The Work
Our attorneys thrive on the challenges and opportunities available at Arnold & Porter. We are a preeminent international law firm with a longstanding tradition of exciting work. The firm is recognized throughout the US, EU, and the world for excellence in the practice of law.
The firm is frequently recognized by national and international publications. In 2021, 93 attorneys and 53 practices were ranked in Chambers USA. Read more about the firm's recognitions and awards.
Finding Your Focus
With over 25 distinct areas of law to choose from, you can jump-start your career by interacting with experienced individuals in multiple fields and by gaining hands-on knowledge as part of a coordinated team. How do you know which practice area is the best fit for you? You can search stories by practice area below to see what Arnold & Porter attorneys say about their chosen discipline. You can also view a full list of practices on our website.
Precedent-Setting Cases
From the groundbreaking case of Gideon v. Wainwright to the precedent-setting cases of today, Arnold & Porter offers its attorneys the opportunity to work on novel, complex, and cutting-edge legal issues.
Pro Bono Work
Arnold & Porter believes that pro bono is, and must be, a core value and a defining characteristic of a great law firm. Our goal is to have a pro bono program that is second to none—a program that is respected and recognized as the very best by the legal profession and the communities the firm serves.
The importance of pro bono was established long ago. In the early days, we were the only law firm willing to represent the victims of Senator Joseph McCarthy. Indeed, despite the potential repercussions for a firm opposing McCarthy, we took on so much work that at one point in the early 1950s, the firm estimated that half of its lawyers' time was being devoted to this representation. Our pro bono reputation was cemented by our representation of Clarence Earl Gideon in the landmark Supreme Court case of Gideon v. Wainwright in 1963, which established the right of all persons accused of crimes to have a lawyer—and to have the state pay for that lawyer if necessary. Our proud history of pro bono work is also exemplified by our work on behalf of persons facing the death penalty. In the case of Beck v. Alabama (1980), in which the US Supreme Court ruled that a death sentence may not constitutionally be imposed if the jury was not permitted to consider a guilty verdict for a lesser included offense. As a result, not only our client, but also 80 other Alabama death row defendants were granted a new trial.
In recent decades, we have continued to bring major pro bono matters, litigating, for example, a successful challenge to Pennsylvania's voter ID law and bringing a major challenge to the treatment of mentally ill inmates at the "Supermax" federal prison in Colorado. But we also have led the way in expanding our pro bono representation to help individuals of limited means obtain justice in ways that do not make headlines. For example, we have developed a leading political asylum/immigrants' rights pro bono practice in the country. We also have a very active poverty law practice, which, for approximately 20 years, has included providing a full-time landlord/tenant lawyer at DC Legal Aid. We have also worked to make the promise of Gideon a reality by hiring a former public defender to train and assist our lawyers in representing poor individuals charged with crimes. Arnold & Porter is committed to building on this heritage.
If you have any questions about the activities of the Pro Bono Committee, please feel free to contact our Pro Bono Committee Chair, Dan Cantor, at probono@arnoldporter.com.