MG+M The Law Firm’s Boston office won the firm’s fourth annual Pro Bono Cup, a friendly competition between the firm’s 17 offices that supports MG+M’s goal for 100% participation in pro bono work from all partners, associates and paralegals.
In 2024, the firm saw a 39% increase in hours over 2023. This marks the fourth consecutive year that MG+M has increased both the number of hours donated and the number of firm members participating in pro bono work.
MG+M Boston-based Partner Timothy J. Fazio was the firm’s top pro bono biller in 2024, donating 157 hours and spearheading the firm’s partnership with the Political Asylum / Immigration Representation Project (PAIR). Many MG+M members dedicate pro bono hours to PAIR cases, providing immigration services to indigent asylum seekers from around the world.
With PAIR, MG+M attorneys have represented clients escaping extreme harm in their home countries, including clients facing police beatings and harassment, arrests of self and family members, workplace discrimination, and abuse by family members because of their political views, government opposition, and sexual and gender identities.
In 2024, with the help of MG+M Associates Alicia Chouinard and Lily Malloy, Tim was successful in securing a grant of asylum for a client from El Salvador who was raped and exploited for being transgender. For years, she suffered abuse as a child and later as an adult from family, police and an intolerant society. Her escape to the United States has allowed her to find meaningful employment, better her education, live her true life and be embraced by loving relationships.
“While there are very important paperwork aspects to an asylum case, I truly enjoy getting to know our clients as people and helping counsel them through a very painful, confusing and difficult time in their lives,” says Fazio, whose legal practice focuses on complex business litigation and government and internal investigations. “These cases involve much more than the asylum process, including helping clients become eligible to work, find appropriate housing, receive mental healthcare and otherwise know they have someone in their corner.”
Boston previously won the firm’s Pro Bono Cup in 2022, with MG+M’s Miami and Madison County/St. Louis offices winning in 2023 and 2021, respectively. Attorneys and paralegals across the firm have donated pro bono hours to provide advocacy, counsel and representation to veterans, immigrants, low-income individuals and senior citizens, addressing a wide range of issues including civil rights, family law, estate matters, wrongful incarceration, and legal research on federal voting rights and country conditions for protected groups.
“I am extremely proud to be part of a firm that understands the importance of prioritizing involvement in pro bono initiatives,” says MG+M Partner and Pro Bono Committee Chair Tracy A.R. Jolly. “I have been with MG+M for more than two decades and have watched our commitment to the public good grow year after year. As chair and committed member of the firm’s Pro Bono Committee, I look forward to working with the committee and the firm community to further increase involvement in pro bono work in the years to come.”