Company Updates

Alston & Bird Recognized by Dell for Pro Bono and Community Involvement

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Last month, Dell awarded the Legal Department’s Pro Bono and Community Involvement Award to Alston & Bird. This is the third year for the award, which is presented annually to a law firm that represents Dell in the U.S., shares Dell’s commitment to the community, and donates free legal services for the public good.

While there were a number of outstanding applicants this year, our Pro Bono Committee was truly impressed by the commitment Alston & Bird has demonstrated to serving and giving back nation-wide. From the Guardianship Project for low-income individuals with family members facing end-of-life needed assistance and the Wills Project for teachers serving in low-income areas, to local nonprofit legal clinics, Alston & Bird supports its employees in whatever causes move them to action.

“Providing pro bono service is an ethical responsibility, vitally important to the profession of law. There’s hardly an endeavor more rewarding than using your talent for the good of others,” says Mary Benton, pro bono partner at Alston & Bird.

Jon Fee, head of pro bono in their Washington, D.C. office describes the firm’s “top to bottom, side to side” commitment to this work.

I commend Alston & Bird for its high partner and associate participation in pro bono matters, noting in particular that in 2012, attorneys in the firm’s 10 offices dedicated 53,522 hours to pro bono, with approximately 60 percent of attorneys donating at least 25 hours to such commitments. The firm has a history and culture that encourages pro bono work, including many impressive ongoing initiatives as well as long-term projects with its clients across the U.S. 

I am also excited about our legal team collaborating with Alston & Bird in 2014 on a new initiative with the Center for Community-Based and Nonprofit Organizations at Austin Community College.  The project will include a series of programs covering common legal issues for nonprofits and will be followed by a related clinic.

Alston & Bird is a well-deserving successor to the recipients of our previous Dell Legal Pro Bono Award winners, Baker Botts, Graves Dougherty and Vinson & Elkins.  Our legal team is continually encouraged and motivated by the standards and commitment that our external law firms demonstrate to pro bono and I am proud to work with organizations that contribute back to their communities through dedication of their time and legal expertise.

Please help me in congratulating Alston & Bird on this impressive achievement.



About the Author: Richard Rothberg

Rich Rothberg is the General Counsel for Dell. In this role, he oversees the global legal department and manages government affairs, compliance and ethics. He is also responsible for global security. Rich joined Dell in 1999 and has served in critical leadership roles throughout the legal department. He served as a vice president of legal, supporting our businesses in the Europe, Middle East and Africa region before moving to Singapore in 2008 as vice president of legal for the Asia-Pacific and Japan region. He returned to the United States in 2010 to serve as vice president of legal for the North America and Latin America regions. In this role, he was lead counsel for sales and operations in the Americas and for the enterprise solutions, software and end-user computing business units. He also led the government affairs organization worldwide. Prior to joining Dell, Rich spent nearly eight years at Caterpillar Inc. in senior legal roles in Nashville, Tenn., and Geneva, Switzerland. He was also an attorney for IBM Credit Corporation and Rogers & Wells. Rich holds a juris doctor degree from Columbia University and a Bachelor of Arts degree from New York University.