David Cross Honored by the American Bar Association with a Pro Bono Publico Award

David Cross, chair of the Antitrust Litigation practice in the firm’s Global Antitrust Law Group, has been honored by the American Bar Association (ABA) with its annual Pro Bono Publico Award, which recognizes individuals and firms for their outstanding commitment to volunteer legal services. The Pro Bono Publico Award represents the top honors given by the ABA Standing Committee on Pro Bono and Public Service, which over the years has spotlighted pro bono efforts of individual lawyers and small and large law firms, government attorney offices, corporate law departments, and other institutions in the legal profession.

David is a trial lawyer with extensive experience in antitrust and complex business litigation, including intellectual property and general commercial matters. In addition to his client-focused work, as noted by the ABA, David “maintains a robust pro bono practice focused on protecting civil rights”. He is currently leading a team that obtained a statewide injunction on behalf of Georgia voters in 2019 to prevent the continued use of an antiquated election system that had been hacked multiple times and that had no paper record of votes cast. David obtained critical admissions from the defendants’ election security expert that confirmed the unreliability of the outdated election system. That injunction helped enable the critical hand-count of ballots cast in the November 2020 Presidential election in Georgia. That case is ongoing due to Georgia’s adoption of a new unreliable election system. The team recently uncovered a breach of Georgia’s current election system by individuals spreading misinformation about the system and the 2020 election results, which led to the replacement of certain voting equipment.

In addition to David’s pro bono work, the ABA highlights his dedication to “his personal mission of bringing much-needed attention to the struggles and social stigma associated with individuals with disabilities in the high-pressure world of Big Law,” and work creating Morrison Foerster’s Disability Affinity Network and efforts to make it easier for people at the firm to identify as disabled.

The ABA is the largest voluntary association of lawyers in the world. The ABA’s Standing Committee on Pro Bono and Public Service works to ensure access to justice through the expansion and enhancement of the delivery of legal and other law-related services to the underserved through volunteer efforts of legal professionals nationwide. The Committee fosters the development of pro bono programs and activities by law firms, bar associations, corporate legal departments, law schools, government attorney offices, and others; analyzes the scope and function of pro bono programs; and proposes and reviews policy that affects lawyers’ ability to provide pro bono legal services.

David is set to be honored with the award at the 2023 ABA Annual Meeting, which takes place August 2–8 in Denver. To view the full list of honorees, please visit the ABA’s website.