Pro Bono Benchmarking

In our surveys of large law firms, PBI has been delighted to discover that the performance benchmark associated with our Law Firm Pro Bono Challenge^® – 3 or 5 percent of total billable hours – is the goal now used by the majority of those firms. In other words, the Challenge benchmark is now the gold standard for pro bono performance among that important segment of the legal profession.

Recent developments show that the Challenge goals are now increasingly being viewed as the industry standard for the legal profession as a whole.  The goal was recently cited in a New York Times editorial on the crisis in access to justice.  In a very thoughtful address on the legal profession, Canada’s Governor General  proposed moving the “industry standard of pro bono work . . . from the current rate of les than 3 percent to 10 percent” and encouraged building these honorable hours “rigorously into the firm’s revenue structure.”  Increasingly, law schools and even bar associations are framing their articulated pro bono expectations in terms of percentages rather than hours per lawyer.

Why the broadened interest in and usage of the Challenge percentage goals?  We suspect that one reason is the extraordinary impact that the Challenge and its goals have had on participation in pro bono at major law firms.  The number of large firm lawyers participating in pro bono, the amount of pro bono undertaken, and the breadth and impact of that pro bono work has increased dramatically since the inception of the Challenge.  Also, unlike hourly goals, the Challenge is progressive and not regressive.  The more active (and thus more profitable) the lawyer or legal institution, the greater the expectation about pro bono service.

When a creative and committed group of large firm and in-house volunteers undertook the painstaking process of crafting the Challenge almost 20 years ago, they did not imagine the impact this benchmark would have on large firm practice, policies, and core values.  Nor did they even imagine that the Challenge would offer guidance and metrics for the profession more broadly.  We are honored and flattered that the Challenge goal has become an industry standard – and we hope one that accomplished the same transformative results for the legal profession as a whole that it has generated for large law firms.

What benchmark do you or your legal organization – law school, law firm, government office, in-house legal department – use to encourage pro bono work?   Leave a comment and tell us about it.

Global Pro Bono for Sports Enthusiasts

The Olympic rings at St. Pancras International Rail Station in London greet visitors in preparation for the 2012 Olympics. Image courtesy of Shutterstock.com

As London gears up to host the Summer Games of the XXX Olympiad, sports fans (and pro bono fans, natch) have devised yet another innovative way to do global pro bono.  LC.N Weekly reports that an all-star panel of 18 law firms and chambers has formed to dispense free legal advice to athletes, coaches, team officials, national committees, and international federations at the upcoming 2012 Olympics. Pro bono advice will cover a range of legal issues from sports and crime to defamation, privacy, immigration, asylum, discrimination, and personal injury.

Whether you’re a fan of winter or summer games; men’s, women’s, or mixed events; or Youth Olympics or Paralympics, global pro bono opportunities abound.  Even if you’re not an athletics enthusiast, the Olympic Games are about much more than sports.  According to the International Olympic Committee, the Olympics inspire hope and joy around the world:

Sport is an antidote to the problems faced by young people . . . Sport has a unique power to bring happiness and unity in the most desperate of circumstances.  Sports programs . . . are crucial, as they fundamentally change behavior.  They reduce the rate of teenage pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections.  They decrease levels of substance abuse.  They increase motivation and educational performance.  They empower women.  They are a vital tool for human development.

In 1908, the Olympics adopted the now famous motto, “The most important thing is not to win but to take part!”  We couldn’t agree more and think that pro bono service is a richly rewarding way to take part in the Olympic Games.

Are you involved in an innovative global pro bono initiative?  Drop us a comment and fill us in.

Forget the Gold Watch

Several firms have created special and lasting ways to honor an attorney’s commitment to the firm, pro bono, and public service.  Many firms name their internal pro bono awards for attorneys who have tirelessly supported pro bono service through their careers.  We endorse those meaningful and visible tributes.  For attorneys who have made significant contributions to their communities, the following examples of innovative honors are especially fitting:

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP* gives the Douglas Arant Public Interest Fellowship in honor of one of firm’s early partners, who was committed to pro bono service.  This fellowship is given to a summer associate, allowing him/her to split a summer between working at one of the firm’s offices and at a public service organization.

Crowell & Moring LLP* paid tribute to Eldon “Took” Crowell by establishing the Took Crowell Institute for At-Risk Youth at the University of the District of Columbia David A. Clark School of Law.  The firm’s first chairman, Mr. Crowell, was a champion of pro bono legal service, arranging for Crowell & Moring to be the first firm program to sponsor a lawyer through the Equal Justice Works postgraduate fellowship program.  By providing more than 10,000 hours of pro bono representation each year, the Institute will build off the law school’s existing programs to advocate on behalf of at-risk youth.

Last year, Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP* established the Barbara McDowell Pro Bono Initiative in memory of partner Jerry Hartman’s late wife.  McDowell was widely recognized as a national leader in public interest advocacy.  The Initiative seeks to achieve important social justice reforms through high impact litigation on behalf of individuals and organizations unable to afford legal services.

Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP* annually awards Pickering Fellowships in honor of John H. Pickering, one of the firm’s founders.  Pickering demonstrated a life-long commitment to public service and was a loyal friend to PBI.  In honor of his legacy, the Fellowships program provides selected associates the opportunity to spend six months working for a pro bono organization.  These inspiring programs not only honor the attorney in whose name they are created, but they also foster a commitment to pro bono in future generations of attorneys.

Has your firm found a unique way to honor the pro bono commitment of one of its members?  Tell us about it!

And, if your firm is searching for a meaningful tribute for an attorney, please contact us for other examples of firms honoring the pro bono service of their members.

Hat tip to PBI intern Megan Brown for her help with this story.

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

Planning Your In-House Pro Bono Budget

As the U.S. continues to learn, it’s important to think about budgets early and often.  While many of us are still in summer mode, it is never too early to start thinking about your legal department’s 2012 pro bono budget.  Many budgets are due by the end of the third quarter so that they can be discussed and, hopefully, approved by year end.  End of third quarter is less than 40 days away.  Has your department started thinking about it?

As The PBEye previously reported, CPBO conducted an in-house pro bono benchmarking survey for 2010.  Survey says! 

• Nearly 46 percent of the legal departments that responded include pro bono in its department’s annual budget.

• How much?  Of those who responded:
  • 60 percent budget more than $6,000;
  • 13.33 percent budget between $4,000 and $5,000; and
  • 26.67 percent budget less than $1,000.
• What happens when costs threaten to exceed the budget limit?
  • 63.64 percent - may exceed with approval
  • 18.18 percent - may exceed
  • 9.09 percent - the bank is closed
  • 9.09 percent - policy doesn’t address it

For those new to administering a pro bono program or drafting a budget, you may be wondering what costs to consider.  A few include:

• Publications – newsletters and the like.  As recently reported in The PBEye, some legal departments are reporting their great work in a print annual report;
• Recognition — a small award or token for those who manage or administer the pro bono program and/or those who participate.  Examples we have heard of are mugs, plaques, contributions to the awardee’s favorite charity, gift certificates to local restaurants, and tickets to a baseball game with the general counsel;
• Transportation — some organizations cover the costs of their volunteers’ travel to and from pro bono programs;
• Sponsorships – if you are considering co-hosting an event, such as Clinic-in-a-Box^SM, the costs and fees involved;
• Refreshments — food and/or drinks at organization-sponsored events, such as trainings, kick-off meetings, committee meetings and pro bono events;
• Communications — long-distance telephone calls and postage.  Some legal departments also print special pro bono letterhead;
• Conference Attendance  — the Pro Bono Institute Annual Conference features sessions for seasoned pro bono pros as well as newcomers to the field, networking opportunities, and special events with pro bono leaders and visionaries.  The upcoming conference will be held March 28 – 30, 2012 in Washington, D.C.  Early registration discounts will expire early in the New Year.  Best to obtain budget approval now;
• Insurance – this can be an issue for legal departments.  If you plan to obtain malpractice insurance for your organization, the cost of membership to an association that offers a policy and the premium (such as NLADA) or the premium to purchase coverage directly (if unable to add such coverage to an existing policy for free);
• Court Costs, Application Fees, Translation Expenses, Etc. – if a pro bono client must incur expenses related to the case and is unable to pay, consider if your organization will cover some or all of the amount; and
• Charitable Contributions — it is important to consider supporting the organizations that you work with – whether they be legal service organizations that provide and coordinate opportunities for your volunteers, the nonprofits to whom you provide legal pro bono services, or CPBO, which provides you with pro bono infrastructure support.

All of these items may be covered in your organization or legal department’s general budget and need not be broken out, but it’s important to check.  You do not want to invest time planning a wonderful pro bono project only to find out the funds to support it aren’t there.  Instead, The PBEye recommends using the last days of August to research, plan, and prepare so that 2012 can be your best pro bono year yet!  And, we’re happy to consult with you as you plan — just contact CPBO Director Eve Runyon.

VIDEO: Helping Lawyers Help Immigrants in Need

It comes as a surprise to many to learn that, in the United States, an immigrant detainee facing deportation who cannot afford to hire an attorney is not appointed one. Without the assistance of pro bono counsel, many immigrants – some of them asylum seekers and victims of violent crimes – are denied the opportunity to identify legal recourse or present their cases to the courts.

To learn how pro bono lawyers can help immigrant detainees gain access to justice, we spoke to Maria Odom, executive director of the Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc. (CLINIC).  Maria gave us some interesting insight on the legal needs of immigrants and various challenges they face – a big one being that they are not entitled to legal representation in immigration court.  She also spoke to us about what CLINIC does to match immigrants with pro bono attorneys and how the organization supports those attorneys with resources and professional development.

Challenge Firm Partner: Pro Bono “Meaningful and Fulfilling”

Arnold & Porter LLP*, along with Archer & Greiner, the Brennan Center, and the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund, is leading a pro bono project to challenge a newly enacted zoning law in Bridgewater, N.J., which was designed to block the development of a proposed mosque in the town.  Arnold & Porter Partner Peter J. Zimroth spoke to 200 Muslim supporters of the Al Falah Center, and The New York Law Journal recently published his remarks.

Zimroth speaks of an “evident injustice being done” to block the mosque’s construction, when there are 18 houses of worship in the town, and none of them are Islamic.  He commends the Muslim community in Bridgewater for “striving to reach the ideals of this country, to make the nation more perfect,” despite post-9/11 prejudice against Muslims.   He speaks of his own personal involvement of the case, saying:

Of course, we lawyers appreciate the thanks you are giving us for undertaking this case. But no thank yous are required. A case like this is, after all, one of the things that makes our lives as lawyers most meaningful and fulfilling—by participating in your attempt to uphold the ideals of American democracy.

  To read a full copy of Zimroth’s speech, please click here.

Zimroth’s expression of his own personal commitment to the case highlights how rewarding the participation of a firm partner can be in a controversial case, as it resulted in increased media attention for the firm and the Bridgewater Muslim community.  Involving your firms’ partners in pro bono matters also broadens a firm’s pro bono capacity and helps ensure the long-term vitality of pro bono by sending a clear message that pro bono is a firm value and not only for associates.

What are some of the techniques that your firm has successfully used to involve partners in pro bono?  Leave us a comment below.

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

Global Spotlight: Elephant Energy

Martin Luther King, Jr. said, “Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that.”  Light, and pro bono service, we’d like to add.  This week, The PBEye spied a pro bono empowered initiative, Elephant Energy, that quite literally drives out darkness from rural villages across Namibia by distributing sustainable energy technologies.

Local shopkeepers distribute Elephant Energy lights to Namibian villagers. Photo courtesy of Karam Saab.

Namibia lacks the resources to meet the energy needs of its rural population.  Daily livelihood activities are rendered unsafe, inefficient, or even impossible without electricity.  For example, between 1.3 and 1.6 million women and children die worldwide each year as a result of air pollution caused by smoke inhalation from cooking fires.  For the foreseeable future, approximately one million rural Namibians residing outside the nation’s power grid will continue to live without electricity every single day.

So, when attorney Douglas Vilsack – son of U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack – announced his intention to tackle Namibia’s rural energy crisis, his former law school classmate, Kilpatrick Townsend and Stockton LLP* Associate Karam Saab, promptly boarded a plane for southern Africa.  Saab spent two weeks investing his legal skills, pro bono, to help Vilsack set up Elephant Energy as a nonprofit trust in the town of Katima Mulilo.  After studying Namibia’s business laws and consulting with other local social entrepreneurs, Saab and Vilsack concluded that the best available course of action was to establish a for-profit company, and then feed its profits into the nonprofit entity.

The appropriate sustainable energy technologies (ASETs) that Elephant Energy distributes make livelihood activities easier, safer, and more efficient for rural Namibians.  Energy efficient cook stoves reduce emissions.  Solar-powered lights increase the number of hours available in a day for reading, craft-making, vocational activities, or schoolchildren’s homework.  And, the lights’ solar-charges enable villagers to charge cell phones and maintain contact with family members.  Villagers accustomed to spending $7.00 every month on candles and kerosene can now purchase a range of solar-powered lights for between $10.00 and $30.00  each.  The units produce up to four hours of light per solar charge, requiring only a replacement battery every three to five years.  Saab told The PBEye, “Such a small investment can make a big difference in people’s lives.”

NGOs, like Elephant Energy, that work to alleviate extreme poverty and suffering are cropping up in every corner of the globe.  Providing general legal support to emerging social enterprises is a richly rewarding way to use pro bono to improve the lives of some of the world’s most vulnerable and marginalized people.  According to Vilsack, global pro bono is also good for business:

It’s very important for lawyers to establish connections with people in the developing world.  When people like Karam Saab gain an understanding of what it’s like on the ground in places like Namibia, it makes it easier for companies to do business there.  Law firms need to develop an understanding of these countries, and who they can go to, in order to competently advise businesses that want to enter these emerging markets.  In order for social entrepreneurs to do this good work, pro bono lawyers need to do their part.

Saab’s pro bono support is empowering Elephant Energy to actualize its vision for rural Namibians of “Light in every home, clean air in every kitchen, power in every hand.”

Pro bono attorney, Karam Saab, at an elephant crossing in rural Namibia. Photo courtesy of Karam Saab.

Law Firm Pro Bono Challenge^® Signatory, Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton LLP* has adopted the maxim, “We are lawyers.  Some of our best work isn’t billable.”  Saab, an intellectual property and patent attorney with the firm’s Denver office, took his pro bono responsibilities to heart . . . and then, all the way to Namibia.  “People around the office have heard that I’m doing this [global pro bono] work,” said Saab, “and they’re asking how they can get involved.  I see pro bono overseas as an opportunity to make perhaps an even greater impact on people’s lives than is possible in the U.S.”

For assistance incorporating a global element into your firm or legal department’s pro bono scheme, contact Global Pro Bono Project Coordinator Julia Alanen.  Or, embark on a virtual world tour using PBI’s Global Pro Bono Atlas to explore pro bono practices and opportunities abroad.

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

Legal Departments Memorialize Pro Bono Achievements

Increasingly, legal departments are recognizing the pro bono efforts of their lawyers and staff by publishing pro bono annual reports, which may be distributed both internally and externally.  The reports celebrate pro bono achievements and provide a recap of pro bono in the past year.  Both UnitedHealth Group** and Verizon Communications** recently shared with The PBEye a copy of their respective 2010 pro bono annual reports, and we are delighted to read about the legal departments’ many pro bono successes.

Elements common to both publications include:

• A message from the head(s) of the legal department and/or company discussing the ways in which pro bono positively impacts the community, the company, and the individual lawyer;
• Photographs that capture volunteers in action;
• An overview of the department’s pro bono program, including projects undertaken in 2010; and
• Recognition of especially unique and impactful individual pro bono initiatives by members of the legal department.

Highlights from UnitedHealth’s pro bono annual report include:

• Praise from UnitedHealth’s CEO about the skills-based training pro bono volunteers have received;
• A list of awards and honors received by members of the legal department and the legal department at large; and
• A list of members of the legal department who participated in the pro bono program in 2010.

Verizon’s pro bono yearbook features a special section on the recent rule change in Virginia, where Verizon has a significant number of lawyers.  Verizon General Counsel Randal Milch and his team were instrumental in the Virginia Supreme Court’s decision to remove restrictions that previously limited certified in-house counsel’s ability to provide pro bono work to deserving and needy clients in Virginia.

Annual reports can be effective tools to spread the word within a legal department about opportunities, reiterate management’s support for pro bono efforts, and recognize those who manage the program, as well as its participants.  It is good for morale, which is good for business.  In addition, by distributing them outside of the legal department, annual reports serve to highlight the good work of the company’s lawyers and legal staff to the rest of the company, its affiliates and the public. 

To learn more about how to publicize your legal department’s pro bono efforts, contact Eve Runyon, director of CPBO.  How does your department get out the word—both internally and externally—about your pro bono achievements?

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

Freddie Mac Signs the CPBO Challenge!

The PBEye is delighted to announce that the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation** (Freddie Mac) has signed the Corporate Pro Bono Challenge^SM, becoming the 106th company to do so!   We are excited to welcome Freddie Mac to the distinguished group of Challenge Signatories, and to congratulate outgoing Executive Vice President and General Counsel Robert Bostrom and Interim General Counsel Jack Dye for further demonstrating their legal department’s commitment to pro bono.   

Freddie Mac has a longstanding pro bono program.  In fact, the Association of Corporate Counsel** recognized Freddie Mac’s legal department in 1995 with the ACC Corporate Pro Bono Award.  Freddie Mac’s pro bono committee is chaired by Associate General Counsel Andrea Bridgeman, a textbook pro bono junkie.  Bridgeman was instrumental in the recent Virginia rule change that empowered the more than 800 certified in-house attorneys in Virginia to provide desperately needed assistance to low-income individuals and organizations.

The CPBO Challenge^SM is designed to enable corporate legal departments to identify, benchmark, and communicate their commitment to pro bono service.  As part of the Challenge, chief legal officers encourage and promote pro bono service by their legal department staff and use their best efforts to encourage at least one-half of their legal staff to support and participate in pro bono service.  In addition, chief legal officers encourage outside law firms with whom they work to acknowledge publicly their support for pro bono by becoming signatories to the Pro Bono Institute’s  Law Firm Pro Bono Challenge®.  All CPBO Challenge^SM Signatory legal departments receive information, guidance, and tailored support, free of charge, from CPBO to strengthen their existing pro bono programs or to start new ones.  To read the full text of the CPBO Challenge^SM or to find the complete list of CPBO Challenge^SM Signatories, visit the CPBO website.

To become a CPBO Challenge^SM Signatory, or to obtain more information about the CPBO Challenge^SM, please contact Eve Runyon, director of CPBO.

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

Look What You’re Missing!

Twenty law firms have already renewed their Law Firm Pro Bono Project Membership for 2011-2011…so the real question is . . . what are you waiting for?

Why not sign up now to receive these exciting new Member benefits:

• Task forces – participate in these exclusive Members-only groups that draw together the brightest legal minds around substantive, cutting-edge issues facing pro bono. Groups will drive the content and help shape the face of PBI and Law Firm Project programming;

• Regional Leadership Convocations – gain access to these invitation-only events with your peers in law firms and colleagues in corporate legal departments to shape the future of pro bono;

• Conference calls – get timely insights on breaking news and hot topics in law firm pro bono.

• Exposure – Member firms will receive prime placement on the new CPBO website launching later this year!

• Corporate Insights – receive exclusive access to surveys and studies on legal departments produced by Corporate Pro Bono, such as CPBO’s Annual Benchmarking Survey; and

• Free publications and deeper discounts on training and much, much more!

In addition to these valuable services, click here to read a full list of benefits you receive as a Member.

The Law Firm Pro Bono Project receives much of its modest budget through support from Member Firms.  By becoming a Member, your law firm can demonstrate its support for access to justice and pro bono service.  We look forward to welcoming more law firms in the coming weeks.  Please contact Mary Baroch, Law Firm Pro Bono Project assistant, if you have any questions.