Quarles Strengthens Commitment to Pro Bono with Restructured Pro Bono Team

The national law firm of Quarles & Brady LLP announced today a restructuring of its pro bono team designed to put an even greater focus on pro bono and create more clear delineation in the team’s responsibilities.

With the retirement at the end of December of Michael Levey, the firm’s national pro bono partner for the past 11 years, Dawn Caldart has been promoted to senior pro bono counsel and now will oversee the team. Reporting to Caldart will be Mary Ferwerda, pro bono counsel who will join the firm January 26, and Nour Kalbouneh, pro bono coordinator.

Levey, a Business Law and Health & Life Sciences partner who started with Quarles in 1991, retired from his client practice in 2023 but continued to lead the pro bono team through the end of 2025. His passion for bridging the justice gap through pro bono service not only inspired colleagues across the firm, but earned him recognition such as being named the Milwaukee Bar Association’s "Pro Bono Publico Award" recipient in 2025.

Caldart has been the firm’s pro bono director since 2014. In her new role, she will lead the team and focus on the business of pro bono, including areas such as policy and procedures, risk management, budgeting, marketing and PR, and external partnerships. Before coming to Quarles, Caldart was executive director of the Milwaukee Justice Center, an employment law partner at a Milwaukee firm and legal services director of the AIDS Resource Center of Wisconsin.

Ferwerda will focus on the legal components of pro bono work, supporting attorneys across the firm in their pro bono efforts, mentoring attorneys interested in getting involved, and investing significant time each year on her own pro bono caseload. Previously, Ferwerda was chief deputy clerk of Milwaukee County Circuit Court and, for nearly a decade, executive director of the Milwaukee Justice Center.

“We are deeply grateful for the leadership and vision Mike provided to our pro bono efforts over the years,” said Mike Aldana, managing partner and chair of the firm’s Executive Committee. “A meaningful commitment to giving back to our communities through pro bono service has been a core part of the Quarles culture for decades. This new team structure will enable us to take our commitment to the next level, and Dawn is the ideal person to lead that effort.”