The National Legal Aid & Defender Association (NLADA) has recognized Chicago partner Ben Weinberg’s contributions to pro bono and public service with a 2025 Exemplar Award. This prestigious honor recognizes members of the corporate counsel and private law firm communities who demonstrate outstanding leadership, vision, dedication and achievement in promoting and supporting equal justice.

As Dentons’ pro bono partner, Weinberg develops and supports partnerships with legal aid providers, clients, nonprofits and nongovernmental organizations to provide legal assistance to underserved individuals and communities. In 2024, he continued to oversee the Domestic Violence Appeals Project, an ongoing partnership with Legal Aid Chicago that appeals wrongful rulings in the Domestic Violence Division of the Circuit Court of Cook County. This work benefits individual clients and improves access to justice for domestic violence survivors in Illinois courtrooms.

Weinberg is a leader in the pro bono community. He is a founder and board secretary of the Law Firm Antiracism Alliance and a former president of the Association of Pro Bono Counsel. He also serves on the PILnet Pro Bono Leadership Council and as adjunct faculty at Northwestern’s Pritzker School of Law, where he co-teaches a long-running seminar about pro bono in large law firms.

Weinberg began his legal career at Legal Aid Chicago, where he specialized in domestic violence matters and juvenile court abuse and neglect cases. He also served as a law clerk to Judge William J. Bauer of the US Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. Later he was chief of the Illinois Attorney General's Public Interest Division, where he was responsible for managing investigations and litigation for bureaus including disability rights and civil rights.