

Shielding community journalism: How pro bono legal support broke the cycle of self-censorship for one Kenyan radio station

Attendees test out new games during the opening day of E3, the annual video games expo revealing the latest in gaming software and hardware in Los Angeles, California, U.S., June 11, 2019.

Open source, protected purpose: How free legal support is safeguarding the intellectual property of social impact innovators

Pakodchakon Wongsupha, 67, and Kan Kerdmeemun, 73, hold hands and flags that read "Marriage equality, love wins", as they celebrate after the passing of the marriage equality bill in its second and third readings by the Senate, which will effectively make Thailand Asia's third territory to legalise same-sex unions, in Bangkok, Thailand, June 18, 2024.

Building a safer space: Pro bono legal support transforms governance for Asia’s leading transgender rights network

International Law Firm of the Year Award

This Award recognises an International Law Firm that has demonstrated exceptional effort and enthusiasm in supporting pro bono clients on projects undertaken through TrustLaw. We classify an international law firm as a firm with offices across multiple continents.

This award is carefully considered and selected by the TrustLaw team. The award winner will be announced in late June 2025.

Nominees

Pinsent Masons

ECIJA Legal

A&O Shearman LLP

Regional Law Firm of the Year Award

This Award recognises a Regional (or local) Law Firm that has demonstrated exceptional effort and enthusiasm in supporting pro bono clients on projects undertaken through TrustLaw. We classify a regional law firm as a firm with offices in one or more countries (or states) within their respective continent.

This award is carefully considered and selected by the TrustLaw team. The award winner will be announced in late June 2025.

Nominees

Ochieng Oginga and Company Advocates

Koury Lopes Advogados

BTG Advaya

In-house Legal Team of the Year Award

This Award recognises an In-House legal team that has demonstrated exceptional effort and enthusiasm in supporting pro bono clients on projects undertaken through TrustLaw.

This award is carefully considered and selected by the TrustLaw team. The award winner will be announced in late June 2025.

Nominees

Intel Corporation

Accenture

Entain PLC

Lawyer of the Year Award

This Award honors an individual lawyer (or team of lawyers) who has gone above and beyond in providing exceptional pro bono support to TrustLaw members.

This award is open for nominations from TrustLaw pro bono clients. The winner is decided through a public vote. The award winner will be announced in late June 2025.

Nominees

Lila Gasca – Hogan Lovells

Walid Khan – Africa Law Partners

Owen Wolfe – Seyfarth Shaw LLP

Susan Laws – Duane Morris

Suraj Narayan – Independent Legal Consultant

Florian Striefler, Barbara Jagersberger, Kevin Mägerle, and Steffen Giolda – Weil, Gotshal & Manges

Testimonials

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In 2024, our firm launched a pro bono strategy that aligns with our new firmwide goals, fostering skill development and partnership with clients. This approach nurtures a culture of inclusion, diversity, and belonging, empowering our people to reach their full potential while meaningfully supporting our communities

Pinsent MasonsInternational Law Firm of the Year 2025 nominee

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With commitment and conviction to contribute to the development of organizations aligned with our values, through the “3rdSector Program,” we consolidated an innovative pro bono work model. In 2024, we learned that structuring projects with rigorous follow-up and active volunteer participation maximizes our contribution and impact on organizations

ECIJA LegalInternational Law Firm of the Year 2025 nominee

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The 2024 merger gives us a bigger and stronger pro bono team, almost doubles the number of lawyers we work with globally, and allows us to collaborate more on a wider range of innovative and challenging pro bono initiatives, with a greater impact on populations that increasingly need legal support

A&O Shearman LLPInternational Law Firm of the Year 2025 nominee

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Our clients’ satisfaction with our pro bono legal services continuously fuels the passion in my law firm for more pro bono legal services. It is a delight whenever clients appreciate our pro bono services and the impact it brings to their organizations

Ochieng Oginga and Company AdvocatesRegional Law Firm of the Year 2025 nominee

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In 2024, we strengthened internal communication regarding the opportunities and visibility of projects and lawyers involved in pro bono work by featuring the topic across various media platforms. We also created opportunities for the organizations we represent to present their projects and pitch to the firm’s lawyers and friends

Koury Lopes AdvogadosRegional Law Firm of the Year 2025 nominee

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We were very excited that most lawyers, junior and senior, are quite motivated to work on pro bono matters, which breaks the notion that ‘billable hours’ is all that lawyers care about. The deeply meaningful pro bono effort reaffirms the practice of law as a profession and not only as a business. In addition, the use of AI in our flagship pro bono project – Setu – is a great example of the firm using cutting edge technology to bridge the access to justice gap and update the practice of law with the latest tools available

BTG AdvayaRegional Law Firm of the Year 2025 nominee

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In 2024, Intel Legal scaled our pro bono impact through an innovative approach to building teams. We leveraged volunteers from across the company, including our strong Latinx employee network, to staff immigration relief programs that reunified and protected families separated at the border and record clearing clinics that helped formerly incarcerated people obtain a ‘second chance’

Intel CorporationIn-house Legal Team of the Year 2025 nominee

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Over the past year, in collaboration with TrustLaw, 20+ Accenture Argentina Legal volunteers dedicated 120+ hours to NGOs, using expertise in Data Privacy, Research, and Employment Law. Our efforts enhanced NGO operations, upskilled resources, and strengthened community impact, creating a scalable pro bono model with our team

AccentureIn-house Legal Team of the Year 2025 nominee

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Our key goal for 2024 was to expand Entain’s pro bono efforts, encouraging colleagues across the globe to give back to their local communities through pro bono work. We have now set up structures which encourages colleagues to do so, and are looking forward to seeing this continue into 2025

Entain PLCIn-house Legal Team of the Year 2025 nominee