The Venable Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Venable LLP, is pleased to announce that it has been recognized as a gold-level participant in D.C. Access to Justice’s 2025 Raising the Bar Campaign. The campaign strives to substantially increase financial support to the District’s legal services community by establishing benchmarks for law firm giving and recognizing firms that have donated at benchmark levels on an annual basis.
“Giving back to the DC community has been a long-standing priority for Venable, and we are honored to be recognized year after year for our philanthropic efforts, particularly our support of legal aid,” said Michael Bigley, the director of the Venable Foundation. “We remain committed to strengthening our community through continued partnership and investment in the coming years.”
The D.C. Access to Justice Commission was created by the D.C. Court of Appeals in 2005 to improve the access of low- and moderate-income residents to the civil justice system. The Commission is also responsible for raising the profile in our community of the need for equal access to justice. Established initially for a three-year term, the Commission was ordered by the court in 2007 to continue its work indefinitely.
Now in its 42nd year, the Venable Foundation is one of the oldest law firm foundations in the United States and is consistently ranked as one of the most charitable. In 2025, the Venable Foundation awarded more than $4.1 million in grants to nonprofit organizations across the country. In the DC area, the Foundation committed $1.3 million to 147 grantees. Specifically for legal aid, a total of $275,00 was awarded to 25 organizations providing pro bono or accessible legal aid services to the DC area. The Foundation is proudly funded by the partners of Venable LLP.
Click here to learn more about the firm’s recognition.
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Venable LLP is an American Lawyer Global 100 law firm headquartered in Washington, DC that serves as primary counsel to a worldwide clientele of large and mid-sized organizations, nonprofits, high-net-worth entrepreneurs, and other individuals. With more than 900 professionals in California, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Illinois, Maryland, New York, Virginia, and Washington, DC, the firm strategically advances its clients’ objectives in the United States and around the globe. Venable advises clients on a broad range of business and regulatory law, legislative affairs, complex litigation, and the full range of intellectual property disciplines. For more information, please visit our website