The PBEye

Calling In-House Attorneys and Staff

Do you have plans for March 28-30?  Why not join CPBO at the Pro Bono Institute Annual Conference in Washington, D.C.?  This year’s event promises numerous informative and engaging sessions.  The in-house track of the conference kicks off on Wednesday, March 28, with a plenary session followed by two nuts and bolts sessions—one for those starting or reviving a pro bono program (In-House Pro Bono: The Basics) and one for more experienced pro bono practitioners (Corporate Pro Bono 2.0: Momentum and Growth in Mature Programs).  Both sessions will feature a panel discussion followed by smaller group discussions to drill down on the topics covered during the panel discussion. 

In-House Pro Bono: The Basics
Designed for legal departments that have recently created or restructured a formal pro bono program, or are in the process of doing so, this session offers a brief but comprehensive orientation to the basics of designing, guiding, implementing, or administering a successful in-house legal department pro bono program.  Topics covered will include getting started, securing management support, drafting policies, and identifying opportunities and partners, among others.

Corporate Pro Bono 2.0: Momentum and Growth in Mature Programs
This session provides representatives from legal departments with formally structured, longer-term pro bono programs an opportunity to discuss issues of common concern and learn about exciting new ideas and approaches to in-house pro bono.  It will consider what in-house pro bono could and should look like as the sophistication level of in-house pro bono grows.  Topics of discussion will include integrating pro bono and corporate social responsibility, developing longer term more sophisticated projects, and global pro bono.  Discussion topics will include undertaking global pro bono work, developing signature projects, creating partnerships and collaborations, integrating pro bono with your company’s philanthropic efforts, and measuring the impact of your pro bono work.

For an up-to-date list of sessions, click here.  If you have questions, please send us an email.  To register for the Annual Conference, click here.

VIDEO: WDPB – Maria Odom, CLINIC

We at The PBEye think that one of the best feelings in the world is helping someone in need. So we also think that lawyers who do pro bono are some of the luckiest people in the world because they get to do just that.

This week hear from Maria Odom, executive director of the Catholic Legal Immigration Network Inc., on why lawyers should do pro bono.

Meet-n-Eat

The 2012 PBI Annual Conference is rapidly approaching and The PBEye is excited to provide a preview of the public interest organizations that will be featured at the Pro Bono Expo Lunch on Thursday, March 29.  There are a variety of prominent organizations hosting tables at lunch, and their representatives are looking forward to sharing emerging issues, strategies, and developments in their topical areas, and providing information on the types of pro bono opportunities available to your firm or legal department.  This is a unique opportunity to network and develop productive relationships with many public interest organizations from across the U.S. and around the world.

Examples of the diverse organizations that have signed on to host tables this year include:

Ashoka
ACCION International
Bet Tzedek
Medical-Legal Partnership
National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty

Online registration for the 2012 Annual Conference closes March 2, so be sure to register now to take advantage of this unique networking opportunity!  We hope to see you there.

CPBO Spotlight On: The Williams Companies

The Williams Companies*, a nationwide energy company based in Tulsa, Okla., has a strong pro bono program.  The program’s success is due in large part to the support and encouragement of its past and present general counsels.

Craig Rainey, Senior Vice President and General Counsel, The Williams Companies

Elder Care
Adopting one of the most efficient pro bono service models, the Williams legal department has committed to handling all of Legal Aid Services of Oklahoma, Inc.’s (Oklahoma Legal Aid) cases concerning estate planning and other end-of-life issues for the elderly poor in its community.  

For several years, the University of Tulsa Law School operated a clinic providing free legal services to persons suffering from poverty and 60 years old or older living in Tulsa, Creek, and Osage counties in northeast Oklahoma.  The clinic, called the Older Americans Law Project, has served hundreds of clients over nine years.  When the University discontinued the clinic, Williams’ legal department stepped in to sustain the clinic and recruited one of its outside firms and Tulsa’s largest law firm, Hall, Estill, Hardwick, Gable, Golden & Nelson, P.C., to help.  Initially, 40 lawyers and paralegals volunteered.  It was the single largest influx of volunteers in Oklahoma Legal Aid’s history. 

Williams’ pro bono committee began by recruiting a local expert attorney and two district court judges to teach the volunteers about a variety of elder law issues.  Williams videotaped the training sessions and housed them on Oklahoma Legal Aid’s website to be accessed by subsequent volunteers.  James Bender, senior vice president and general counsel at the time, took the first case, while  current Senior Vice President and General Counsel Craig Rainey took the second. 

Typical cases for elderly poor clients involve preparation of wills or trusts, real or personal property transactions, advanced medical directives, powers of attorney, or guardianships.  Volunteers occasionally encounter other needs such as consumer problems or issues concerning government benefits. 

During 2009 and 2010, the legal department not only sustained the program, but added more volunteers and significantly expanded the scope of the program.  More than two-thirds of the company’s Tulsa-based attorneys participate in the program along with a majority of paralegals and several administrative assistants. 

Guardian Ad Litem Cases
In addition to work on behalf of the elderly poor, the Williams legal department has undertaken guardian ad litem cases representing Oklahoma Legal Aid clients in garnishment proceedings.  The work includes cases such as children seeking guardianship of elderly parents, grandparents seeking guardianship of grandchildren, or guardianship concerning the financial support of a minor.  Several of the department’s paralegals and other non-lawyers have taken on guardian ad litem work, since the court may appoint non-lawyers to that role. 

Courthouse Assistance Program
Together with Hall Estill and Oklahoma Legal Aid, the Williams legal department has worked with the Tulsa County judiciary to establish a Courthouse Assistance Program.  The objective of the program is for a volunteer attorney to be available at the Forcible Entry and Detainer (FED) Docket to meet with unrepresented parties in the courtroom after the docket is called and, if necessary, to provide representation at the hearings or conferences which take place that same day.  One common case that arises on the FED Docket involves landlords who are trying to evict and/or recover rent from tenants. 

New Collaboration between Old Colleagues
On January 1 of this year, Williams spun off its exploration and production business into a new entity – WPX Energy, Inc. As a result, a number of the lawyers who had worked on the Legal Aid projects at Williams are now in-house at WPX Energy, including Bender.  The two general counsels, Rainey and Bender, and their staffs have implemented processes to enable both legal departments to collaborate on future cases.  The two companies hope to use the new model as a means to recruit other legal departments into the effort.

*denotes a Signatory to the Corporate Pro Bono Challenge^SM

Fall in Love with Pro Bono

Love is in the air, and The PBEye has been stung by Cupid’s arrow.  Our friends at Equal Justice Works sent us an adorable Valentine last week, highlighting “some things we love. . .”  Among their choices, “equal rights,” “assisting veterans,” “pro bono,” and “justice for all.”  This got us thinking . . . in this season of love, what do we love? 

We love the way that lawyers believe that they can and should find time to use their unique skills to impact the greater good.

We love how pro bono is helping to break new ground on critical issues like nutrition, access to healthcare, and the environment (among others), proving that the law can be an important force for public good.

We love that other professions are taking a cue from lawyers, and that the tradition of skilled service is migrating to other fields and involving non-lawyers.

And we love the way that pro bono creates a sense of community, both within law firms and corporate legal departments, and in the larger communities in which they serve.

Happy Valentine’s Day from the Pro Bono Institute!

What do you love about pro bono?  Leave a comment and tell us about it!

VIDEO: WDPB – Lisa Dewey, DLA Piper

We never get tired of hearing the many reasons to do pro bono – the old ones, the new ones, and everything in between. And The PBEye loves to hear those reason straight from our friends and supporters who do it and advocate for it everyday.

This week hear from Lisa Dewey, pro bono partner at DLA Piper.

Pro Bono as a Prelude to Public Service

The New York Law Journal recently ran an interview with New York Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman that caught our attention.  When asked about the “roots” of his interest in public service, he circled back to his pro bono experiences while in private practice.  Schneiderman recalled that he was “completely absorbed” in pro bono work when he was at Kirkpatrick & Lockhart, now K&L Gates*†  working on, among other things, opposing public transit fare increases as a matter of civil rights, assisting eligible community groups and block associations that were fighting drug dealers in their midst, and assisting womens’ health clinics and their defenders.

This got us thinking – what other prominent figures came to their positions with a history of significant pro bono involvement?  To highlight but a few current examples:

• U.S Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, while in private practice, spent a notable portion of her early career taking on pro bono work in child advocacy cases.   In 1977, President Carter appointed Hillary Clinton to the board of directors of the Legal Services Corporation.  She was the first woman to serve as a Chairperson and during her time there she worked tirelessly to increase funding.  Hillary also co-founded the Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families, an organization ensuring that all children and their families have the resources and opportunities to lead healthy and productive lives.
• PBI’s dear friend, U.S Attorney General Eric Holder routinely performed a significant amount of pro bono work annually when he was a partner at Covington & Burling LLP*†.   In his current role, Mr. Holder has worked to broaden the participation of government lawyers in pro bono and has guided the Department of Justice to make a commitment to expand and ensure access to legal services.  In 2010, the Department launched the Access to Justice Initiative, a program aimed to address the access-to-justice crisis in the criminal and civil justice system.
• Chief Justice John Roberts performed a significant amount of pro bono work while at Hogan & Hartson, now Hogan Lovells*†, including briefing and arguing matters before the U.S. Supreme Court.
• U.S. Solicitor General Donald Verrilli Jr. came to his position with an impressive pro bono track record.  Reflecting on his time at Jenner & Block LLP*†, Verrilli recently recalled that a high-profile pro bono case “was, to me, the most enriching work I’ve ever done, probably ever will.”  He strongly urged young lawyers to take on pro bono work saying, “Being a lawyer has almost inherently a very important public service component built into it”.

Do you have additions to our pro bono public servant honor roll?  Leave a comment and let us know.

* denotes a Signatory to the Law Firm Pro Bono Challenge®
† denotes a Member of the Law Firm Pro Bono Project

2011 In-House Pro Bono Lessons Learned

The PBEye thinks there’s no reason to re-invent the wheel.  Having worked with hundreds of legal departments on their pro bono programs since 2000, CPBO knows that while each program is unique and reflects the particular characteristics, interests, and culture of the legal department, there are a number of common issues that legal departments face in starting and growing pro bono programs.  So that legal departments may learn from each other, CPBO publishes best practices profiles that highlight the experiences of various legal departments and share lessons they have learned.  Below is a list of the 10 most common lessons learned.

1.)    General counsel and management support is key for the creation and growth of an in-house program.

2.)    Growing a successful program requires planning.

• Investigate the interests of the legal department, the needs of the community, and the available resources.
• Create a structure that allows your department to maintain a program.  This may vary depending on the size and culture of the department, but it is important to determine policies, appoint a committee or administrator, and identify partners.
• Screen projects and provide training for volunteers.

3.)    Aligning pro bono with the company’s larger corporate social responsibility and philanthropic efforts brings benefits.

• Doing so may help in securing company-wide support and foster a deeper sense of connection to the company among members of the legal department.

4.)    A pro bono committee or program administrator is key to success.

• Committees and administrators can manage a listing of pro bono opportunities, disseminate information, oversee logistical aspects of the program, communicate with partners, and plan recognition events.

5.)    Offer projects that vary in subject matter, skills and expertise required, and time commitment, as well as opportunities for non-lawyers.

• Volunteers’ interests evolve, and opportunities offered should reflect interests.
• For many in-house lawyers, time limitations present the most significant obstacle to providing pro bono.  One way to mitigate this issue is to offer shorter-term pro bono engagements such as clinics that do not require continued representation.
• Many successful programs offer opportunities for both lawyers and non-lawyers to get involved.

6.)    Partnering offers numerous benefits.

• Law firm partners offer expanded resources and capacity as well as training opportunities.
• Legal services organizations or other public interest groups can screen clients, may provide malpractice insurance, and may also offer training.

7.)    Use technology to expand pro bono service and simplify participation for volunteers.

• Technology allows volunteers to reach clients in remote places.
• Use an internal department-wide website to house pro bono policies, current opportunities, information from partner organizations, and articles and awards highlighting the department’s work.
• Offer web-based training so that volunteers can select a time for training that works with their schedule.

8.)    Pro bono teams add great value and can address concerns.

• Matching volunteers with experience in a particular area of pro bono work with others who are interested in that type of work is a great way to facilitate cross-department relationships and foster team building.
• Forming pro bono teams also provides volunteers with support in case of a time conflict or change in staffing.

9.)    Recognition and other incentives encourage involvement in pro bono programs.

• Department-sanctioned awards demonstrate that pro bono participation is not only permitted, but it is encouraged.

10.)     Use existing resources.

• Thanks to CPBO, there is a wealth of information about launching and sustaining in-house pro bono programs.  Don’t hesitate to take advantage CPBO’s knowledge and expertise.
• The PBI Annual Conference offers a great opportunity to learn from your peers at other legal departments.

We’d love to hear from you about what lessons you learned in 2011 — leave a comment below and tell us about them!

Back to the Future

Has your firm, of more than 50 lawyers, recently created or restructured a formal pro bono program or are planning to do so in 2012?  Are you a newly appointed managing partner, pro bono committee chair, pro bono counsel, partner, or coordinator?  If so, please join us for Law Firm Pro Bono 101, on March 28 at 8:30 a.m., to jumpstart this year’s Annual Conference.

Law Firm Pro Bono 101 is a comprehensive, participatory crash course on the basics of restructuring, implementing, and administering successful law firm pro bono programs.  PBI staff members will be available to provide individualized tips for navigating the Conference in order to maximize the experience and introduce attendees to the resources and support available from the Law Firm Pro Bono Project.

And, you won’t go home empty handed.  In addition to a continental breakfast and the Conference materials on a flashdrive, each 101 attendee will be the proud owner of a brand new “Nuts and Bolts of Law Firm Pro Bono” CD, which includes examples of various annual reports, pro bono policies and procedures, pro bono awards, global pro bono opportunities, law firm pro bono marketing, numerous original Pro Bono Institute publications, and other resources that will assist you in improving your firm’s pro bono program.

Pre-registration is required for this program, and space is limited, so sign up today through the registration page on your invitation.  If you did not receive an invitation to the Annual Conference please contact PBIEvents@courtesyassoc.com.

Also, new this year, for first-time law firm attendees, Alston & Bird LLP* will be generously hosting an informal reception, the evening of March 27, to kick off this year’s Annual Conference.  This will be a great opportunity to network and get Conference tips to maximize your experience.

Don’t miss out on this popular session and exciting new reception!  We hope to see you there!

*denotes a Signatory to the Law Firm Pro Bono Challenge^®

VIDEO: WDPB – Hon. Laurie D. Zelon

There are so many great reasons to do pro bono that we could go on and on about.  But The PBEye would rather hear it straight from the source: those who do it and advocate for it everyday.

This week hear from Hon. Laurie D. Zelon, associate justice for the California Courts of Appeal.