Overview
CHICAGO (September 1, 2015) – International law firm McDermott Will & Emery announced today that it has appointed Elizabeth P. Lewis as the firm’s new Pro Bono & Community Service Partner, effective September 1, 2015.
In her new role, Ms. Lewis will work closely with practice group leaders and the Pro Bono Committee Chair, Todd Solomon, to ensure that McDermott’s pro bono program continues to reflect the firm’s longstanding commitment to serve the underrepresented and disadvantaged across the globe. Ms. Lewis will work to further the firm’s relationships with pro bono referral agencies while identifying pro bono and community service partnership opportunities with firm clients.
“We are delighted to welcome Elizabeth into her new role,” said Jeffrey E. Stone, co-chair of McDermott Will & Emery. “She became involved with the Firm’s pro bono and community service efforts immediately upon joining the firm in 2006 and has been consistently dedicated to such efforts throughout her years with us. We are confident that Elizabeth will carry on McDermott’s tradition of pro bono excellence.”
Ms. Lewis is a partner in McDermott’s U.S. and International Tax Practice Group in Chicago. She has served as a member of the Pro Bono Committee and has been a leader of the firm’s Kids First Initiative since 2007. She has also served as the co-chair of the Chicago Pro Bono Committee since 2014. She was the recipient of the Firm’s 2008 and 2012 Awards for Outstanding Achievement and Commitment to Pro Bono and Service to the Community, the 2009 PILI “Distinguished Alumni Award,” and the 2012 Chicago Bar Foundation Maurice Weigle Exceptional Young Lawyer Award.
Ms. Lewis will become the Pro Bono & Community Service partner upon the departure of Jocelyn Francoeur, who has served in this role since 2014. “We want to thank Jocelyn for her exemplary efforts leading the firm’s pro bono initiatives,” said Peter J. Sacripanti, co-chair of McDermott Will & Emery. Under her leadership the firm has continued to have a profound impact on the lives of countless disadvantaged individuals and organizations around the globe. We are grateful for Jocelyn’s service, and we are excited to continue along in the example she set for all of us.”
As a leading international law firm, McDermott is committed to pro bono service on a truly worldwide scale. In 2014, 85 percent of McDermott lawyers dedicated approximately 78,000 hours to pro bono and volunteer service worldwide. This past spring, McDermott released its 2014 Social Responsibility Report, which highlighted the firm’s dedication to pro bono legal work, volunteerism, philanthropy, and the promotion of diversity and environmental stewardship. McDermott’s public service has been recognized with a 2nd place ranking on American Lawyer’s “Global 100’s Pro Bono Commitment” list, its recognition as TrustLaw’s “International Firm of the Year” and, most recently, its inclusion on Law 360’s list of “Pro Bono Law Firms of the Year” for the second year in a row.
About McDermott’s Commitment to Pro Bono Work
McDermott Will & Emery recognizes and appreciates the need to give back to the communities of which it is a part and to assist those who are unable to afford legal services. The firm offers a comprehensive pro bono and community service program managed and led by its full-time pro bono counsel and the chair of our Pro Bono & Community Service Committee, which seeks to ensure that the same standards of quality, service and care that McDermott gives to its paying clients are also afforded to those it serves on a pro bono basis. The firm strongly encourages its lawyers and staff to participate in pro bono initiatives, volunteer services and charitable activities, and it recognizes lawyer time dedicated to pro bono and community service as equivalent to billable hours for all purposes.
About McDermott
McDermott Will & Emery is a premier international law firm with a diversified business practice. Numbering more than 1,000 lawyers, we have offices in Boston, Brussels, Chicago, Dallas, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Houston, London, Los Angeles, Miami, Milan, Munich, New York, Orange County, Paris, Rome, Seoul, Silicon Valley and Washington, D.C. Further extending our reach into Asia, we have a strategic alliance with MWE China Law Offices in Shanghai.
