Washington’s Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr has agreed to represent the United Church of Christ on a pro bono basis in an Internal Revenue Service investigation of the church’s tax-exempt status.

The IRS initiated the tax inquiry on Feb. 20 in response to a speech given by U.S. Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., a member of the church, at the UCC’s national General Synod last June.