When it comes to pro bono service, Stephanie Hipp leads by example. Stephanie is the General Counsel of McDonald’s Operating Company (McOpCo) and Senior Counsel for the Business Counsel/Franchise Group at McDonald’s Corporation. On top of this demanding work, Stephanie has been an active member of the McDonald’s pro bono committee for over 10 years. During her tenure, Stephanie has taken on numerous complex immigration cases while spearheading new pro bono opportunities for the McDonald’s legal team, serving as a true force multiplier for good.
Stephanie played a leading role in developing and nurturing McDonald’s pro bono relationship with the National Immigrant Justice Center (NIJC), a nationwide model of partnership between a corporation and a legal aid organization. Under Stephanie’s leadership, McDonald’s and NIJC have partnered on numerous high-impact legal clinics, often alongside attorneys from partnering law firms. The most recent clinic, for clients who potentially qualify for Special Immigrant Juvenile Status, helped 13 young people gain access to visas or green cards.
Beyond mobilizing her peers, Stephanie regularly steps up to work on complicated, highly intensive cases that many other pro bono lawyers would shy away from. Stephanie has worked on three asylum matters, three U-Visa matters, and two Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) matters, with great success. Her tireless efforts have led to hard-won pathways to safety for her clients. In many cases, these victories have literally been lifesaving. Furthermore, Stephanie demonstrates unwavering patience and compassion, taking the time to explain complex legal concepts to clients in an accessible and reassuring way. As one client put it, “[h]er ability to combine technical excellence with genuine empathy is truly rare.”
From her individual case work to her exemplary ability to motivate her colleagues to do pro bono, Stephanie truly lives the values that the Exelon Outstanding Corporate Counsel Award stands for.