Gibson Dunn Announces 2025 Pro Bono Award Winners
Firm News | December 30, 2025
Gibson Dunn’s Pro Bono Committee is thrilled to announce the winners of the 2025 Frank Wheat Memorial Awards. This year’s Frank Wheat Award winners showcase different aspects of the firm’s diverse and vibrant pro bono practice, including immigration, religious liberty, and civil rights. Each of our winners demonstrated leadership and initiative in their pro bono work, obtained significant results for their clients, and is an inspiration to their colleagues across the firm.
With this year’s winners leading the way, more than 2,000 Gibson Dunn lawyers around the world have devoted approximately 238,000 hours to pro bono work in 2025. In total, this work was valued at more than $300 million. Beyond the numbers — which set a new record for participation across the firm — we are most proud of the real-world impact our pro bono practice has had on our clients around the world. We know our clients place their trust in us at key moments in their lives, and we are honored to work on their behalf.
Frank Wheat was a former Los Angeles partner, a superb transactional lawyer, SEC commissioner, and president of the Los Angeles County Bar. He was also a giant in the nonprofit community, having founded the Alliance for Children’s Rights in addition to serving as a leader of the Sierra Club and as a founding director of the Center for Law in the Public Interest. He exemplified the commitment to the community and to pro bono service that has always been a core tenet of the Gibson Dunn culture. Recipients of the Frank Wheat Memorial Award each receive a $2,500 prize to be donated to pro bono organizations designated by the recipients.