Pro bono legal support from many of the nation’s – indeed, the world’s – top law firms helps VoteRiders carry out its mission to ensure that no eligible voter is prevented from casting a ballot that counts due to voter ID laws, either directly from lack of acceptable ID or indirectly because of voter confusion.
Over the last several years, attorneys across the country have been donating their time and talents to help preserve voting rights in America. Law360.com recently chronicled those efforts in “How Lawyers Are Mobilizing To Protect The Vote.” The story focused on law firms’ pro bono work on lawsuits necessary to protect voting rights.
However, not everything is about headline-grabbing litigation. Since its founding in 2012, VoteRiders has benefitted from extensive pro bono legal support from many of the nation’s – indeed, the world’s – top law firms. Their multifaceted services have strengthened our foundation and our programmatic successes immeasurably.
“VoteRiders is fortunate to have attracted pro bono legal expertise from so many of the top global law firms,” said Kathleen Unger, Esq., the founder of VoteRiders. “These lawyers’ services include drafting complex contracts, various kinds of research, and overcoming identification challenges faced by voters when government agencies are unresponsive or provide only a seemingly insurmountable barrier.”
Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP, which Law360 has named to its Global 20 list eight times, is making a huge difference in the field of voting rights by supporting VoteRiders’ mission to educate people about their state’s voter ID requirements and provide comprehensive assistance to ensure that citizens can vote with confidence, knowing they cannot be turned away.
“Under the leadership of our Outside General Counsel, Marc Bauer, Orrick has contributed to VoteRiders’ voter ID education and assistance efforts in crucial ways, from guidance on multiple legal issues, to becoming trained volunteers for our Voter ID Clinics, to connecting us with vendors and corporate clients, to facilitating VoteRiders’ Photocopy My ID program with the law firm of Mayer Brown,” Unger said.
Bauer is a partner in the Public Finance Department at Orrick. The firm generously enables him to dedicate a significant amount of his time to support VoteRiders’ work on a pro bono basis. Having formalized VoteRiders’ arrangement with Orrick in 2021, Marc and more than 30 of his colleagues negotiate contracts, ensure regulatory compliance, track state voter ID law developments from a legal perspective, staff Voter ID Clinics, approve certain VoteRiders external communications from a legal perspective, and manage and expand VoteRiders’ network of pro bono attorneys, etc.
“It’s a time for the private sector to step up – and as lawyers, we have a heightened duty to protect and advance the rule of law,” according to a statement from Orrick. “It’s an honor to collaborate with VoteRiders and we’re hopeful that the work Marc Bauer and his team are doing will have a meaningful impact.”
In addition to Orrick, several other major law firms have also partnered with VoteRiders to further the cause of voter ID assistance and education via pro bono legal support, nonpartisan voter outreach volunteer events, financial support, and more:
