Mary Benton

Mary Benton

Mary Benton serves as the Pro Bono Partner at Alston & Bird, formulating and overseeing the Firm’s strategic vision for pro bono and leading the pro bono legal and community service program across all 11 offices. Ms. Benton ensures that all Alston & Bird attorneys have the opportunity to fulfill their professional obligation to perform pro bono and service work at the intersections of each individual’s passion and talents. She successfully fosters and maintains relationships with nonprofit legal service providers, working together to create opportunities for meaningful and impactful pro bono projects, provides training and supervision on pro bono matters, and facilitates client and practice group pro bono initiatives. She leads the firm-wide pro bono committee, which supports and encourages pro bono participation and develops policies and practice to enhance the Firm’s pro bono program and culture.

Ms. Benton is dedicated to serving in her community through volunteerism and board service. In addition to The Gateway Center, she serves on the Board of Directors for The United Way of Greater Atlanta, Georgia Appleseed Center for Law and Policy, the National Appleseed Network, and Atlanta Legal Aid. She also serves on the Advisory Boards of Habitat for Humanity of Atlanta, Future Foundation and the Truancy Intervention Project. She is a member of the United Way Tocqueville Women’s Leadership Council and a member of the Leadership Atlanta Class of 2014.

Prior to her role as Pro Bono Partner, Ms. Benton was a partner in the State and Local Tax Group and has over 20 years of substantive experience advising clients on state and local tax implications in complex transactions and representing multistate corporations in state tax disputes and controversies.