Category: Law Firm Pro Bono

Don’t miss out on your chance to schedule a house call with the Law Firm Pro Bono Project. We recently met with law firms in New York City, and we are currently planning our travel schedule for 2015. Make sure your city is one of our destinations! These house calls are part of our expert and confidential consultative services program, under which Law Firm Pro Bono Project staff visit law firms and meet with firm and office leaders; pro bono committees; pro bono partners, coordinators, directors, and managers; and others to offer individualized assistance. During these meetings we discuss issues

At last week’s 2014 PBI Annual Dinner, which took place at Gotham Hall in New York, PBI was honored to present the 2014 John H. Pickering Award to Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom*† for its outstanding innovation and commitment to pro bono and public service. With the recent two-year anniversary of Hurricane Sandy garnering significant media attention, we are struck yet again as to why Skadden was such a deserving honoree. Skadden’s leadership was on full display during its extensive involvement in post-storm relief efforts, both for individuals affected by the storm and for nonprofit legal services providers. Among

PBI’s Law Firm Pro Bono Project recently released its annual Law Firm Pro Bono Challenge® Report, which examines the pro bono activities of firms that are Signatories to the Challenge. We are pleased to report that 2013 marked another strong year of pro bono performance. One hundred twenty-eight firms reported performing more than 4.3 million hours of pro bono service in 2013. A few additional highlights include: • Hours Per Attorney Increase Average pro bono hours per attorney increased in 2013 to 65 hours per attorney, from 62.2 hours per attorney in 2012. • Meeting Their Challenge Goal Seventy-six firms met

Many thanks to the law firms that have joined the Law Firm Pro Bono Project for 2014-2015. These firms have publicly demonstrated their leadership and commitment to pro bono service. It’s not too late to join! Submit your enrollment form today and you’ll have exclusive access to a variety of high-quality resources to help you strengthen and grow your firm’s pro bono program. The Law Firm Project’s mission is to support and enhance the pro bono culture and performance of major law firms in the U.S. and around the world. We make available to our Members publications, research, programming, confidential

Many law firms struggle with how to involve more partners in pro bono work. The PBEye believes that it is critical to attain meaningful participation by partners. Doing so broadens a firm’s pro bono capacity and helps ensure the long-term vitality of pro bono by sending a clear message that pro bono is an important and lasting firm value. The Law Firm Pro Bono Project recently collected information from Member Firms and Law Firm Pro Bono Challenge® Signatories about how they incentivize their partners to do pro bono work. They revealed a variety of ways in which firms do this,

Since The PBEye first reported on Clemency Project 2014, which seeks to provide pro bono assistance to federal inmates who would have likely received lower prison terms under today’s sentencing laws, the initiative has made substantial progress. More than 1,000 attorneys, including solo or small firm practitioners and lawyers from large law firms, have already volunteered. In July, the Project conducted a training program for prospective volunteers, which is now available on-demand and includes an overview of the federal sentencing guidelines, applicable caselaw, and the eligibility criteria. Pro bono attorneys have been helping the Project screen requests for legal assistance

At a time when law firms are being particularly careful about spending, there are synergies to be leveraged by integrating the firm’s pro bono program with its business giving and charitable foundation. There are different models of law firm charitable foundations and they vary in the way they operate, are structured, and how they intersect with the pro bono program. Check out the Law Firm Pro Bono Project’s recently updated compilation of Member Firms and Law Firm Pro Bono Challenge® Signatories that have charitable giving foundations, where you can read about the foundations’ missions, structures, and the organizations to which

Last week, The PBEye reported on ways that firms can use videos both internally and externally to showcase their commitment to pro bono and enhance their pro bono marketing efforts. These videos come in many varieties; some videos feature attorneys and staff discussing why they do pro bono and the broad range of the firm’s pro bono offerings, others go deep and focus on particular pro bono cases undertaken by the firm, and some spotlight pro bono clients, enabling them to tell their own stories and share their perspectives. We recently reviewed more than 80 pro bono videos, which had