Pro bono
Make a positive difference from the beginning
At Simpson Thacher, pro bono is part of what it means to be a lawyer here – and part of what it could mean for your career.
Pro bono
At Simpson Thacher, pro bono is part of what it means to be a lawyer here – and part of what it could mean for your career.
Simpson Thacher has a long-standing commitment to pro bono work. Each year, our London lawyers devote thousands of hours to providing free legal support to people and organisations who need it most.
As a trainee, you could find yourself working on pro bono matters alongside your commercial work – real cases, real clients and real responsibility, often in areas of law you would not encounter elsewhere. It is an opportunity to develop as a lawyer, broaden your perspective and experience first-hand the difference that good legal advice can make.
At Simpson Thacher, pro bono is not something that happens around the edges of your career. It is part of it – from the beginning.
We advise charities and social enterprises on the legal challenges they face – from governance and investment to commercial contracts and data protection. Organisations whose primary purpose is social, environmental or humanitarian get access to the same quality of legal thinking as our largest commercial clients.
We provide free legal advice to low-income, marginalised and disadvantaged individuals who would otherwise have no access to support. Housing disputes, immigration cases, welfare benefits appeals – these are matters where good legal advice can change someone’s situation in a very direct and immediate way.
We provide strategic legal policy and research support to organisations protecting rights and shaping the wider legal landscape – engaging with the systemic issues that drive the need for pro bono work in the first place.
Our European pro bono strategy is built around five priority social justice areas – chosen because they represent the greatest need, the strongest match for our legal skills and the places where the right advice can genuinely change outcomes.
Criminal justice – Gender equality – Immigration and asylum – Housing and homelessness – Climate
These are the areas where Simpson Thacher’s lawyers focus their pro bono efforts – and where trainees have the opportunity to contribute from early in their careers.
