Reporting Season is Open!

Reporting season for the 2012 calendar year of the Law Firm Pro Bono Challenge^® is now open.  This year, we have decided to “go green” by adopting a user-friendly electronic reporting form, which we created with the generous assistance of our friends at Deloitte Financial Advisory Services LLP.  Please e-mail Law Firm Project Assistant Christine Sutherland for assistance.  The deadline for reporting is March 29.  Make sure to check your junk mail if you have not received the link.

Since 1993, the Law Firm Pro Bono Challenge^®, an initiative of PBI’s Law Firm Pro Bono Project, has served as a guidepost to assist major law firms in increasing their commitment to pro bono legal services.  The Challenge principles are designed to offer institutional support and maximize the efficacy of law firm pro bono programs.  The Challenge definition of pro bono has become an industry standard, utilized not only by major law firms but by the legal media in reporting the pro bono contributions of large law firms.

One hallmark of the Challenge is the inclusion of an accountability mechanism:  an annual reporting requirement.  Each year, Challenge Signatories must provide a confidential report to the Law Firm Pro Bono Project on their progress in meeting the Challenge. The individual law firm data is kept confidential, but each report provides the basis for critically important aggregate statistics about trends in law firm pro bono.

Interested in joining your peer firms and becoming a Challenge Signatory?  New firms, with 50 or more lawyers, are welcome to join the Challenge at any time of the year, and enjoy a grace period before the reporting requirement kicks in.  Please contact Christine Sutherland for assistance in becoming a leader in law firm pro bono.