Law Firm Pro Bono Archives - Page 35 of 36

Summer Reading List: The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks

May 27, 2011

Looking for a pro bono-themed read for your vacation this weekend? Pack The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot in your beach bag. This best-selling novel tells the story of an impoverished black woman whose cancer cells were used to aid in lucrative medical discoveries after she died in 1950. Meanwhile Lacks’ surviving relatives were left poor, and unable to afford health insurance. Jonathan Chou, an associate and former molecular biologist, and partner, Ethan Skerry, both from Lowenstein Sandler PC*, set up the Henrietta Lacks Foundation and secured tax-exempt status for the author, Rebecca Skloot, in 2010. The foundation aims

Guest Blog: DLA Piper Associates Work in Guyana

May 26, 2011

The PBEye recently heard from a team of junior associates at DLA Piper* about their experiences doing pro bono in Guyana. Pro bono is a terrific way for associates and seasoned attorneys alike to gain skills and develop professionally. Here’s what our friends at DLA Piper, J. Hess, Nicole C. King, and Terry Smith, had to say: Attorneys involved with pro bono often share two common perspectives: a belief that we have an ethical obligation to provide pro bono services, and an understanding that pro bono offers unique opportunities to build valuable skills and broaden overall legal acumen. Junior associates, particularly those

Global Spotlight: International Child Abduction

May 25, 2011

According to Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, last year nearly 2,000 children were internationally abducted to or from the United States by one of their own parents, in violation of the other parent’s rights: That’s 40 children taken from their homes and from their loved ones each week. Abductions traumatize children, their parents, friends, and family. International Parental Child Abduction is a painful scourge for so many, and it is something that deeply concerns me. Parental kidnapping compromises and destroys parent-child relationships, uproots and destabilizes children, and typically causes acute emotional distress to everybody involved. Today’s International Missing Children’s Day strikes us as an auspicious occasion

Global Spotlight: DLA Piper Gives Pro Bono a Bold New Perimeter

May 18, 2011

This week, New Perimeter, the global pro bono affiliate of DLA Piper LLP*, unveils its new website, www.newperimeter.org, spotlighting the firm’s savvy approach to pro bono, an innovative model well worth replicating. DLA Piper established New Perimeter to provide the law firm with a deliberate, strategic approach to bringing DLA Piper lawyers’ expertise to bear on some of the world’s most pressing problems. Through New Perimeter, DLA Piper lawyers from D.C. to Dubai invest their collective legal skills to advance women’s rights, combat hunger, fight HIV/AIDS, foster economic development, promote law reform, increase access to justice, and champion human

A Better Way to Do Business?

May 12, 2011

Google Maps can tell you what restaurants are nearby but it can’t tell you which one treats its employees well or which one has taken meaningful steps to reduce its environmental footprint; B Lab can. B Lab is a nonprofit that designates companies as Benefit Corporations (B Corps) if the company meets defined standards regarding how it treats its employees, the environment, and the community. Additionally, shareholders must agree to revise the company’s bylaws to allow business decisions to consider greater societal impacts in addition to minimizing costs and maximizing profits. This allows socially responsible decision-making without fear of shareholder

Pro Bono Leadership in a Changing World

May 9, 2011

To all law firm pro bono professionals out there grappling with changes – you’re not alone! A few months ago, Scot Fishman, Director of Pro Bono, Dewey & LeBoeuf LLP,* and Christopher Walters, Senior Pro Bono Counsel, Reed Smith LLP,* explored the many ways that pro bono leadership roles and responsibilities have evolved in response to economic and structural changes at law firms. This professional development program for pro bono leaders – including pro bono committee chairs and members, as well as full-time pro bono managers – was originally produced as a live, interactive webinar in conjunction with West LegalEdcenter,

Guest Blog: Pro Bono and Your Partner Retreat

May 3, 2011

For a relatively new Pro Bono Director like me, the opportunity to present at the annual McCarter & English* partner retreat would ordinarily be an invaluable time to educate partners about our growing pro bono program. The only wrinkle: our 2011 retreat’s theme of “business development.” After a moment of panic (“I am a public interest lawyer, what in the heck do I know about business development?”), I realized that this theme would push me to educate the partnership about how a meaningful pro bono program can contribute to the bottom line — an important topic in these challenging economic

Four Firms Collaborate with Appleseed on New Report

April 28, 2011

This week our friends at Appleseed released the report: Children at the Border: the Screening, Protection, and Repatriation of Unaccompanied Mexican Minors, which exposes noncompliance with the 2008 federal Trafficking Victim Protection Reauthorization Act (TVPRA). TVPRA, which was intended to prevent human trafficking and exploitation, has not been fully implemented or followed at the U.S.-Mexico border, where Mexican children unaccompanied by an adult are often shuttled back across the border without protection or proper care. As a result, thousands of children are needlessly exposed to human trafficking by drug cartels and criminal gangs, or repatriated to potentially abusive and dangerous

Coming Soon! Talent Management for Law Firm Pro Bono

April 22, 2011

Just in time for our spring reading list, the Law Firm Pro Bono Project is set to release a new toolkit offering guidance and tips for using pro bono opportunities as part of any core competency and performance evaluation system. In the aftermath of the economic downturn, numerous large law firms have reevaluated their attorney management strategies. Many of the nation’s largest and most prominent firms have announced that they transitioned away from the “lockstep” model and turned to one focused on core competencies. Associates are now required to master certain delineated skills in order to advance in salary, billing

Top 10 Things to Consider For Your Pro Bono Partnership

April 15, 2011

We all learn at an early age how to work together . . . and pro bono is no different! A successful pro bono partnership between a law firm and a corporate legal department is an important evolution of both pro bono programs. Done properly and building on existing strengths, a partnership can generate more resources for pro bono and can foster a valuable relationship. Here is a top ten list of questions to consider before embarking on a pro bono partnership: 1. Is your firm or legal department ready for a partnership? Do you have a sustained and effective pro

Category: Law Firm Pro Bono