Q: Does PBI provide legal representation or make referrals to private attorneys?
A: No. PBI does not provide legal representation or make referrals to private attorneys. PBI serves as a consulting body to major law firms and in-house legal departments. If you are seeking legal assistance, contact your local legal services program or bar association or go to www.findlegalhelp.org or www.lawhelp.org.
Q: How can I become a Member of the Law Firm Pro Bono Project initiative?
A: The Law Firm Pro Bono Project initiative offers a Membership program to any law firm with 50 or more attorneys. Firms that elect to become Members pay an annual Membership fee based on the size of their firm and, in return, receive services and resources from the Project. For more information, please visit the Membership page.
Q: Where can I view a list of publications and resources available from PBI?
A: Publications and other resources available from PBI may be ordered by going to the Resource Clearinghouse section of this website. Member Law Firms may obtain many publications free of charge by logging in as a Member. Additional resources on in-house pro bono can be found at www.cpbo.org/resources.
Q: How can I obtain information about and register for the PBI Annual Conference?
A: Attendance at the Conference is limited to attorneys and staff at larger law firms, in-house lawyers, and staff in corporate legal departments. Leaders of public interest and pro bono organizations may attend by invitation only. For more information please visit the Annual Conference page.
Q: Does PBI provide its services and publications for free or at a discount?
A: Due to limited resources, PBI cannot offer its services and products, such as training programs, publications, and consultation services, at a discounted rate or at no cost. Law firms that become Members pay an annual fee that permits them to receive services at no additional cost or at a deeply discounted rate. For public interest organizations, some free materials are available on this website and registration for the Annual Conference is offered at a reduced rate, but other services and products are available on a fee-for-service basis.
Q: How can I obtain statistical information on the pro bono activity of large law firms and in-house legal departments?
A: PBI administers the Law Firm Pro Bono Challenge® initiative and the Corporate Pro Bono Challenge® initiative, which are aspirational standards for larger law firms and in-house legal departments, respectively. While law firms and companies that have signed on to the challenge initiatives annually report their pro bono statistics to PBI, they do so on a confidential basis. PBI cannot release information about individual law firm or in-house legal department performance. However, you may access information about the Challenge initiatives and a list of law firms and companies that have signed on to the Challenge initiatives. Annually, PBI prepares and disseminates reports that provide aggregated information on pro bono performance and trends in law firm pro bono and in-house pro bono. These reports are made available free of charge to Challenge signatories and Member law firms and may be purchased by others. The American Lawyer magazine annually publishes its own survey, by firm, of the pro bono statistics of the nation’s top 100 law firms, using the Law Firm Pro Bono Challenge definition of pro bono.
Q: Where can I find more information about in-house pro bono and the CPBO project?
A: In addition to information provided on this website, please visit www.cpbo.org, or email the CPBO project at cpbo@probonoinst.org.
A: Contact PBI at:
Phone: 202.729.6699
Email: Please use the Contact PBI form.
