Lisa Dewey

Lisa Dewey is DLA Piper's Pro Bono Partner and leads the firm's US pro bono practice. She shapes the firm's strategic vision for pro bono across the United States, supporting a program that encompasses more than 1,600 lawyers and collaborating with lawyers across the global firm. Lisa works closely with firm clients, legal services providers, nonprofits, and academic institutions to design and deliver collaborative, high impact pro bono initiatives.

Lisa leads the US pro bono team to inspire and facilitate participation across the firm and to help lawyers build pro bono practices that complement and expand their billable work. Her approach emphasizes collaboration, innovation, and long-term impact in addressing unmet legal needs.

From July 2011 through December 2021, Lisa served as Director of New Perimeter, DLA Piper's nonprofit affiliate to advance justice and strengthen institutions to support a fairer, more sustainable, and prosperous world. In this role, she set the strategic direction and vision for the program, engaging DLA Piper lawyers globally.

As Director of New Perimeter, Lisa worked closely with the Advisory Board, developed and led projects, and managed global, cross office teams of DLA Piper lawyers. She has led and contributed to initiatives focused on legal education, advocacy skills, access to justice, and women's empowerment in Latin America, Southeast Asia, West Africa, and the Balkans, and has developed close relationships with NGOs, government agencies, in house legal departments, and academic institutions.

As part of her pro bono practice, Lisa has advised and represented individuals and public interest organizations in a wide range of matters. Her experience includes representing a man on death row; refugees seeking asylum in the United States; and individuals in family law, domestic violence, juvenile justice, veterans, and housing matters. Her work also includes federal criminal appeals and civil rights litigation, including representing a class of plaintiffs in a Title VII sexual harassment and retaliation case.

Before becoming DLA Piper's first Pro Bono Partner, Lisa represented corporations and individuals in criminal investigations and federal jury trials involving public corruption, mail fraud, money laundering, and health care fraud. She has argued cases before the US Courts of Appeals for the Federal Circuit and the District of Columbia Circuit, as well as the US District Court for the Middle District of Alabama and has counseled clients on the development of corporate ethics and compliance programs.

Lisa frequently speaks on pro bono, law firm pro bono management, and access to justice. She is a regular presenter at the Pro Bono Institute Annual Conference and has spoken at the Equal Justice Conference, the International Bar Association Annual Meeting, the Canadian National Pro Bono Conference, DC Bar Pro Bono Center programs, and law schools across the country. She has co taught practica on addressing the access to justice crisis and a seminar on pro bono in large law firms at Georgetown University Law Center.

Lisa currently serves as Vice-chair and Commissioner of the DC Access to Justice Commission and serves on the boards of the DC Affordable Law Firm and the Appleseed Foundation.