Gideon Champion of Justice Award (2008)

A team of 12 litigators received the "Gideon Champion of Justice" awards from the New York State Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers for the group's twelve-year-long joint pro bono effort in securing a reversal of a murder conviction for their client Marty Tankleff. This honor was bestowed on the group at the NYSACDL's Annual Dinner Meeting on January 31, 2008, in Manhattan.

The Center Serving Persons With Mental Retardation NovemberFest Honoree (2007)

In the spring of 2007, the firm undertook the pro bono representation of the Center in its real estate dispute with the City of Houston. Baker Botts successfully prevented the City from selling property leased to the Center by a third party, which would have forced the facility to relocate and disrupt the lives of almost a thousand mentally challenged people and their families.

Volunteer Legal Services of Central Texas (2007)

Volunteer Legal Services of Central Texas honored Baker Botts in May 2007 for its outstanding commitment to pro bono and assisted pro se legal services in Travis County. Baker Botts lawyer Steve McMillen received an award on the individual level. Volunteer Legal Services of Central Texas, founded in May 1981, is dedicated to helping handle the overflow of low-income individuals seeking help from the local legal aid office.

Outstanding Large Firm Contribution/HVLP Award (2005 and 2006)

For the second consecutive year, Baker Botts was recognized by the Houston Bar Foundation for the firm's contributions to the Houston Volunteer Lawyers Program (HVLP). At an awards ceremony, the HBF presented Managing Partner Walt Smith with the organization's "Outstanding Large Firm Contribution to the Houston Volunteer Lawyers Program Award." The HBF noted that in 2006 the firm "provided full representation for 38 pro bono cases through regular hosting of HVLP Family Law Clinics." Baker Botts lawyers were also recognized for staffing HVLP's Saturday Legal Advice Clinics and Drive-Time Clinics. In 2006, the Houston office provided more than 10,500 hours of pro bono legal services, an all-time record for the office.

Fairfax Area Disability Services Board/Employer of the Year (2006)

Baker Botts' efforts to employ cognitively disabled individuals were recognized in Fairfax County, Virginia, and New York State. In 2006, the Fairfax Area Disability Services Board presented Baker Botts with its ''Employer of the Year" award. The firm has hired three Fairfax County public school students through an "Options for Life" program.

National Disability Employer Recognition Award/NY State Education Department (2006)

The New York State Educational Department Office of Vocational and Educational Services for Individuals With Disabilities presented Baker Botts with one of two National Disability Employer Recognition Regional awards. Baker Botts' New York office employs two special needs workers: Kenny Lam and Naiesha Davis.

W. Frank Newton Award (2004)

Baker Botts lawyers were selected to receive the W. Frank Newton Award, recognizing consistent dedication to the provision of outstanding free legal services to the poor. Baker Botts was nominated for the award by the Houston Bar Association, Houston Volunteer Lawyers Program, Inc., and Communities In Schools Houston, Inc.

National Public Service Award (2003)

The National Public Service Award, given annually to only one firm, was presented to Baker Botts by the Pro Bono Committee of the American Bar Association Business Law Section. This prestigious award is presented each year to one law firm that provides significant pro bono legal services to the poor in a business context.

Outstanding Contribution Award (2003)

The Outstanding Contribution Award was given to Linda Glover, an associate in the Houston office, for Outstanding Contribution by a Pro Bono Coordinator to the Houston Volunteer Lawyers Program.

In addition to receiving the awards mentioned above, Baker Botts lawyers have been honored with numerous other pro bono awards, such as the State Bar of Texas' Judge Norman W. Black Award. The firm has also received recognition from Volunteer Legal Services of Central Texas, as well as the Dallas Independent School District's Partners in Education Outstanding Partner Award for a Large Business, and the Houston Bar Foundation's award for Outstanding Contribution to the Houston Volunteer Lawyers Program by a large firm.

A Firmwide Priority

The Houston office has averaged more than 10,500 hours per year over the last three years in pro bono legal services to the poor. Clients include individuals, churches, schools and community service organizations, with matters ranging from family law to tort defense to habeas corpus.

During the last 3 years, the Austin office has provided more than 3,300 hours of pro bono legal services to low-income clients and nonprofit organizations serving the poor. Austin lawyers have had the opportunity to work on cases ranging from family law to consumer matters and Social Security disability claims.

The lawyers in our Dallas office have volunteered more than 5,700 hours of pro bono services to low-income clients and nonprofit organizations serving the needs of low-income families and individuals during the last three years. In Dallas, our lawyers routinely represent federal criminal defendants pursuant to appointments under the Criminal Justice Act and in appeals to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.

Pro bono contributions are also an important part of the New York office culture. Eliot Williams serves as the office's pro bono committee chair, and our lawyers in New York participate in programs such as Sanctuary for Families, Lawyers Alliance for New York and Probono.net.

The lawyers in our Washington office have represented a variety of clients in pro bono matters. During the past three years, the Washington office recorded more than 3,700 hours in pro bono work. In particular, there is a long-standing commitment to the Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless, the Legal Aid Society of the District of Columbia, Washington Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs, and The Children's Law Center, among others.

Our DC office is also a key supporter of the Mid-Atlantic Innocence Project, which works with volunteer lawyers and law students from several DC-area law schools to help wrongly convicted inmates in Maryland, Virginia and Washington press their claims of innocence. In addition to assisting the Project's board of directors, firm lawyers have appeared in Project cases before the Virginia Supreme Court and other courts. In 2001, Baker Botts lawyers represented Marvin Lamont Anderson, who was convicted of rape and served 13 years of a 200-year sentence, obtain DNA testing that led to Mr. Anderson's becoming the first person exonerated under Virginia's 2000 Innocence Protection statute.