Jenner & Block litigation partner Andrew Vail has agreed to become the first-ever GC of charity network United Way of Metro Chicago, and will serve on a pro bono basis.

Vail – who has been a long-time chair of the firm’s pro bono programme – will provide strategic advice and legal counsel to United Way and its non-profit partner organisations in the Chicago area to improve local communities and the common good.

Sean Garrett, president and CEO of United Way Chicago, said: “This year has challenged our region in so many ways. However, United Way has seen our community band together to create new and complex partnerships. These partnerships have united local government, Chicago philanthropy, business leaders and generous individual donors to support our neighbours across the region. Having a talented and committed general counsel on the team will help us build upon these collaborations to deepen our investment in neighbourhoods.”

Under Vail’s leadership, Jenner & Block’s pro bono programme has been ranked as the best in the US for the past four years, according to The American Lawyer. Last month the firm committed to providing at least $250mn in pro bono services over the next five years to those in need of access to justice.

Randy Mehrberg, Jenner & Block’s co-managing partner, said: “Jenner & Block has a long history of supporting United Way and an even longer commitment of supporting pro bono service in the communities in which we live and work.”

Vail, who is a first-chair litigator, will continue to focus his practice on strategic business counselling and litigation work on top of his GC activities for United Way.

Vail said: “[United Way] is an important institution that I admire for its tireless efforts to bring leading organisations and individuals together to uplift our community.”

A report earlier this year co-authored by DLA Piper, the Australian Pro Bono Centre, the Pro Bono Institute in Washington DC and the Thomson Reuters Foundation found that some of the world’s largest law firms including DLA Piper, Baker McKenzie, Dentons and Hogan Lovells had increased their number of dedicated pro bono partners by more than 10 times over the past two decades, in part due to cuts in legal aid.