As the COVID-19 pandemic started sweeping across the United States in March, top pro bono counsel in Big Law across the country began mobilizing to meet significant demand for free legal help.

Attorneys with Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe are offering legal guidance for scientists trying to develop new prototypes for badly needed ventilators. Counsel for Dechert argued for the release of detained immigrants and against state abortion bans implemented during the pandemic. Paul Hastings lawyers are finding ways to prevent counterfeit protective gear from entering the U.S. from China.

Pro bono counsel at Big Law firms in the U.S. said in interviews they are experiencing a surge in the need for their legal help, whether it's tied directly to health care efforts associated with the pandemic, the economic fallout caused by the crisis, or regulatory or accessibility issues they didn't initially anticipate popping up from a health situation. And they say attorneys at their firms are rising up to meet the challenge.