Take the Conference Home With You!

This month, more than 350 pro bono leaders from law firms, legal departments, and public interest organizations from around the world gathered in Washington, D.C., for the 2013 PBI Annual Conference to share ideas on how to enhance the performance, efficiency, effectiveness, and structure of their organization’s pro bono efforts.

The Conference is over, but the Law Firm Pro Bono Project wants to provide guidance and support for you and your firm all year long.  Here are some ways you can implement various lessons learned from the Conference:

1. Browse the Conference materials on your flashdrive—learn more about sessions that you attended and catch up on the background of the sessions that you may have missed.  Also, be sure to check out the Law Firm Pro Bono Project’s Resource Clearinghouse for even more useful information.  Don’t forget to debrief your colleagues on what you’ve learned at the Conference.
2. Be on the lookout for our “Best of the Conference” webinars—earn CLE credits and invite your colleagues to participate as well.
3. Review your firm’s pro bono policy—update stale selections and make it as current and supportive of pro bono as possible!  Be sure that everyone at the firm understands your pro bono policies and procedures.
4. Build on our Saturday closing session, “Driving Change: Pro Bono and the Courts”—reach out to the courts in your community and begin a dialogue to explore how you can work together to utilize pro bono to improve access to justice.
5. Contact the Law Firm Pro Bono Project for customized, confidential advice on how your firm can restructure its pro bono governance and staffing, create a signature project, establish a rotation/externship program, enhance the use of pro bono as a training and professional development tool, and more!

Thanks again to all of those who joined us at this year’s Conference. We hope to see you in 2014, if not before!

Did you attend this year’s Conference?  Leave us a comment and share a highlight.

The 2013 Conference is Underway!

Today is the day – the 2013 PBI Conference has begun!  We kicked things off this morning with sessions for newcomers to pro bono and pro bono veterans.

In Law Firm Pro Bono 101, we invited leaders at law firms that have recently created or restructured a formal pro bono program and managing partners, pro bono committee chairs, pro bono counsel, partners, managers, and coordinators who are new to their positions to get a crash course on the basics of running a good program.

Meanwhile in the Partnering with Legal Departments session, participants explored realistic goals and expectations regarding partnerships with legal departments, how to – and not to – “market” the firm, what legal departments need, want, and expect from a partnership, and what law firms need to bring to the table to launch and sustain an effective partnership.

Up next is our Peer to Peer to working lunch, where attendees can meet with their counterparts from other firms and discuss pro bono, trade ideas, and make new contacts.  Come nibble and network with us this afternoon.

There’s so much more ahead.  If you haven’t already planned out all of the session you want to attend, download an agenda or grab one at the registration desk.

The Next Generation of Pro Bono Lawyers

There is no shortage of commentary about the challenges facing law schools, law students, and recent graduates.  The PBEye has been following the coverage closely.  The job market for law school graduates has contracted—with many recent graduates either unemployed or underemployed.  Yet, at the same time, the need for legal representation has never been greater.

Recent developments, such as New York’s new pro bono requirement for admission to the bar, are causing this dynamic to be re-evaluated.  Are there opportunities for law schools and the legal profession to reinvigorate the job market while making representation easier to obtain?  Are there ways to leverage the millennial generation’s interest in and enthusiasm for pro bono and public services to create more training and networking opportunities that will benefit the students, recent graduates, and clients in need of assistance?  What structures and resources are needed to make these opportunities successful?

To explore these cutting-edge questions, we are offering an exciting program as part of the 2013 PBI Annual Conference: “The Next Generation: Cultivating Law Students and Recent Graduates as Key Pro Bono Resources” (Friday, March 15, 4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.).  This timely session will examine how pro bono can be utilized to “learn and serve” — to enhance experiential learning opportunities while significantly increasing access to justice.  The discussion will examine what these new opportunities may mean for law firms, legal departments, and public interest organizations as well as the challenges associated with creating and maintaining successful pro bono initiatives that involve law students and recent graduates.

The distinguished and expert facilitators for this program are Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman of the New York Court of Appeals; Sheldon Krantz, Distinguished Visiting Professor of Law, the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law; and Steven Schulman, Pro Bono Partner, Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP*†.  This session is sure to be a Conference highlight!

Online registration for the Conference is now closed. You may still register before the Conference by e-mailing pbievents@courtesyassoc.com or calling (202) 973-8720. We have reached our maximum capacity for public interest attendees. While law firm and corporate representatives may still register, space is extremely limited.  We hope to see you next week!

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

Welcome to Law Firm Pro Bono!

Has your firm, of more than 50 lawyers, recently created or restructured a formal pro bono program or are planning to do so in 2013?  Are you a newly appointed managing partner, practice group or office leader, pro bono committee chair or member, pro bono counsel, partner, manager or coordinator?  If so, join us bright and early on March 14 for Law Firm Pro Bono 101, to jumpstart the 2013 PBI Annual Conference.

Law Firm Pro Bono 101 offers a comprehensive, participatory crash course on the basics of structuring, implementing, and administering successful law firm pro bono programs.  Law Firm Pro Bono Project staff members will also be available to provide participants individualized tips for navigating the Conference in order to maximize the experience, and introduce attendees to the resources and support available from the Project.  This pre-Conference session is particularly helpful for first-time attendees.

Past attendees have found this small, intimate session to be extremely valuable. But, don’t take our word for it.  Here are what some of them had to say:

“As someone who is very new to the pro bono world, this session was very helpful.”
“As a “newbie” in this area, I found this very helpful.”
“The substance was great, as were the presenters.”
“Thank you so much for offering this—it was a great resource!”

In addition to a continental breakfast, each 101 attendee will receive a “Nuts and Bolts of Law Firm Pro Bono” CD.  This resource includes examples of annual reports, pro bono policies and procedures, pro bono awards, global pro bono opportunities, pro bono marketing, numerous PBI original publications, and other resources that will assist you in improving your firm’s pro bono program.

Pre-registration is required for this program, so please e-mail PBIEvents@courtesyassoc.com or call 202.973.8720 to enroll.

Don’t miss out on this popular session. We hope to see you there!

In addition, Alston & Bird LLP*† is generously hosting an informal reception, the evening of March 13, to kick off this year’s Annual Conference.  This will be a great opportunity to network and get Conference tips to maximize your experience.

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

Don’t Miss Out: Pro Bono in Practice Sessions

As the 2013 PBI Annual Conference nears, The PBEye would like to highlight a few sessions that address practical issues many attorneys and staff face in doing pro bono. Back by popular demand, the Pro Bono in Practice sessions bring together law firm, in-house, and public interest leaders whose work is focused on a specific topical area and those interested in working in more specified areas. The topics this year, which will all be covered on the second day of the Conference, include:

• Veterans - 9:45 a.m. – 10:45 a.m.
• Post Prison Re-Entry – 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
• Immigration – 4:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.

These lively sessions, arranged as discussions, explore pro bono opportunities and developments specific to the given field. The conversations outline emerging issues, how to get started, opportunities for collaboration, and whether and how, given the state of the law and legal needs, pro bono delivery systems can be taken to scale in ways that range from litigation to transactional to policy work.

We hope to see you at the Conference!  To register for the Annual Conference or get more information, click here. If you have questions, including which sessions to attend, please send us an email.

In-House Pro Bono at the PBI AC: Growth in Mature Programs

For departments with formal pro bono programs, learning how to maintain or grow is vital to the success of the program. One of the best ways to learn is from those with experience. At the 2013 PBI Annual Conference, CPBO will host a program for legal departments with up and running pro bono programs to learn from each other – “In-House Pro Bono: Momentum and Growth in Mature Programs.”

This isn’t the first time CPBO has hosted such a session and each year many attendees want to know: What is “mature” and who should attend? While there are a handful of fantastic, formal, sustained in-house pro bono programs that have been in place for more than 10 years, most have started or re-started in recent years. If your legal department’s pro bono program has been formalized and your colleagues regularly provide pro bono legal services, this session is for you regardless of how long your program has been operating.

This session considers what in-house pro bono could and should look like as the sophistication of in-house pro bono increases. This year, the session will focus on signature projects, partnerships and collaborations, effective communications, and self-assessment for strategic planning. Each of these topics will be discussed, from the hows and whys of developing a signature to project, to the keys to developing strong and successful partnerships, to when it is time to reflect, assess, and adjust.

Of course, this is just one of many sessions for representatives from legal department pro bono programs to attend. As noted in previous blogs, In-House Pro Bono Leaders – You’re Invited! and Annual Conference: In-House Preview, the PBI Annual Conference is unique in that it features a track dedicated to in-house pro bono on Thursday, in addition to the many open sessions on Friday and Saturday.

Whether mature or just starting out, we hope to see you at PBI Annual Conference. For a current list of sessions, click here. To register for the Annual Conference, click here. If you have questions, including which sessions to attend, please send us an email.

Munch and Meet

The 2013 PBI Annual Conference is rapidly approaching and The PBEye is excited to provide a sneak peak of the public interest organizations that will be featured at the Pro Bono Expo Lunch on Friday, March 15.  There will be 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.

Among the organizations hosting tables this year are:

• Bet Tzedek Legal Services
• KIND
• National Center for Law and Economic Justice
• National Center on Homelessness & Poverty
• Veterans Consortium Pro Bono Program

Because global pro bono is expanding at such a rapid rate, we have included designated tables for attendees to discuss the state of pro bono and pro bono opportunities available in specific countries/regions.  You can learn about pro bono opportunities in places such as Chile, Mexico, South Africa, and the U.K.

To register for the Conference and to take advantage of this wonderful networking opportunity, click here.  We hope to see you there!

Driving Change: Pro Bono and the Courts

If you’ve been following pro bono closely over the past few years, you may have noticed the emergence of a new major player:  the judiciary.  Judges and courts across the nation (and, to a certain extent, the world) are taking more visible roles in ensuring that the poor and disadvantaged have access to the legal services they desperately need.  From state Supreme Court-led pro bono summits to revisions of practice rules that address unnecessary obstacles to pro bono service to new delivery models to leverage pro bono service, the courts are increasingly attuned to, and visibly engaged in promoting and improving pro bono.

To get more insight on how pro bono can garner support from the bench and how judges can enhance and enrich the provision of pro bono, we’re making this the focus of our Saturday closing plenary session at the 2013 PBI Annual Conference.  A distinguished panel of judges will explore how law firms, legal departments, and public interest organizations can work with the courts in innovative and strategic ways to advance access to justice.  Scheduled to join us for this program are:

• Hon. William Bright—Judge, Connecticut Superior Court
• Hon. Bernice B. Donald—Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
• Hon.  Jonathan Lippman—Chief Judge, New York Court of Appeals
• Hon. Eric Washington—Chief Judge, District of Columbia Court of Appeals

Conference attendees will then participate in discussion groups with these judges to address what their institutions can do to:

• Increase support and funding for legal service and pro bono efforts;
• Become an integral part of the courts’ efforts to provide a better experience for self-represented litigants;
• Develop collaborative approaches that reduce the need for litigation; and
• Identify and implement changes in policies, statutes, regulations, and practice rules to increase the pro bono pool.

You won’t want to miss this cutting-edge session!  To register for the 2013 Annual Conference, click here.  If you have questions or need assistance, please feel free to send us an e-mail.  We hope to see you at the Conference!

Annual Conference: In-House Preview

Where can you go to learn more about the tremendous progression of in-house pro bono, which over the past 15 years has grown from a handful of legal departments with formal pro bono programs to hundreds of departments engaged in pro bono? The PBEye has the answer! Join CPBO at the 2013 PBI Annual Conference, the only global gathering that offers programming designed specifically to address the interests and issues of in-house pro bono.

For in-house counsel and other legal department staff, programming kicks off on March 14 with an opening plenary session and continues with a number of opportunities to network with peers and learn about other departments’ activities.

In-house attendees will not want to miss the following two sessions:

• Hot Topics in In-House Pro Bono: A Roundtable Discussion
  Thursday, March 14 6:15 p.m. – 7:15 p.m.
  This informal session will be an opportunity to share and learn from peers, through small group roundtable discussions about opportunities, partnerships, engagement, infrastructure, and other developments in in-house pro bono.

• Networking Dinner
  Thursday, March 14 7:15 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.
  This session offers an unparalleled opportunity to meet informally with your peers from other legal departments around the world over a meal while exchanging information about the most effective, cutting-edge practices in in-house pro bono.

In-house attendees will then have the opportunity to attend a variety of sessions over the next two days. To learn more about the other sessions revisit this blog in the coming weeks, send us an email, or click the following links:

Current List of Sessions

Register for the Annual Conference

Marketplace of Pro Bono Ideas—March 15

We are getting excited for the 2013 PBI Annual Conference and hope you are too! One of the perennial highlights of the Conference is the “Marketplace of Ideas” session, a fast paced opportunity for presenters to share cutting-edge pro bono projects and for attendees to learn about new opportunities, offerings, infrastructure, and other replicable pro bono developments.  Presenters identify real-world legal needs and explain how their projects are successfully addressing them.  In response to positive feedback, we have added a second Marketplace session to address transactional (non-litigation/business related) pro bono projects.

Click here to read a summary of the 2012 Marketplace of Ideas presentations.

We look forward to learning more and sharing new ideas and projects at the 2013 Annual Conference.  Those wishing to serve as Marketplace of Ideas presenters may submit proposals in advance describing their initiative, to ensure adequate time and capacity for all presentations.  Please send submissions by January 31 to Law Firm Pro Bono Project Assistant Christine Sutherland.  Due to time limitations, we may not be able to accept all proposals this year.