Community Service
Shartsis Friese is proud to have been listed among the Top Corporate Philanthropists in the Greater Bay Area by San Francisco Business Times each year since 2007, ranking #56 in 2025. Our lawyers and staff continue to support numerous organizations throughout the Bay Area with their contributions of time and money. A significant number of our attorneys serve on nonprofit boards of directors for local Bay Area and national organizations.
We are an active participant in the annual Food From the Bar campaign to benefit the San Francisco-Marin Food Bank drive. The firm regularly is among the top firms in the Bay Area that donate financial resources, volunteer hours, and perishable food items to the Food Bank.
We are proud to provide volunteer services and/or financial support to the following organizations:
- AIDS Legal Referral Panel
- American Jewish Committee
- Asian Women’s Shelter
- Association of Fundraising Professionals
- Bananas, Inc.
- Bay Area Association of Disabled Sailors
- Bay Area Legal Aid
- Belden Club
- Berkeley FILM Foundation
- Berkeley Food & Housing Project
- Boys & Girls Clubs of San Francisco
- California Lawyers for the Arts
- California Rural Legal Assistance
- CASA of Contra Costa County
- Centro Legal de la Raza
- Concord Historical Society
- Disability Rights Advocates
- East Bay Community Law Center
- Emeryville Center for the Arts
- Equal Rights Advocates
- Family Violence Law Center
- Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund
- Food Bank of Contra Costa and
Solano Counties - Girls Inc. of Alameda County
- Hedge Funds Care
- Hidden Genius Project
- Homeless Action Center
- Huckleberry Youth Program
- Immigrant Legal Resource Center
- KehillahSF
- La Raza Centro Legal, Inc.
- Lambda Legal
- Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence
- Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights
- Legal Aid of Marin
- Legal Aid Society – Employment
Law Center - Legal Services for Children, Inc.
- Maccabi USA/Sports for Israel
- Nicaraguan Children’s Friendship
Committee - Northern Light School
- Public Advocates, Inc.
- Rebuilding Together
- San Francisco AIDS Foundation
- San Francisco Beautiful
- San Francisco CASA Program
- San Francisco Food Bank
- San Ramon Valley Little League
- SF Camerawork
- SFJazz Organization
- Spark
- SPUR
- The BASF Foundation
- The Financial Women’s Association of
San Francisco Scholarship Fund - University of California, Berkeley
Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive - Up On Top
- Voice of Witness
- Worldwatch Institute
- Youth Musical Theater Company
- Youth Spirit Artwork
Pro Bono
Pro bono work is more than just a noble endeavor for law firms; it is a cornerstone that upholds the very essence of access to justice and equity. By offering free legal services to those who cannot afford them, our lawyers play a pivotal role in bridging the gap between the legal system and underrepresented communities.
This commitment not only fosters trust within the community but also enriches the professional lives of attorneys. We are proud of our longstanding commitment to pro bono work. Our attorneys actively partner with a variety of organizations and programs, including the AIDS Legal Referral Panel, Centro Legal de la Raza and the Bar Association of San Francisco’s Justice & Diversity Center, providing direct legal services to individuals in need.
In 2004, the firm founded the Shartsis Friese LLP Public Interest Fellowship, which for a two-year period subsidizes a staff attorney position at a selected organization providing legal services to San Francisco Bay Area community members who cannot afford legal services. In the past, the Fellowship has been awarded to Sword to Plowshares, Open Door Legal, East Bay Community Law Center, Bay Area Legal Aid, Centro Legal de la Raza, Legal Aid Society-Employment Law Center, and the Family Violence Law Center. The Fellowship was awarded to the AIDS Legal Referral Panel for 2025-2026.
Shartsis Friese has also established an annual scholarship at Students Rising Above, which covers the expense of sending several low-income, first-generation college students to college each year, along with providing tutoring, personal mentoring, career coaching and job training workshops.