While in New York for PBI’s National Leadership Convocation and Annual Dinner, CPBO hosted its third annual in-person meeting for pro bono leaders from legal departments in the greater New York area and met individually with representatives from local in-house departments.
CPBO’s in-house pro bono leaders meeting was generously hosted by Viacom Inc.** Michael Fricklas, executive vice president, general counsel and secretary of Viacom, welcomed attendees, who included representatives from Citigroup**, Consolidated Edison, Goldman Sachs Group, Prudential Financial**, Time Warner, and UBS Wealth Management Americas. Fricklas shared Viacom’s commitment to the community and mentioned some of the benefits of collaboration with attendees. CPBO Director Eve Runyon then led a discussion with attendees, which among other points, touched on:
- increasing department-wide participation;
- tracking pro bono involvement;
- developments in global pro bono; and
- recognition of pro bono accomplishments.
The group discussion provided CPBO and attendees the opportunity to better understand the pro bono landscape of the tri-state area. The meeting was one chapter in a larger effort to regionally engage in-house pro bono leaders around the country. CPBO looks forward to continuing the discussion among pro bono leaders in the greater New York area (and other targeted regions) through a combination of regular conference calls and in-person meetings.
In addition to the in-person pro bono leader meeting, CPBO met with representatives from a number of New York legal departments. While the conversations varied across departments, CPBO provided recommendations on formalizing pro bono infrastructure, increasing and maintaining participation, developing signature projects, expanding the impact of pro bono efforts, and global pro bono.
If you would like CPBO to visit your city and meet with your legal department, please contact CPBO Director Eve Runyon. CPBO is ready to assist with consulting services whether your pro bono program is mature or just getting started.
**denotes a Signatory to the Corporate Pro Bono ChallengeSM