Vance Center Recognizes 8 Firms at 2025 Michael Cooper Celebration of International Pro Bono Excellence

Vance Center Africa Program Director Adaobi Egboka, Baker McKenzie Executive Director of Pro Bono Angela Vigil, and Vance Center Committee member and Mayer Brown Global Director of Pro Bono Marcia Maack at the 2025 Celebration of International Pro Bono Excellence, May 21, 2025. Photo credit: Jay McClinton/Vance Center

More than 50 Vance Center staffers, Committee members, representatives of law firms, clients, and other members of the Vance Center network gathered at the New York City Bar Association to acknowledge the notable contributions of partner law firms to Vance Center projects and successful efforts to strengthen a global culture of pro bono work.

New York City Bar Association President Muhammad U. Faridi welcomed attendees and offered brief opening remarks. In his remarks, President Faridi pointed to the Vance Center’s unique role as the City Bar’s global representative and its history of connecting organizations and law firms around the world to engage in pro bono work and expand access to justice. He also highlighted the necessity of international pro bono collaboration across the legal community in the face of growing threats to the rule of law around the world.

New York City Bar President Muhammad U. Faridi opened the celebration with a reflection on the Vance Center’s growth and global work. Photo credit: Jay McClinton/Vance Center

The Human Rights and Access to Justice Program followed Faridi’s remarks with the first law firm recognitions and an introduction by program staff attorney Romina Canessa. Canessa recognized ArentFox Schiff for the firm’s work producing a practical guide to regional and international standards for LGBTQ+ rights in Venezuela. Vance Center Committee member and ArentFox partner Hunter Carter and associates Maya Cohen and Mario Torrico, who worked on the project, accepted the recognition.

The ArentFox team also contributed a video in which Carter, Cohen, and Torrico spoke about the significance of the project and the firm’s pro bono work.

Vance Center Africa Program Director Adaobi Egboka presented the program’s second recognition, acknowledging Baker McKenzie for the firm’s pro bono contributions to four projects under the Human Rights & Access to Justice Program, for clients Justice for Children, Fundación Construir Bolivia, Africa Freedom of Information Centre, and Human Rights Watch. Baker McKenzie partner and Vance Center Committee member Pedro Reyes and Executive Director of Pro Bono Angela Vigil accepted the recognition. 

Next, Environment Program Advisor Nathalya Desterro introduced the program and recognized Morrison Foerster for its work on carbon agreements for client Namati. MoFo Senior Pro Bono Counsel Jennifer Brown accepted the recognition on behalf of the firm. 

Vance Center Associate Executive Director Jaime Chávez Alor then presented the Vance Center’s Institutional Integrity Program, and introduced the two firms recognized for their work with the program. Debevoise & Plimpton associate Federico Fragachán accepted the recognition for his firm’s work on an amicus curiae submission to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights in the case of Chirinos et al. v. Venezuela.   

The program’s second recognition went to Winston & Strawn, for the firm’s research on international standards on the evaluation of judges, on behalf of client the Costa Rican Judicial Association (ACOJUD, for its name in Spanish). Partner and Chair of Latin America Practice Talbert Navia accepted the recognition and spoke about the regional significance of efforts to support judicial independence, along with Legal Advisor Javiera Veloso, Counsel Javier Daza Rossi, and Legal Advisor Romina Grebe. 

The Winston & Strawn pro bono team also contributed a video featuring Navia and Veloso.

The Public Interest Reporting Program also recognized two firms for their work with the program’s clients. Lawyers for Reporters Managing Attorney Kay Murray acknowledged Paul Hastings for its work to assist LFR client The Kansas City Defender with negotiating an exclusivity agreement with a documentary film production team.

Vance Center Executive Director Alexander Papachristou concluded the recognition of Committee law firms, celebrating Covington & Burling for its work on matters for six Vance Center media clients, including the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), LION Publishers, and ACOS Alliance. Partner Priscilla Fasoro accepted the recognition for Covington, alongside associates Bo Kim, Julia Rhieu Lifton, and Lucius Lambert. 

The evening ended with a special recognition for Mexican firm Von Wobeser y Sierra and its founding partner, Claus von Wobeser, for his instrumental role in promoting pro bono work in Mexico, throughout Latin America, and around the world. In her introduction, Vance Center Committee member Antonia Stolper praised von Wobeser for his lifelong commitment to uplifting pro bono work and encouraging other legal professionals to give back to their communities through pro bono practice.

Von Wobeser recalled his efforts to inspire more Mexican firms to undertake pro bono work, and how those efforts expanded across Latin America, in collaboration with the Vance Center and other partners. He noted that pro bono has provided some of the most meaningful highlights of his long career, and ended with a call to fellow lawyers to commit to supporting pro bono work and ensuring the legal profession helps provide justice for all.

Claus von Wobeser speaks during the 2025 Celebration of International Pro Bono Excellence. Photo credit: Jay McClinton/Vance Center

Since 2023, the annual event has held the name of Michael Cooper, in honor of a founding Vance Center Committee member who, as president of the New York City Bar Association, pioneered the internationalization of pro bono legal service.  

See more photos from the 2025 celebration here.

Law Firm Recognition