Summer Reading List: The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks

Looking for a pro bono-themed read for your vacation this weekend?  Pack The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot in your beach bag.  This best-selling novel tells the story of an impoverished black woman whose cancer cells were used to aid in lucrative medical discoveries after she died in 1950.  Meanwhile Lacks’ surviving relatives were left poor, and unable to afford health insurance.

Jonathan Chou, an associate and former molecular biologist, and partner, Ethan Skerry, both from Lowenstein Sandler PC*, set up the Henrietta Lacks Foundation and secured tax-exempt status for the author, Rebecca Skloot, in 2010.

The foundation aims to provide financial assistance to needy individuals who have contributed to scientific research without personally benefiting, particularly in the absence of informed consent.   And, as a result of the foundation’s success, some of Lacks’ family have received grants for health expenses and education.  Other potential recipients are the subjects of the Tuskegee Institute study from the 1930s-1970s, which left black men untreated for syphilis without their knowledge or consent, and Guatemalan men infected with syphilis in a U.S. government experiment in the 1940s.

Click here to learn more about Lowenstein’s efforts and other pro bono victories from New Jersey law firms.

Do you have any other pro bono-related summer reading recommendations?  Leave us a comment and let us know.

*denotes a Signatory to the Law Firm Pro Bono Challenge^® and a Law Firm Pro Bono Project Member.

Guest Blog: DLA Piper Associates Work in Guyana

The PBEye recently heard from a team of junior associates at DLA Piper* about their experiences doing pro bono in Guyana.  Pro bono is a terrific way for associates and seasoned attorneys alike to gain skills and develop professionally.  Here’s what our friends at DLA Piper, J. Hess, Nicole C. King, and Terry Smith, had to say:

Attorneys involved with pro bono often share two common perspectives: a belief that we have an ethical obligation to provide pro bono services, and an understanding that pro bono offers unique opportunities to build valuable skills and broaden overall legal acumen.  Junior associates, particularly those working in larger law firms, might find that pro bono work can bring more responsibility and greater exposure than their regular billable work.

In our case, such an opportunity came through an international pro bono project in Guyana, South America. Over the last few years, Guyana has made a strong commitment to strengthening its justice sector under a program called Modernization of the Justice Administration System (MJAS).  Both the Judiciary and the Department of Public Prosecution (DPP) have spent considerable time and resources upgrading facilities and personnel.  DLA Piper’s nonprofit affiliate, New Perimeter, recognized Guyana’s strong commitment to fortifying its legal sector and offered the pro bono services of DLA Piper attorneys with expertise directly related to MJAS goals.

To prepare for the project, DLA Piper attorneys made two due diligence trips to Guyana.  During these trips, these attorneys observed court proceedings and interviewed judges, magistrate judges, prosecutors, police prosecutors, and senior investigators.  It became clear that magistrate courts were strapped for resources and severely backlogged.  An attorney or judge from the United States or the U.K. cannot help but immediately fixate on seemingly basic, but temporarily insurmountable obstacles.  Hearings move excruciatingly slowly, because there are no court stenographers and magistrate judges must hand-write testimony.  It is nearly impossible to hear testimony from meek witnesses or arguments from soft-spoken attorneys, because sounds from the street blare through courtroom windows which are necessarily open to provide some relief to the tropical heat.  Witnesses fail to show for hearings, because they live hours away by boat and either did not receive notice or have no means to travel to court.

Despite these obstacles, it was an important moment in the development of this project when we realized that technology—stenographers, air conditioned court rooms, and faster boats—was not a realistic goal.  Once we recognized that the Guyanese Judicial System was not going to become resource-rich over night, we instead sought practical solutions that would organically increase efficiency and capacity.  While momentarily counterintuitive, we realized that the most effective way to support Guyana’s modernization efforts was not to address its weakest aspects, but rather to support its greatest resource, the people already working hard every day to support the rule of law.

The prosecutor's training team (from left to right): DLA Piper lawyers Mark Nadeau (Phoenix), Nicole King (Los Angeles), Mitka Baker (Washington, DC), Rob Sherman (Boston), Carolyn McNiven (San Francisco), Terry Smith (Philadelphia), Peter Zeidenberg (Washington, DC).

It was in this spirit that we developed a two-part project that included drafting “best practices” manuals and implementing simulation-based training workshops for Guyanese magistrate judges and prosecutors.  To implement the project, we spent five days in Guyana with 10 other DLA Piper attorneys from offices across the United States and Europe.  For magistrates, the workshops focused on advanced trial-management skills, new anti-money laundering and asset forfeiture laws, and international best practices in bail setting.  In a separate workshop for more than 40 prosecutors, police prosecutors, and senior investigators, we focused on improving trial advocacy skills like cross-examining witnesses, introducing documents and physical evidence, and establishing chain of custody.

Guyana’s commitment to the program was reaffirmed when courts were closed for Friday’s workshops and magistrates and prosecutors gave up their Saturday to attend training sessions. Highly interactive, energetic, and collegial, the workshops allowed legal professionals working in a heavily burdened system time to step back and reflect on their craft.  Discussions carried over through lunch breaks and into the evenings, and it became clear that curiosity and a love for debate are universal traits for legal professionals.

As junior associates, this project offered a number of unique opportunities.  Foremost, we had an opportunity to play an active role in the project’s design and development. We were actively involved in meetings with the Chancellor of the Judiciary, High Court Judges, the Director and Assistant Director of Public Prosecution, as well as other judicial officials.  While normally junior associates spend time sifting through discovery or performing due diligence from their desks, we were in Guyana driving the scope and direction of an international project that would ultimately involve eight partners, seven associates and well over 2,000 hours of donated time. 

From left to right: Guyana's Chancellor of the Judiciary Carl Singh, Justice Roy, Terry Smith (DLA Piper Associate) and Sheldon Krantz (Director of New Perimeter and a DLA Piper partner)

The project also pushed us as legal professionals.  Developing and facilitating workshops that were engaging and well received has increased our confidence and deepened our understanding of what it means to be credible legal professionals.  Additionally, we worked directly with senior partners, which gave us the opportunity to build valuable relationships within our Firm. 

The old adage “no pain, no gain,” need not apply to pro bono projects.  Junior associates should recognize them as win-win vehicles to do something good for a client as well as for their careers.  For us, collaboration with colleagues during the Guyana project both enhanced our legal skills and advanced the rule of law abroad.

J. Hess, Nicole C. King, and Terry Smith are associates at DLA Piper. Further detail on the Guyana project is available here.

If you would like to contribute a guest blog to The PBEye, please contact Christina Gordon, director of strategic communications and stewardship, with your proposed topic.  We would love to hear from you! 

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

Global Spotlight: International Child Abduction

According to Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, last year nearly 2,000 children were internationally abducted to or from the United States by one of their own parents, in violation of the other parent’s rights:

That’s 40 children taken from their homes and from their loved ones each week. Abductions traumatize children, their parents, friends, and family. International Parental Child Abduction is a painful scourge for so many, and it is something that deeply concerns me.

Parental kidnapping compromises and destroys parent-child relationships, uproots and destabilizes children, and typically causes acute emotional distress to everybody involved.  Today’s International Missing Children’s Day strikes us as an auspicious occasion to shine PBI’s Global Pro Bono Spotlight on a particularly compelling pro bono partnership benefitting victims of international parental kidnapping.

An international treaty, the 1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction, provides for the swift return of internationally abducted children to their countries of habitual residence. The U.S. is currently bound to 68 other countries under the treaty, and expects to gain its 69^th treaty partner a tout de suite following Japan’s recent decision to ratify the Convention.

However, the United States’ execution of its treaty obligations is plagued by a major impediment: by taking a reservation to Article 26 of the Hague Convention, the U.S. declined to provide applicant parents with legal representation in Hague proceedings before the U.S. courts. So, in order to ensure access to justice for indigent and low-income parents abroad with children missing in the United States, the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) established an International Child Abduction Attorney Network (ICAAN).

One of ICAAN’s pro bono partners is none other than Law Firm Pro Bono Challenge^® Signatory, Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton LLP*. When NCMEC first approached the firm to represent a left-behind parent pro bono in a Hague abduction case, Pro Bono Partner Debbie Segal says she jumped at the opportunity:

It was quite amazing to be able to use our legal skills to facilitate a reunion between a parent and a child – there was not a dry eye in the house. The Hague cases quickly became coveted pro bono opportunities for young litigators, because they were extremely important, fast-paced, unique and exciting. After we had a few successful cases under our belts, one of our associates suggested that others could benefit from our experiences. We approached NCMEC, they embraced the idea, and the rest is history. 

So, in addition to continuing to represent left-behind parents of internationally abducted children in Hague proceedings, the firm authored a national practice manual for NCMEC, “Litigating International Child Abduction Cases Under the Hague Convention” (second edition coming soon!). Kilpatrick Townsend’s pro bono portfolio now includes a signature International Parental Abduction initiative spanning North America, Europe and the Middle East.

Recognizing that the effective functioning of the Hague Convention is dependent upon left-behind parents’ unfettered access to legal counsel, the U.S. State Department’s Office of Children’s Issues (the designated U.S. central authority under the treaty) is actively seeking legal talent to expand its pro bono Attorney Network. What’s in it for me, you ask?

• Gain exposure to international law and federal court litigation experience;
• Pro bono attorneys may recover attorneys’ fees in successful Hague proceedings (See Cuellar v. Joyce, 603 F.3d 1142 (9th Cir. 2010)) — we covered this in The Wire back when it happened, here;
• And, in the words of one pro bono attorney who recently completed his very first Hague case, “This experience reminded me of why I went to law school in the first place.”

Law firms and in-house legal departments interested in representing left-behind parents in Hague child abduction proceedings in the U.S. courts may contact the State Department’s Legal Assistance Coordinator Patricia Hoff at 202.736.9096. No prior international law experience is required.

To learn more about Global Pro Bono, or for technical assistance, contact PBI Global Pro Bono Coordinator Julia Alanen.

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

Management Support for Pro Bono: Non-Negotiable

The PBEye is always on the look out for good pro bono news — and we found it in a recent Boardmember.com article,  “Six GCs Who’ve Made a Difference,” which chronicles the careers of six exceptional general counsel.  Among others, the article profiles Michael Helfer, general counsel and corporate secretary at Citigroup, Inc.*, for his remarkable commitment to pro bono. 

Helfer’s arrival at Citigroup in 2003 paved the way for the growth of the department’s pro bono program.  Having practiced for 27 years at Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP**, which has a deeply ingrained pro bono culture, Helfer brought with him to Citigroup the desire to implement an in-house program.  He envisioned and began developing a more impactful program.  The program really took off in 2006 when Citigroup attorneys were dispatched to the Gulf Coast to assist displaced residents in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.  Dozens of Citigroup’s attorneys logged hundreds of hours on Katrina-related pro bono work, in the region and from their offices.  Without Helfer’s leadership and support, such a large-scale and dedicated program would not have been possible.

Helfer himself recognizes the importance of management support.  “If you’re going to have a good pro bono program, you need support from the top,” says Helfer, who credits former CEO Chuck Prince with providing just that.  Helfer says Citigroup’s current leadership has continued to provide tremendous support for the program.

Citigroup is not alone in its experience.  Corporate Pro Bono has worked with hundreds of legal departments and can easily say that those with strong management support for pro bono are, not coincidentally, the departments with the most successful pro bono programs. 

One of the greatest predictors of in-house pro bono success is strong leadership.  Support from senior management can assuage legitimate concerns that attorneys and other staff may have about devoting work time and other company resources to pro bono.  It can also inspire and encourage those unsure or unaware to get involved.

Do you know of an outstanding in-house leader? If so, drop us a line below and let us know — we’d love to hear from you!

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

PBI Goes to Boston

How can we begin to solve the crisis in legal aid?  What are issues facing pro bono lawyers in the “new normal?”

On Tuesday, May 17, the Boston Bar Association held a roundtable to discuss these issues with PBI’s very own Esther Lardent, as well as roundtable co-chairs Al Wallis, executive director of the Brown Rudnick Center for the Public Interest at Brown Rudnick LLP*, and Carolyn Rosenthal, pro bono manager at Goodwin Procter LLP*.  The discussion was moderated by Lynn Girton, chief counsel of the Volunteer Lawyers Project, and Sue Finegan from Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky & Popeo, P.C*, both co-chairs of the Delivery of Legal Services Section of the BBA.  This annual event convenes law firms, legal departments, and a wide range of public interest organizations, including legal services providers, pro bono programs, law schools and the courts; with the shared goal of working together to address the growing problem of access to justice.

The participants’ conversation focused on profound changes that have occurred among law firms and public interest organizations in the past few years, citing legal services groups’ greater need for assistance along with a lack of resources.  In turn, firm representatives spoke of “associate anxiety” causing lawyers to become averse to risk-taking in pro bono matters.  A law firm participant noted she was having problems pitching pro bono to returning deferred associates because they are more focused on billable work to catch up to their colleagues’ established careers.  A proposed solution to this issue was marketing and packaging pro bono as a professional development opportunity.  And Lardent noted that laterals tend to move to a law firm where there is a strong pro bono culture and a work-life balance, and that clients tend to hire a firm with a strong pro bono practice.  She went on to suggest that public interest organizations should market their legal services needs to firms by highlighting how taking on the pro bono project will advance firm interests.  By showcasing how pro bono offers meaningful, valuable experience for lawyers, firms will be more willing to take on pro bono matters.

The roundtable also concluded that, in the past few years, there has been a structural change in the justice system, making it necessary to change the system as a whole.  Lardent recommended that larger collaborations between law firms, in-house counsel, and public interest organizations could successfully target overarching issues. For example, barely 1-2% of evicted tenants have lawyers; all these groups could collaborate to address that issue and thereby have a more effective impact.

How would you propose collaboration among firms and public interest providers to alleviate the legal services crisis?  Were you at the roundtable?  We’d love to hear about it.  Leave us a comment and let us know!

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

Global Spotlight: DLA Piper Gives Pro Bono a Bold New Perimeter

This week, New Perimeter, the global pro bono affiliate of DLA Piper LLP*,  unveils its new website, www.newperimeter.org, spotlighting the firm’s savvy approach to pro bono, an innovative model well worth replicating.

DLA Piper established New Perimeter to provide the law firm with a deliberate, strategic approach to bringing DLA Piper lawyers’ expertise to bear on some of the world’s most pressing problems. Through New Perimeter, DLA Piper lawyers from D.C. to Dubai invest their collective legal skills to advance women’s rights, combat hunger, fight HIV/AIDS, foster economic development, promote law reform, increase access to justice, and champion human rights in developing and post-conflict countries around the world.

New Perimeter boosts DLA Piper’s pro bono impact by:

• Leveraging the team-building benefits of global pro bono by engaging multi-disciplinary teams representing multiple DLA Piper offices to foster effective communication and collaboration between DLA Piper lawyers spanning multiple continents and time zones;
• Tapping DLA Piper’s rich attorney resources to bring diverse legal, cultural, and linguistic competencies to bear on the firm’s pro bono work;
• Forging strategic partnerships in each target country to ensure that DLA Piper’s pro bono efforts remain firmly grounded in the local history, culture, and existing legal aid systems; and,
• Recruiting expert advisors whose skills and experience align with DLA Piper’s signature projects and regional foci.

New Perimeter’s distinguished Advisory Board is strategically stacked with world class talent: a former judge for the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia; an international human rights lawyer, academician, and long-time Member of the Canadian Parliament; the Executive Director of the London-based International Bar Association – a World Bank consultant who formerly headed the ABA’s acclaimed Central and East European Law Initiative; a former Peace Corps Country Director; and an accomplished civil rights advocate who led a delegation to the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing. Oh yeah, and co-chairing this all-star Advisory Board, PBI‘s own Esther Lardent, whose recent Letter in The Wire salutes the growing interest in global pro bono among law firms and legal departments. Collectively, New Perimeter’s international dream team informs the firm’s global pro bono projects, ensuring that its legal talent is engaged in a strategic, sustainable fashion for maximum impact. DLA Piper’s inspired global pro bono model is an exciting example of the manifold rewards of doing good on a global scale.

To learn more about Global Pro Bono, or for technical assistance, contact PBI Global Pro Bono Coordinator Julia Alanen.

And be sure to stay tuned to The PBEye for an upcoming Guest Blog featuring New Perimeter’s pro bono work in Guyana. Has your firm or legal department’s pro bono gone global? Leave a comment and tell us about it.

*DLA Piper LLP (US) is a Signatory to the Law Firm Pro Bono Challenge^®

Massachusetts Talks In-House Pro Bono

This afternoon, the Massachusetts Access to Justice Commission will convene a pro bono summit in Boston to discuss the best strategies for developing and sustaining pro bono initiatives in corporate legal departments.  This is particularly exciting, as the summit aims to produce a plan with concrete, actionable goals for the Massachusetts in-house legal community.

PBI and Corporate Pro Bono will be onsite for the summit, with Esther Lardent and Eve Runyon addressing the audience of in-house and law firm attorneys, judges, and representatives from the public interest community.  Other speakers include Marc Gary, executive vice president and general counsel of Fidelity Investments*; Kathleen McGrath, senior counsel at Liberty Mutual; Bill O’Brien, pro bono chair of the Northeast Association of Corporate Counsel Chapter; and Dorothy Varon, assistant vice president and counsel at Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company.

Other states have endeavored to address access to justice issues through the pro bono summit model with tremendous success.  In fact, the Virginia summit ultimately led to the recent rule change in Virginia, which eliminates restrictions on in-house attorneys providing pro bono services.

Curious to know more?  Stay tuned for a detailed recap of the Massachusetts summit in the upcoming June Wire.  Were you there?  Leave a comment and tell us your impressions of the summit.

*denotes Signatory to the Corporate Pro Bono Challenge^SM

A Better Way to Do Business?

Google Maps can tell you what restaurants are nearby but it can’t tell you which one treats its employees well or which one has taken meaningful steps to reduce its environmental footprint;  B Lab can. 

B Lab is a nonprofit that designates companies as Benefit Corporations (B Corps) if the company meets defined standards regarding how it treats its employees, the environment, and the community.  Additionally, shareholders must agree to revise the company’s bylaws to allow business decisions to consider greater societal impacts in addition to minimizing costs and maximizing profits.  This allows socially responsible decision-making without fear of shareholder lawsuits.   B Corps meet rigorous and independent standards of social and environmental performance, accountability, and transparency.   Sounds good to us!

Their ambitious goals are: for individuals to have greater economic opportunity, for society to move closer to achieving a positive environmental footprint, for more people employed in great places to work, and to bolster stronger communities at home and across the world. 

Why are B Corps needed in order to achieve these goals?  The designation has been designed to address two critical problems: (1) Current corporate law makes it difficult for businesses to take employee, community, and environmental interests into consideration when making decisions; and (2) The lack of transparent standards makes it difficult for all of us to tell the difference between a “good company” and just good marketing. 

Some states support B Corps with legislation, and the city of Philadelphia has provided tax breaks, but the motive behind B Corps is to create a relationship among socially responsible businesses and consumers.  The B Corp designation is tangible proof that the company has institutionalized social responsibility.  (Hmm, this reminds The PBEye a bit of the Law Firm Pro Bono Challenge^®, which provides law firms with an opportunity to make a sustained institutional and visible commitment to pro bono – in other words, tangible proof that the law firm has institutionalized pro bono.)

How can law firms and pro bono lawyers support the broader corporate social responsibility movement?  We want to hear from you . . . leave a comment and share your thoughts on this relatively new advancement to the “triple bottom line” (people, planet, and profit).

Hat tip to PBI intern Elly Bennett for her help with this post.

VIDEO: Leveraging Resources for Pro Bono

Over the years we’ve seen some very interesting pro bono programs and projects, particularly those created or modified in response to the global economic crisis.  It seems that many lawyers and other people involved understand the importance of creativity and scalability when approaching access to justice issues.

We at the PBEye think this column on the astounding growth of Bet Tzedek legal services from one to 31 offices in just a year illustrates just that.  Aaron Hurst, president and founder of the Taproot Foundation, examines how the project essentially became a national organization without the hassle of a large, cumbersome infrastructure.  And the model has produced truly remarkably results:

“Now, the organization leverages a small staff of paid lawyers to manage roughly 1,800 pro bono attorneys and paralegals, who have provided upwards of 61,000 hours of counsel to more than 10,000 people annually.”

Kudos to Bet Tzedek, a friend and supporter of PBI (and a past PBI Award Winner), on their expansion and thoughtfulness about how their program can thrive while avoiding the pitfalls of growing too large and centralized.

We’re also excited for what the future has in store for the organization after hearing from its Pro Bono Director Lauren Teukolsky.  In the interview below, Lauren spoke with us about two emerging trends in pro bono and what Bet Tzedek is doing to get involved.

Time is Running Out for the CPBO Partner Award

The PBEye wants to remind you that Corporate Pro Bono will be accepting nominations for the 2011 Corporate Pro Bono Partner Award (we’ve told you about it before, here and here) for just four more weeks.  If you know of an outstanding pro bono partnership project involving a legal department, be sure to submit your nomination to CPBO by June 3.

The annual award recognizes in-house legal departments that demonstrate an extraordinary commitment to pro bono and will be presented at the Pro Bono Institute Annual Dinner  at Gotham Hall in New York on November 3.

Past recipients have included:

2010 – Accenture plc*, Caterpillar Inc.*, and Merck & Co., Inc.* in partnership with Baker & McKenzie** and PILnet (formerly PILI)

2009 – Aetna Inc.* in partnership with Lawyers for Children America and in partnership with Bet Tzedek Legal Services and Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP**

2008 – The Williams Companies, Inc.* in partnership with Hall, Estill, Hardwick, Gable, Golden & Nelson, P.C. and Legal Aid Services of Oklahoma

2007 – 3M Company* with Children’s Law Center of Minnesota 

2006 – Microsoft Corporation* and Volunteer Advocates for Immigrant Justice with collaborating law firms Davis Wright Tremaine LLP**, Dorsey & Whitney LLP**, Heller Ehrman LLP, Holland & Knight LLP**, Perkins Coie LLP**, Preston Gates & Ellis LLP, and Riddell Williams P.S. 

2005 – U.S. Bank* with Dorsey & Whitney LLP**, Central Minnesota Legal Services, Inc., and Volunteer Lawyers Network, Ltd.

2004 – State Farm Insurance Companies with Prairie State Legal Services, Inc.

2003 – Abbott Laboratories* with Baker & McKenzie** and Midwest Immigrant & Human Rights Center

Nominees must be composed of at least one legal department and one or more law firms and/or public interest group partners.  The criteria for selection are:

1.) A legal pro bono project that has a demonstrated impact on its community/target group;
2.) Substantial involvement by in-house lawyers;
3.) Tangible steps toward making the partnership sustained; and
4.) Innovative substantive and/or structural (e.g., delivery model) approaches to the effort.

Please submit your nomination by June 3 to Eve Runyon, director, Corporate Pro Bono by email or mail, c/o Pro Bono Institute, 1025 Connecticut Avenue, NW, Suite 205, Washington, DC 20036, or for more information about the process contact her at 202.729.6694.

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

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