This article is part of National Law Journal's 2018 Pro Bono Hot List recognition package that celebrates law firms that do well by doing good. See the other stories here.

Toward the end of 2016, Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe attorneys celebrated the culmination of hundreds of hours of research outlining nationwide deficiencies law enforcement faced in tackling the emerging problem of sexual extortion.

The firm, working alongside Legal Momentum and Thompson Reuters Foundation, had just put out “A Call to Action: Ending 'Sextortion' in the Digital Age.” But the team didn't stop with the report. Instead, it spent the next year implementing the findings.

So far, five states have changed their laws to either specifically criminalize sexual extortion or beef up related penalties, and at least one introduced legislation of its own.

“We're hoping that the concept will catch fire and that people will start introducing legislation on their own, and that has started happening a bit,” said Orrick attorney Ann Patterson, who focuses on public policy and spearheaded the implementation efforts.

Other members of the firm also saw their pro bono efforts come to fruition in 2017. Those efforts focused on a Louisiana state court that was essentially running a debtor's prison. In December, a federal judge determined the local court's practice of assessing fees against defendants without accounting for their ability to pay and then issuing arrest warrants for those with outstanding debts was unconstitutional.

Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under the Law and the Civil Rights Corps had pursued the case on behalf of the plaintiffs, and Orrick threw in their support to bolster the plaintiffs' litigation efforts. Although the parties are still working to implement a solution to the problem, Orrick attorney Jonathan Guy, who helped lead the Orrick team, said the ruling was a key development in getting the court to change its system.

Guy said the firm took the case because it was clear attorneys could add real value.

“Once you hear these stories, it's very difficult to not to get outraged,” Guy said. “It's a good example of how you can make a difference.”

Rene Kathawala, Orrick's firmwide pro bono counsel, said the firm's success isn't just a result of the hours each attorney dedicates—he said Orrick's U.S. attorneys average 134 pro bono hours per year—but it also comes from the mindset that they don't take on a project unless it will be seen through to the end.

The efforts at curbing sextortion are a good example, said Kathawala, who helped develop the report. In the coming year, the firm aims to change laws in ten more states.

“Every minute we spent on that project was all directed towards the ultimately goal of getting the laws changed,” Kathawala said.