Author: dlipscomb

In-house pro bono is not just for lawyers.  A recent benchmarking survey published by CPBO found that nearly 92 percent of responding legal departments involve non-lawyers in pro bono work.  Aside from managing the administration of pro bono work and serving on pro bono committees, paralegals and other staff play an important role in serving in-house pro bono clients.  Involving non-lawyers in pro bono activities increases the department’s capacity to provide legal services.  Quite simply, more hands on deck means that more legal needs are met.  Non-lawyers often possess unique skills useful in the provision of pro bono legal service.  For example, some

Should in-house legal departments track pro bono activities?  The answer is a resounding YES!  Even if your company does not track work by time spent, it is still a best practice among legal departments to measure pro bono work.   When it comes to pro bono, there are several metrics you might consider tracking.  Many departments track the percentage of lawyers and legal department staff that participate in pro bono in a year.  This metric encourages teamwork and engagement and helps a department measure the growth of the pro bono program over time. The Corporate Pro Bono ChallengeSM – the only national

Unnecessary Restrictions on In-House Pro Bono While in-house pro bono has grown considerably in the past few years, state restrictions on multijurisdictional practice are still a significant hurdle. CPBO, with PBI, ACC, and a taskforce of in-house counsel, is working to address this important issue and has drafted model language to help. The rules in most states allow in-house counsel who are admitted to practice and are in good standing in one or more jurisdictions, but are not licensed in the state in which they are working, to provide legal services to their in-state employer. However, many of these states are