David Zapolsky, Amazon’s general counsel, readily acknowledges that it is much more challenging for in-house legal departments to implement pro bono initiatives than law firms where such programs are common.

However, when Zapolsky became the e-commerce giant’s GC in 2014, he made establishing a pro bono program a key priority for his legal team.

As a result of the hard work of legal department members to make that goal a reality, Amazon legal professionals have participated in a variety of volunteer opportunities to advance access to justice since the pro bono program’s launch about 10 years ago.

These projects have included a mix of stateside opportunities, as well as efforts in many other parts of the world where Amazon has employees. 

As of last fall when Amazon released its 2023 Pro Bono Report, members of the company’s legal department had completed more than 52,000 hours of volunteer legal work since the program’s inception.

Given the international scope of the work, including legal support for Ukrainian and Afghan refugees, the title of the company’s most recent pro bono report was “Beyond Borders.”

“One of the most inspiring things about our program is the way that we've been able to export it around the world, and it looks different in different parts of the world,” Zapolsky told Legal Dive.

Ukraine

In the aftermath of Russia launching its invasion of Ukraine roughly two years ago, members of the Amazon legal department have participated in different efforts to support Ukrainians and the war-torn country’s economy.

For example, more than 70 Amazon legal professionals from different parts of the world partnered with professionals at DLA Piper to support Ukrainians who were forced to resettle in other parts of Europe. These efforts included putting together fact sheets to assist Ukrainian refugees with immigration matters and with finding housing and education.

Amazon legal team members also provided support to Patients of Ukraine, a nonprofit that has worked to combat the counterfeiting and illicit trade of medication and medical devices in the country.

Zapolsky said one goal was to provide best practices from other countries so that Patients of Ukraine “could recommend statutory reform in Ukraine and other measures to help crack down on counterfeiters and to make sure that the medical goods and supplies that they desperately need are legitimate and safe.”

Additionally, Amazon legal professionals have helped Ukrainian companies in the IT space legally set up and scale their businesses in other countries. Like with many other pro bono projects, Amazon legal team members have partnered with outside law firms on the initiative.

Zapolsky said the company’s outside law firms often make his team aware of potential pro bono opportunities and collaborating with them on legal service projects helps deepen his department’s relationships with external counsel.

Afghanistan

Members of the Amazon legal team also stepped up to provide legal assistance to Afghan refugees following the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021.

Some of these refugees were able to make it safely to the U.S., while others ended up in a variety of countries in different parts of the world. In many cases, those fleeing Afghanistan had worked directly for the U.S. government through the years.

Amazon legal team members partnered with lawyers at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher to help asylum seekers draft their applications for permanent or temporary legal status in a country willing to accept them. These efforts required close communication between the participating attorneys and the asylum seekers. 

“Those communications, often with families and individuals who were on the run, led to some deeper relationships between the attorneys who were helping them and the families – and sought to get them asylum and safety in a different country,” Zapolsky said.

U.S. projects

Some of the Amazon pro bono legal projects taking place in the U.S. are among the ones in which Zapolsky has volunteered alongside his colleagues.

For example, Amazon legal professionals have participated in the King County Bar Association’s Records Project. The volunteer attorneys work to help low-income clients vacate eligible convictions, which can help them more easily secure employment and housing.

In recent years, Amazon legal team members have also provided pro bono legal services to the guests of Mary’s Place, a nonprofit providing emergency housing and other resources to women and families. 

Mary’s Place occupies several floors of Amazon’s corporate headquarters in Seattle, and the company’s legal department members have consistently offered legal clinics for guests at the shelter. 

Concluding thoughts

Zapolsky said both the stateside opportunities and the increasing number of projects abroad have left him feeling very gratified about the growth of his legal team’s pro bono program since its creation.

“Whenever anybody asks me, ‘What are you proud of at Amazon?’ I always talk about our pro bono program,” Zapolsky said. “It’s still a work in progress because there's a lot more we could do, but I think the results have been remarkable based on the participation by our people.”