On Nove
mber 17th, ACE Group Holdings, Inc. launched its formal pro bono program with a CLE presentation on the ethics rules relevant to in-house pro bono. Like a number of other legal departments, including Towers Watson & Co. and PNC Bank, ACE called on CPBO to assist. CPBO Director Eve Runyon presented once again, alongside longtime in-house pro bono supporter Susan Hackett, chief executive and chief legal officer, Legal Executive Leadership, LLC. The live event was broadcast from ACE’s offices in Philadelphia to its satellite offices in Delaware, Georgia, Illinois, and New Jersey.
The presentation began with a warm welcome by Carrie Davis, counsel, ACE. Then, Hackett and Runyon gave an overview of ethical issues to consider when providing pro bono services, such as multijurisdictional practice rules, the formation of an attorney-client relationship, avoiding conflicts, and how an attorney may provide limited-scope legal services. In addition, there was a robust discussion of non-attorney involvement in pro bono matters and pro bono partnerships between legal departments and other entities, such as law firms, legal services organizations, and other legal departments. In sum, the program addressed a number of challenges to participating in in-house pro bono and offered guidance so that participants would feel comfortable using their legal skills to assist those in need.
The PBEye applauds Hackett and Runyon for paneling such a successful ethics program and congratulates the ACE legal department on the launch of its pro bono program. To read more about other in-house pro bono ethics events and resources, see Illinois Continues its Focus on In-House Pro Bono and In-House Pro Bono: Ethics. For more information about in-house pro bono, or on how your legal department or ACC chapter can host an ethics program in conjunction with CPBO, please contact CPBO Director Eve Runyon.