Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP and affiliates strongly encourages its lawyers, summer associates, and professional staff to work on pro bono matters for individuals and groups that are unable to afford legal services. Skadden employees contributed more than 180,000 hours of pro bono work in 2021. Deeply ingrained in the firm's culture, pro bono work provides vital help to a wide variety of individuals and organizations in need of legal assistance.  

Skadden provides various opportunities for our attorneys, summer associates and professional staff to take on veteran-related pro bono assignments and volunteer opportunities. Our pro bono work includes advising veterans on Department of Veterans Affairs benefit claims and discharge upgrades, as well as supporting non-profits that benefit veterans and their families. Since inception in August 2016, attorneys have assisted nearly 400 veterans through the Military Mondays clinic. At the monthly clinic, volunteers from Skadden and several corporations assist veterans at the Manhattan VA Hospital with issues relating to Social Security Disability applications, housing concerns, child support, and life planning. In 2021 alone, our attorneys devoted more than 1,500 hours on veterans work.
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The Skadden Foundation has funded three Skadden Fellows over the previous ten years at Swords to Plowshares. These fellows helped develop medical-legal partnerships and advocate for some of the most vulnerable veterans including those who experienced Military Sexual Trauma while in service. Since 2017, nearly 30 volunteers from Skadden dedicated more than 1,000 hours to Swords' Veterans Pro Bono Program by taking on seven research projects and staffing five legal clinics. Notably, Skadden summer associates participated in a research project on issues around racial discrimination in the military. Skadden volunteers also supported Swords' larger policy efforts focused on discovering mechanisms for state-funded financial support for low-income veterans.