We at The PBEye are always excited to hear why our friends are doing pro bono. This week, we hear from Patricia Mugavero, vice president and assistant general counsel, JPMorgan Chase & Co., as she shares her reasons for doing pro bono. YouTube Link
On April 1, new rules approved by the Ohio Supreme Court went into effect, permitting non-locally licensed in-house counsel registered to work in state for their employer to also provide pro bono legal services in Ohio. Under the amended Supreme Court Rules for the Government of the Bar of Ohio (Gov.Bar R. VI, Section 3) and Ohio Rules of Professional Conduct (Prof.Cond.R. 5.5.), registered in-house counsel in Ohio may provide pro bono to “either a person of limited means or a charitable organization” and the legal service is assigned or verified by an approved organization. This is an important step
The National Law Journal (NLJ) recently shone a spotlight on leading legal departments based in the Minneapolis-St. Paul region and there is at least one thing many of them have in common— commitment to pro bono. In fact, the department that NLJ highlighted as excelling in all categories, Best Buy Co., Inc.** has made pro bono a priority for more than a decade, when the department formalized its program in 2004. Since then, Best Buy’s attorneys have worked on a number of pro bono projects, including staffing expungement and housing clinics and providing assistance in unemployment and family law cases. In
Effective January 1, the New Jersey Supreme Court adopted Rule 1:27-2(g), which empowers non-locally licensed in-house counsel registered to work in-state for their employers to also provide pro bono services as volunteers with approved organizations. Previously, non-locally licensed lawyers in New Jersey could provide pro bono services under a practice rule that authorized all out-of-state lawyers to engage in pro bono. However, this rule required not only that the volunteer attorney work with an approved organization, but that the lead attorney of the organization file a letter with the New Jersey Supreme Court and that the volunteer be supervised by a
On November 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
Not only is pro bono the “right thing to do”, it also gives corporations and organizations an opportunity to represent the values of their lawyers and non-lawyers. This week, we hear from Bukola Aina, counsel, IP Litigation, Verizon Communications, Inc. **, as she explains why pro bono is beneficial to all lawyers. YouTube Link ** denotes Corporate Pro Bono Challenge® signatory
Lawyers have unique skills that can be very beneficial to pro bono clients. This week, we hear from David March, senior counsel at Target Corporation** as he explains why doing pro bono is important to him both personally and professionally. YouTube Link ** denotes Corporate Pro Bono Challenge® signatory
On October 3, CPBO re-teamed with ACC Chicago, local in-house pro bono leaders, and DLA Piper*†, to support the development of in-house pro bono in Illinois. The organizations hosted a panel discussion on the ethical issues involved with in-house pro bono and provided an opportunity for in-house counsel to network with representatives from public interest organizations that offer and support pro bono engagements in Illinois. This was the latest in a growing list of in-house pro bono focused activities in the state, which includes the Illinois Supreme Court amending its practice rules to remove unnecessary restrictions on registered in-house counsel providing
Sunday night’s episode of Last Week Tonight with John Oliver on HBO featured a compelling and hilarious segment about the large backlog of Afghan translators awaiting Special Immigrant Visas (SIVs). As Oliver noted, translators in Afghanistan and Iraq who have risked their lives by serving as liaisons between the U.S. military and local populations have become targets of anti-American violence. Unfortunately, efforts to escape danger in their home countries are largely unsuccessful due to the bureaucratic difficulties faced when applying for a visa through the SIV program. As Oliver showed with his exasperated breakdown of the 14 steps required for
While only a small group, volunteers from the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC), Northwest Justice Project, and Foster Pepper are aiming to have a big impact on a serious problem for Native American and Alaska Native artisans: counterfeiters. Many Native American and Alaska native artists, whose income relies on creating and selling traditional arts and crafts, are unable to compete with counterfeiters who saturate the market with mass produced knock-offs. Beginning in 2010, the lean team of four attorneys and eight non-lawyers (including the AFSC volunteer committee) has attacked this issue using multiple legal and non-legal avenues by educating Native artisans
