It’s Pro Bono Podcast Monday: A Conversation with Ericka Garcia

Ericka Garcia, The Florida Bar Foundation’s director of pro bono partnerships, joins us this week on the Law Firm Pro Bono Project’s podcast, the Pro Bono Happy Hour, to discuss her passion for legal aid, the innovative new projects the Foundation is undertaking, and how access to justice is a major issue for urban and rural residents throughout the state. Ericka was introduced to legal aid as a teenager when she served as a volunteer translator.  That formative experience, among others, motivated her to become a legal aid attorney and an advocate for children with developmental disabilities. Her role at the Foundation is unique: she is as a hub for pro bono efforts by law firms, legal departments, and nonprofit and legal services organizations across Florida. Recently, the Foundation turned its focus to technological solutions to make the placement of pro bono matters more efficient, culminating in the creation of a statewide portal: “Florida Pro Bono Matters.” Take 35 minutes to listen to our inspiring conversation with Ericka about the innovative ways technology can extend the reach of pro bono lawyers, her involvement in the legal response to Hurricane Irma, resources available to pro bono lawyers, and more.

Subscribe to the Pro Bono Happy Hour on Apple Podcasts and be sure to leave a review! We’d appreciate the feedback and it would help make it easier for other listeners to find the show. The podcast is also available on YouTube. Links to all of our episodes can be found here.

Listen and let us know what you think. Send your comments, thoughts, feedback, questions, and suggestions to probono@probonoinst.org. Be warned: we might just read them on the air.

It’s Pro Bono Podcast Monday: A Conversation with Jacqui MacLennan & Lou O’Neill

This week, Jacquelyn MacLennan and Louis O’Neill of White & Case*† join PBI on the Law Firm Pro Bono Project’s podcast, the Pro Bono Happy Hour, to discuss leading the firm’s global practice group and using a “closed feedback loop” to keep pro bono lawyers informed about the impact of their work and inspire others to join them. Lou and Jacqui share management tips and describe examples of meaningful pro bono projects, such as debt-for-nature swaps and advocacy efforts to promote education and women’s rights. White & Case recently hosted a unique gathering in New York City in connection with the UN General Assembly to foster collaboration among private sector and pro bono leaders to promote its Sustainable Development Goals, with special focus on Goal 16.3, whereby signatories pledge to: “Promote the rule of law at the national and international levels and ensure equal access to justice for all.” Take 60 minutes to listen to our conversation with Jacqui and Lou describe how the firm promotes pro bono in each of its offices around the world.

Subscribe to the Pro Bono Happy Hour on Apple Podcasts and be sure to leave a review! We’d appreciate the feedback and it would help make it easier for other listeners to find the show. The podcast is also available on YouTube. Links to all of our episodes can be found here.

Listen and let us know what you think. Send your comments, thoughts, feedback, questions, and suggestions to probono@probonoinst.org. Be warned: we might just read them on the air.

* denotes a Law Firm Pro Bono Challenge^® signatory

† denotes a Law Firm Pro Bono Project^® member

It’s Pro Bono Podcast Monday: A Conversation with Andrew LeGrand

This week, Andrew LeGrand of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher*† joins PBI on the Law Firm Pro Bono Project’s podcast, the Pro Bono Happy Hour, to share his views on empowering self-represented litigants and supporting “civil Gideon” for litigants facing more complex matters. He is inspired by the leaders of the civil rights movement and sees the law as the “most potent mechanism to affect social change.” Tapping into his network from his time as a clerk, Andrew helped build an informal pro bono appellate program at the firm with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. Take 40 minutes to listen to our conversation with Andrew and be inspired to make time for pro bono.

Subscribe to the Pro Bono Happy Hour on Apple Podcasts and be sure to leave a review! We’d appreciate the feedback and it would help make it easier for other listeners to find the show. The podcast is also available on YouTube. Links to all of our episodes can be found here.

Listen and let us know what you think. Send your comments, thoughts, feedback, questions, and suggestions to probono@probonoinst.org. Be warned: we might just read them on the air.

* denotes a Law Firm Pro Bono Challenge^® signatory

† denotes a Law Firm Pro Bono Project^® member

It’s Pro Bono Podcast Monday: A Conversation with Amy Barasch

October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month and this week on the Law Firm Pro Bono Project’s podcast, the Pro Bono Happy Hour, we are joined by Amy Barasch of Her Justice. Amy describes their “pro bono first” model; how Her Justice provides specialized support to pro bono attorneys; and the challenges faced by women who experience intimate partner violence, including issues related to divorce, immigration, and poverty. She also discusses Her Justice’s externship program with law firms and how one extern established an important precedent. Take 40 minutes to listen to our conversation with Amy Barasch about the crucial role of pro bono in empowering survivors of intimate partner violence.

Subscribe to the Pro Bono Happy Hour on Apple Podcasts and be sure to leave a review! We’d appreciate the feedback and it would help make it easier for other listeners to find the show. The podcast is also available on YouTube. Links to all of our episodes can be found here.

Listen and let us know what you think. Send your comments, thoughts, feedback, questions, and suggestions to probono@probonoinst.org. Be warned: we might just read them on the air.

It’s Pro Bono Podcast Monday: A Conversation with Mary Gay Scanlon

Mary Gay Scanlon of Ballard Spahr*† joins PBI on the Law Firm Pro Bono Project’s podcast, the Pro Bono Happy Hour, to explore how she connects lawyers with pro bono opportunities tailored to their interests, motivates attorneys with a sticker incentive program and alerts, and how the firm’s upcoming merger with Lindquist & Vennum will reinforce both firms’ strong commitments to pro bono. Mary Gay also discusses the increase in immigration-related pro bono since January, pro bono efforts to promote access to nutritious food, broadcasting leadership’s pro bono work throughout the firm, and cultivating a mindfulness practice to reduce stress. Take 55 minutes to listen to our conversation with Mary Gay about the transformational power of pro bono.

Subscribe to the Pro Bono Happy Hour on Apple Podcasts and be sure to leave a review! We’d appreciate the feedback and it would help make it easier for other listeners to find the show. The podcast is also available on YouTube. Links to all of our episodes can be found here.

Listen and let us know what you think. Send your comments, thoughts, feedback, questions, and suggestions to probono@probonoinst.org. Be warned: we might just read them on the air.

* denotes a Law Firm Pro Bono Challenge^® signatory

† denotes a Law Firm Pro Bono Project^® member

It’s Pro Bono Podcast Monday: A Conversation with Eliza Vorenberg

Eliza Vorenberg from the Roger Williams University School of Law joins us on the Law Firm Pro Bono Project’s podcast, the Pro Bono Happy Hour, to explore her career, the Pro Bono Collaborative, which connects law firms, attorneys, and law students to community organizations that need pro bono legal services, and the access to justice culture in Rhode Island. We also discuss the wide variety of law student pro bono opportunities; the role of volunteer attorney mentors: expungement clinics; providing civil legal advice to individuals in a medium security prison and tax assistance clinics for low-income residents; and more. Take 50 minutes to listen to our conversation with Eliza about inculcating the spirit of pro bono service in every law student and motivating them to use their unique legal skills and training for the benefit of others.

Subscribe to the Pro Bono Happy Hour on Apple Podcasts and be sure to leave a review! We’d appreciate the feedback and it would help make it easier for other listeners to find the show. The podcast is also available on YouTube. Links to all of our episodes can be found here.

Listen and let us know what you think. Send your comments, thoughts, feedback, questions, and suggestions to probono@probonoinst.org. Be warned: we might just read them on the air.

It’s Pro Bono Podcast Monday: A Conversation with BJ Jensen

BJ Jensen of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison*† joins us on the Law Firm Pro Bono Project’s podcast, the Pro Bono Happy Hour, to discuss his role as the firm’s first Pro Bono Associate, the firm’s pro bono work for immigrants, transgender clients, and more. He describes how he infuses emails with the personal relationships he’s built throughout the firm to better recruit volunteers to staff pro bono matters. BJ also discusses how the firm leadership’s deep commitment to pro bono encouraged them to quickly mobilize in response to January’s travel ban and engage in meaningful “airport advocacy.” Take 45 minutes to listen to our conversation with BJ about his dream that everyone everywhere has access to a lawyer.

Subscribe to the Pro Bono Happy Hour on Apple Podcasts and be sure to leave a review! We’d appreciate the feedback and it would help us expand the conversation about pro bono and access to justice. The podcast is also available on YouTube. Links to all of our episodes can be found here.

Listen and let us know what you think. Send your comments, thoughts, feedback, questions, and suggestions to probono@probonoinst.org. Be warned: we might just read them on the air.

* denotes a Law Firm Pro Bono Challenge^® signatory

† denotes a Law Firm Pro Bono Project^® member

It’s Pro Bono Podcast Monday: A Conversation with Kat McGee

Katharyn Christian McGee of Duane Morris*† joins us on the Law Firm Pro Bono Project’s podcast, the Pro Bono Happy Hour, to discuss the firm’s medical-legal partnerships, protecting survivors of domestic violence and sex trafficking, and one of her favorite parts of her job: getting to know every attorney at the firm. Kat advises getting associates “hooked” on pro bono early in their careers and finding niche pro bono areas that are underserved by other firms and that appeal to individual attorneys. Take 50 minutes to listen to our conversation with Kat about how pro bono “feeds the soul.”

Subscribe to the Pro Bono Happy Hour on Apple Podcasts and be sure to leave a review! We’d appreciate the feedback and it would help us expand the conversation about pro bono and access to justice. The podcast is also available on YouTube. Links to all of our episodes can be found here.

Listen along and let us know what you think. Send your comments, thoughts, feedback, questions, and suggestions to probono@probonoinst.org. Be warned: we might just read them on the air.

* denotes a Law Firm Pro Bono Challenge^® signatory

† denotes a Law Firm Pro Bono Project^® member

It’s Pro Bono Podcast Monday: A Conversation with Greg McConnell (Part 2)

“What does it mean to build a culture of pro bono?” In the continuation of our conversation with Greg McConnell  of Winston & Strawn*†, we explore how pro bono is “more than winning” and how he, his pro bono team, and firm leadership took the program from “good” to “excellent,” including integrating pro bono into its firm-wide strategic plan. Take 40 minutes to listen to part two of our conversation with Greg on the Law Firm Pro Bono Project’s podcast, the Pro Bono Happy Hour. If you missed part one, it is available on Apple Podcasts and YouTube.

Subscribe to the Pro Bono Happy Hour on Apple Podcasts and be sure to leave a review! We’d appreciate the feedback and it would help us expand the conversation about pro bono and access to justice. The podcast is also available on YouTube. Links to all of our episodes can be found here.

Listen along and let us know what you think. Send your comments, thoughts, feedback, questions, and suggestions to probono@probonoinst.org. Be warned: we might just read them on the air.

* denotes a Law Firm Pro Bono Challenge^® signatory

† denotes a Law Firm Pro Bono Project^® member

Pro Bono Happy Hour Podcast, Special Edition: DACA

PBI recently released a special edition of the Law Firm Pro Bono Project’s podcast, the Pro Bono Happy Hour, in response to the cancellation of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. President and CEO Eve Runyon also released a statement about PBI’s support for our stakeholders who are providing legal assistance to DACA recipients and other immigrants.

In this episode, we talk with Chris Marquardt of Alston & Bird*†, David March of the Minnesota Corporate Pro Bono Council, and Liz Markuci of Volunteers of Legal Service (VOLS) about the impacts the cancellation of DACA will have on immigrant communities and their own personal experiences and reflections. They also offer meaningful ways that pro bono attorneys can get involved and be of assistance right now. Take 35 minutes to listen to our conversation.

Subscribe to the Pro Bono Happy Hour on Apple Podcasts and be sure to leave a review. We’d appreciate the feedback and it would help us expand the conversation about pro bono and access to justice. The podcast is also available on YouTube. Links to all of our episodes can be found here.

* denotes a Law Firm Pro Bono Challenge^® signatory

† denotes a Law Firm Pro Bono Project^® member