Miller Canfield’s Thomas Linn Receives 2025 Pro Bono Service Award from the Legal Services Corporation
Miller Canfield is proud to announce that Thomas Linn, the firm’s Chairman Emeritus and a champion of pro bono service, has been honored with the 2025 Pro Bono Service Award from the Legal Services Corporation (LSC) in recognition of his outstanding commitment to expanding access to justice for underserved Michiganders.
Linn was nominated by Lakeshore Legal Aid, where he currently serves as Chair of the Board of Directors. The nomination highlighted his years of dedicated service, including providing hundreds of hours of direct legal assistance, helping to launch community legal clinics, mentoring young lawyers, and advocating for systemic changes to increase access to civil legal aid across Michigan.
The LSC Board of Directors presented the award at a reception on July 15, 2025, at The Comerica Gridiron Club at Ford Field in Detroit, following LSC’s Access to Justice Forum.
“Thom’s impact on pro bono legal services in Michigan is immeasurable,” said Miller Canfield CEO Mike Palizzi. “He is a true servant leader, and his work exemplifies the best of our profession. His leadership, advocacy, and hands-on service have improved the lives of countless individuals and strengthened the legal aid organizations that serve them”
Throughout his nearly five-decade career at Miller Canfield, which included 20 years as one of the firm’s managing directors and eight years as CEO, Linn has helped build and sustain a culture of pro bono service at the firm. Under his leadership, the firm expanded its pro bono committee, established partnerships with community organizations, and created opportunities for attorneys and law students to meaningfully engage in access-to-justice initiatives. He personally contributes more than 200 hours of pro bono work each year.
Linn’s recent efforts include helping to launch Project Clean Slate, an expungement program for low-income Detroiters with criminal records; building Miller Canfield’s partnership with the Michigan Immigrant Rights Center; and leading workshops for Detroit entrepreneurs through the Osborn Business Association and the Small Business Legal Academy.
Linn’s contributions have previously been recognized with the Michigan State Bar Foundation’s 2018 Founders Award and Miller Canfield’s Richard J. Seryak Award for Pro Bono Service.
