The Merck Pro Bono Program has been nationally recognized for its leadership in providing legal services for the poor and disadvantaged. The Program began in 1994 when a small group of attorneys and support staff piloted a program to assist low-income individuals in obtaining free legal services. Today, the program has expanded to include more than 50 attorneys and 20 paralegals and administrative associates providing pro bono legal services to residents of New Jersey and Pennsylvania who cannot otherwise afford legal representation.
Merck's Legal Team Gives Back to the Community
A decade has passed since Mary McDonald, former senior vice president and General Counsel at Merck, first challenged the attorneys within the Office of General Counsel to meet their professional obligation to ensure "equal justice" through the pro bono representation of the poor and disadvantaged. In response, seven volunteer patent attorneys and three administrative associates based in Rahway, NJ, joined representatives from Legal Services of New Jersey and Central Jersey Legal Services to form a ground-breaking alliance to provide direct legal assistance to low-income individuals in the areas of bankruptcy and family law matters.
In 1996, the program expanded to our sites at Whitehouse Station, NJ, and West Point, PA, as attorneys, paralegals and administrative associates from these sites partnered with Legal Services of Northwest Jersey and Montgomery County Legal Aid Services, respectively, to provide support in the areas of landlord/tenant, bankruptcy and family law matters and client intake services.
Merck is currently handling pro bono cases with our partners at Legal Services of New Jersey, Central Jersey Legal Services, Legal Services of Northwest Jersey and the Volunteer Lawyers for Justice in the areas of guardianship, landlord/tenant, bankruptcy, family law, domestic violence, special education law and immigration law. We also are working with our colleagues at the Pro Bono Partnership to represent qualifying non-profit organizations in New Jersey.
Since 1994, Merck attorneys, paralegals and administrative associates have devoted thousands of hours to provide equal justice to those in need throughout our communities.
"Merck's lawyers and support staff work to ensure that everyone in the communities where we operate - regardless of race, income or social standing - receives equal justice under the law."
— Kenneth C. Frazier, Senior Vice President
and General Counsel, Merck & Co., Inc.
In 2004, Merck was named Corporate Volunteer of the Year by the Pro Bono Partnership and received Pro Bono Awards from the New Jersey State Bar Association and the American Corporate Counsel Association.
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