Pro Bono Week 2025: growth, engagement and new partnerships

Pro Bono Week 2025 (3 to 7 November) marked a significant moment in Womble Bond Dickinson’s continued commitment to using our legal expertise for public good. This year’s theme, Pro Bono in Action, was reflected across the firm as colleagues joined events, explored new opportunities, and celebrated our growing impact on the communities we support.

A focal point of the week was our two live webinar sessions, each showcasing an area of pro bono innovation. The first introduced colleagues to the Ethical Property Foundation, an established partner that provides essential free property advice to charities and voluntary organisations. In this session, CEO Antonia Swinson highlighted the critical role that legal expertise plays in helping charities navigate complex property challenges, and how our growing volunteer base is helping strengthen the sector.

Later in the week, we officially launched our new partnership with the Schools Consent Project (SCP); a UK charity empowering young people through lawyer-led consent literacy workshops. The SCP training session explored the Project’s mission – normalising conversations about consent to reduce the risk of sexual harm – and set out the exciting opportunities for colleagues to deliver workshops in schools across the UK. This collaboration represents a significant expansion of our pro bono work into preventative education and youth empowerment.

Beyond Pro Bono Week itself, financial year 2025/26 has been a landmark year. We recorded 838.5 pro bono hours, supporting organisations across themes including social inclusion, environmental sustainability, youth services, gender equality and housing. We also established our first firmwide Pro Bono Committee, bringing together colleagues from across offices and teams to identify opportunities, support volunteers and champion a more coordinated, strategic approach to pro bono at Womble Bond Dickinson.

Looking ahead, we are committed to building on this momentum. Our plans include a continued focus on expanding pro bono participation, deepening relationships with partners such as the Ethical Property Foundation and Schools Consent Project and enhancing our ability to meet societal need. Pro Bono Week 2025 has showcased not only what we’ve achieved but helped to build the vision of what is possible when we work together to drive meaningful social impact.