Erin Walczewski

Pro Bono Counsel
Full contact info

One of the best parts of my job is having a front-row seat to watch how nonprofits and entrepreneurs are working to improve their communities and our world, and it’s a privilege to play a role in helping them achieve their goals.

About Erin

Erin’s practice focuses on providing pro bono counseling to nonprofit organizations and low-income entrepreneurs, as well as managing transactional pro bono across the firm. In addition to representing clients directly and advising nonprofit boards of directors on governance and strategy, she helps Cooley lawyers develop skills to serve pro bono clients effectively. As the founder of Cooley’s nonprofit advisory council, Erin collaborates with the firm’s pro bono team to strategize about the pro bono practice for 1,300+ lawyers.

Erin started her legal career as an associate in Cooley’s corporate practice, assisting entrepreneurs in starting new businesses and helping venture capitalists invest in them. She earned her JD from Harvard Law School and graduated as valedictorian from Truman State University. Between college and law school, Erin worked in national security in Washington, DC, and in education in Japan.

Erin is a lecturer on law on the faculty of Harvard Law School, and she has authored more than two dozen articles and guides on legal topics for lawyer and client audiences. She teaches negotiation, innovation and design thinking, and advocacy, and is a frequent public speaker and presenter. From 2008 to 2018, Erin served as the director of the Kirkland Pre-Law Program at Harvard College. She currently serves on the board of the Association of Pro Bono Counsel and is the immediate past chair of the board of the Professional Development Consortium, a national nonprofit for professionals in the legal industry.

Education

Harvard Law School
JD, 2010

Truman State University
BS, 2003