Many states and the District of Columbia have rules that permit in-house attorneys, in good standing with the bar in another jurisdiction, to work for their employer without being locally licensed. But this exception does not always extend to providing pro bono services. Even states that do permit non-locally licensed in-house attorneys to provide pro bono services often have unnecessary and burdensome restrictions that limit and discourage in-house attorneys’ pro bono participation. Over the years, Corporate Pro Bono (CPBO) has worked with partners to advocate for legal practice rules that permit non-locally licensed in-house attorneys to do pro bono in the jurisdiction where they work for their employer.

As of 2012, most states did not permit non-locally licensed in-house counsel to engage in pro bono work. To help address this problem, the Conference of Chief Justices (CCJ) adopted Resolution 11: In Support of Practice Rules Enabling In-House Counsel to Provide Pro Bono Legal Services on July 25, 2012. CCJ — a membership organization consisting of the highest judicial officer of the fifty states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Northern Mariana Islands, American Samoa, Guam, and the Virgin Islands — makes recommendations to those jurisdictions about the administration of justice, judicial procedures, and the organization and operation of state courts and judicial systems. CCJ’s purview includes the rules governing who can deliver pro bono legal services.

Resolution 11 encourages jurisdictions to amend their practice rules to permit non-locally licensed in-house counsel to engage in pro bono. CCJ recognized that representation of indigent individuals is essential to the efficient operation of state courts; that the available civil legal assistance resources are inadequate to meet the legal needs of such indigent individuals; and that all members of the legal community (including in-house counsel) have an obligation to participate in increasing access to justice. Resolution 11 also took note of the growth of in-house pro bono, recognizing that dozens of legal departments have formalized their pro bono programs and joined the Corporate Pro Bono Challenge^® initiative— a simple, voluntary statement of commitment to pro bono service by legal departments, their lawyers and staff. CCJ sought to broaden the rules to permit these in-house lawyers to deliver pro bono legal services with fewer restrictions.

Since Resolution 11, many jurisdictions have reevaluated and reformed their rules to expand non-locally licensed in-house counsels’ eligibility to do pro bono. As it has in previous years, CPBO submitted a letter in January to the Professionalism and Competence of the Bar Committee of CCJ to provide an update on the pro bono practice rules that impact in-house attorneys. CPBO reported that since 2012, more than 15 jurisdictions have amended their rules to permit non-locally licensed in-house counsel to provide pro bono services, and in some cases, without restriction.

CPBO has been working recently to reform pro bono practice rules in California. Currently, California has one of the most restrictive pro bono practice rules for non-locally licensed in-house counsel. CPBO worked with the Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC) to organize more than 30 chief legal officers and general counsel with legal staff in California to support proposed revisions to permit non-locally licensed in-house counsel registered to work for their employer to also provide pro bono legal services with fewer restrictions than under the current rules. These proposed rules are currently being considered by the California Supreme Court. In its letter to CCJ, CPBO also noted its participation in supporting successful reform in Kansas in 2018, which did not previously have a rule governing non-locally licensed in-house pro bono practice. Additionally, CPBO advocated for reforms in the District of Columbia, which recently streamlined its rules and affirmed D.C.’s authorization for in-house counsel pro bono.

In the coming year, CPBO looks forward to continuing to work with CCJ, in-house legal departments, and the access to justice community to eliminate unnecessary restrictions on in-house pro bono. For more information about Corporate Pro Bono’s Multijurisdictional Practice Initiative, click here. To learn more about how in-house attorneys and legal departments can join the effort to reform rules that limit pro bono participation, contact CPBO at cpbo@probonoinst.org.