The PBEye is taking some much needed turkey time this week. We have much to be thankful for — including everyone who has read our blog and, especially, all of our guest contributors. While we’re taking time out to give thanks, we’d love to know what you’re most thankful for at this time of the year.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Have you heard the news? PBI announced the winners of its John H. Pickering and CPBO Pro Bono Partner Awards today! This year’s honorees are outstanding leaders in the pro bono community because of the innovative work they have done during the last year.
Morrison & Foerster LLP*, this year’s John H. Pickering award winner, has continued its long-standing commitment to pro bono through countless endeavors. In 2010, their 1,000 attorneys recorded more than 95,000 hours of pro bono services. “At Morrison & Foerster, we believe it is our responsibility as lawyers to contribute to and support the communities in which we live and work,” Morrison & Foerster Chair Keith Wetmore said. “We thank the Pro Bono Institute for recognizing our dedication to pro bono work and to serving those in need.” Read the official press release here.
Verizon Communications Inc.** and DLA Piper LLP*, the CPBO Partner Award winners, lead an impressive collaborative initiative with their work on a number of pro bono projects, securing for themselves this year’s CPBO Pro Bono Partner Award. Randy Milch, executive vice president and general counsel for Verizon, said, “Since we started our pro bono program, hundreds of Verizon’s attorneys have participated and used their skills to provide services to those in need. Our partnership with DLA Piper is a cornerstone of our program. By working together with DLA Piper, we have been able to tackle so many projects neither of us could have done alone. We are deeply honored to receive this award.”
“It is a tremendous honor to receive this award from PBI and the CPBO,” said Elizabeth Dewey, U.S. pro bono partner for DLA Piper and director of New Perimeter. “We are extremely proud of the accomplishments from our pro bono partnership with Verizon thus far and look forward to continuing to collaborate with our clients and nonprofit organizations to help those less fortunate throughout the world.” Read the official press release here.
The awards will be presented at the 2011 PBI Annual Dinner in New York on Nov. 3. PBI will also be celebrating its 15th anniversary and will be joined by many of our past awardees. Register for the dinner today!
*denotes a Signatory to the Law Firm Pro Bono Challenge®
**denotes Signatory to the Corporate Pro Bono ChallengeSM
The U.S. Supreme Court today heard oral arguments in the case of Maples v. Thomas, which concerns the appeals process for death row inmate Cory Maples (more on the case and oral arguments here). At issue in the case is whether a mailroom mix-up at the firm that was representing Maples at the time should cost him his critical appeal.
The PBEye has been watching the case closely and has some insights on risk management and best practices that pro bono lawyers should consider implementing with regards to supervision of pro bono work and the treatment of pro bono matters when the attorney primarily responsible for the matter leaves the firm/department. Our own Reena Glazer, assistant director of the Law Firm Pro Bono Project, sat down to give us the scoop and provide some strategies to help law firms and legal departments effectively integrate risk management into their pro bono practices.
At a time when so there is so much uncertainty about the economy and the future, it may seem counterintuitive that PBI is seeing a growing trend in requests for assistance in undertaking strategic planning focused on pro bono from law firms and legal departments. Upon reflection, however, the growth in this part of PBI’s consultative services practice is not surprising.
Given the profound shifts in law firm and legal department overall policies and practices, taking a long hard look at the firm or department’s pro bono program to ensure that it is complementary to and fully aligned with the organization’s future directions and plans makes good sense.
What kinds of strategic planning work are we doing? It literally spans the globe and includes:
More than virtually any other type of confidential consultation services provided by the Pro Bono Institute, strategic planning efforts – even those that are limited in scope and focus – require a substantial commitment of time and resources on the part both of PBI and the law firm or legal department requesting assistance, so our availability to provide these services is limited and is available only to Member law firms and to legal departments that support our work. Undertaking this work may entail on-site visits and other costs that the firm or department must underwrite. Despite these limitations and restrictions, we believe, based on the success and impact of our efforts to date, that pro bono strategic planning is a vitally important tool in maintaining and enhancing the vitality, performance and impact of pro bono. If you’re considering undertaking a pro bono strategic planning effort, we’re available to discuss possible approaches and, where appropriate, to provide hands-on help. Interested law firms should contact Tammy Taylor, while legal departments should contact Eve Runyon.
Has your law firm, legal department, or nonprofit group undertaken a strategic planning process focused on pro bono? We’d love to hear more about it.
As pro bono has grown and evolved over the years, partnerships among the various stakeholders regarding access to justice issues have become increasingly popular. Collaborations between law firms, corporate legal departments and legal services organizations have become more common as a way to pool resources and expertise for pro bono legal work. Now we are seeing even more involvement from government as various jurisdictions look to maximize often scarce resources for the administration of justice.
The PBEye recently had a chance to speak with our friend Jim Sandman, president of the Legal Services Corporation, a federally established nonprofit designed to assist the poor with civil legal services. Jim offers his unique bird’s eye view of what legal services organizations need in terms of resources, how pro bono is useful to such organizations, and other ways law firms and legal departments can help.
If weren’t able to attend the PBI 2011 Annual Seminar and Forum on In-House Pro Bono, you missed our best program yet. But don’t feel too bad because
The PBEye was on hand to fill you in on the best three days of pro bono in 2011.
We had an excellent turnout with more than 300 attendees. Our speakers and participants were remarkable, and as always we were happy to learn as much as we could from them about pro bono. Below are some nuggets on the best of what the Seminar/Forum had to offer.
Law Firm Pro Bono 101
So much information, so little time! Extra special this year was the diversity of the attendees: geographic diversity (California, New Jersey, Minneapolis, Australia, Canada, Britain and beyond) and position diversity (non-attorney coordinators to firm/office managing partners). We also had a great mix of experienced and relative newcomers sharing ideas and learning from each other. It was a great start to the Seminar/Forum.
And just as a reminder, you don’t have to wait until next year’s Seminar/Forum for help getting your pro bono program off the ground. PBI offers consulting services if you are starting or looking to start a pro bono program at your law firm or corporate legal department.
Master Class
This year’s class brought together some of the greatest minds in pro bono to share ideas on how to keep blazing the trail. Attendees discussed striking the fine balance between promoting the social good and finding the business value of pro bono. It requires careful examination of legal services needs, the firm’s capacity, and strategic planning for the program to align with the firm’s goals. But it also requires a certain realism about how practicing pro bono can help the firm’s business while working toward the larger goal of contributing to the public good. Read more…