Our Pro Bono Attorneys

Historically, Verrill Dana has always been Maine's leader in support for Pro Bono legal services. The firm maintains an active Pro Bono program, and each Attorney is expected to contribute volunteer services to Pro Bono causes.  More recently, with the addition of offices in Boston and Hartford, these initiatives have been expanded throughout New England.

Of particular note:

• Maine's most prestigious Pro Bono award, the Howard H. Dana, Jr. Award presented annually by the Maine Bar Foundation is named after Howard Dana, who has spent his entire legal career with Verrill Dana, except for his fourteen years as an Associate Justice on the Maine Supreme Judicial Court.”
• Maine's most ambitious funding program in support of Pro Bono services, the Frank M. Coffin Fellowship in Family Law, is named after another former Verrill Dana Partner and Judge (former Chief Judge) of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit.
• The firm's past Managing Partner, David Warren, served as 2005 Chair of the "Campaign for Justice", a statewide fund-raising campaign that supports six of the State's leading Pro Bono organizations.
• Many of Verrill Dana's Attorneys have served on the governing boards of the Maine Bar Foundation, Pine Tree Legal Assistance, Legal Services for the Elderly, the Muskie Fund for Legal Services, the Volunteer Lawyers Project and the Coffin Fellows.
• Verrill Dana Partner, Bill Harwood, has been recognized as a leader in Pro Bono efforts and has received both the Dana Award from the Maine Bar Foundation and ABA's prestigious Pro Bono Publico award in 2002. Bill also serves as pro bono coordinator for the firm and provides inspiration to all of our attorneys who give their time and expertise.
• Verrill Dana attorneys provide in excess of 4,000 hours of Pro Bono service annually, having a corresponding dollar value of more than $600,000.
• Verrill Dana is a founding member and a continuing supporter of the Frank M. Coffin Family Law Fellowship, which funds full time attorneys dedicated to providing family law services for low income individuals.
• In 2008, the firm was honored by the Maine Bar Foundation and the Volunteer Lawyers Project (VLP) with the Pro Bono Publico award for the most hours on completed VLP cases by a law firm.
• In 2009, the firm was again honored by the Maine Bar Foundation and the VLP with the Pro Bono Publico award for the most hours on completed VLP cases by a law firm, and also honored with a second award for the most VLP cases accepted by a law firm.