Category: Pro Bono Partnerships

Supporting Underserved Communities by Creating a Model for Success

PBI Signatory Showcase Interview with Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America Allianz Life commits to pro bono through partnerships with nonprofits, such as Southern Minnesota Regional Legal Services, the Minnesota Elder Justice Center, and LegalCORPS. They offer critical legal services to underserved communities, including estate-planning assistance for low-income seniors, preparing health care directives, and offering legal advice for small businesses and nonprofits. For our latest Signatory Showcase, we interviewed Jeff Mason, Associate General Counsel and Senior Counsel – Litigation and Regulatory, at Allianz Life about this program and how it not only provides essential support to vulnerable populations but

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The Force Multiplier Effect: Combining Partnership, Mentorship, Technology and More to Serve Nonprofits and Impact Community

PBI Signatory Showcase Interview with Koch Capabilities, LLC and Barnes & Thornburg LLP In February 2020, weeks before the pandemic began to ripple across the U.S., Koch Industries welcomed representatives from our panel of preferred law firms to Wichita. Koch General Counsel Ray Geoffroy felt strongly that Koch had a tremendous opportunity to accomplish so much good for society by leveraging our combined capabilities (internal lawyers and external panel firm lawyers) on a larger scale.  He challenged the law firms to partner with our Pro Bono Initiative and become a “force multiplier” to Koch’s efforts. Further, he set the expectation

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Pro Bono Fairs Then and Now: Don’t Let Distance Interfere with Your Fair!

PBI’s Corporate Pro Bono project (CPBO) has worked with legal departments and Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC) chapters over the years to host in-house pro bono fairs.  Pro bono fairs are a great opportunity to introduce in-house attorneys and legal department staff to local legal services organizations that offer pro bono opportunities.  In-house attorneys and staff interested in pro bono participate in presentations by local legal services organizations about pro bono opportunities, and networking with pro bono peers.  Historically, coffee and croissants were on the menu, too.

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A Conversation with Annie Helms — Rolling Meadows Domestic Violence Help Desk

In 2016, the Rolling Meadows Help Desk was created when a group of lawyers at Allstate**, Discover**, DLA Piper*†, and Illinois Tool Works united to help a local nonprofit organization, Between Friends, assist domestic violence survivors at the Rolling Meadows Courthouse. The courthouse is located 25 miles outside Chicago in suburban Cook County, Illinois.  With the expert training and support of LAF, lawyers from each of the partner organizations regularly staff four-hour shifts in the Between Friends office, helping victims fill out paperwork, explaining the court process, and ensuring that no survivor goes through the process of obtaining a protective

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Doing Pro Bono to Preserve Democracy

With the 2018 midterm elections around the corner, an added spotlight is placed on ensuring the right to vote in jurisdictions across the United States, and pro bono lawyers have played a unique role in protecting the right to vote for individuals and marginalized communities. In the last seven years, dozens of states have adopted a range of laws that impact voting. In 2017, legislatures in Arkansas, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Montana, and North Dakota passed laws that impose voter ID requirements, purge voters, and limit voter registration drives. Opponents of these regulations argue that they have a disproportionate impact on

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It’s Pro Bono Podcast Monday: A Conversation with Eliza Vorenberg

Eliza Vorenberg from the Roger Williams University School of Law joins us on the Law Firm Pro Bono Project’s podcast, the Pro Bono Happy Hour, to explore her career, the Pro Bono Collaborative, which connects law firms, attorneys, and law students to community organizations that need pro bono legal services, and the access to justice culture in Rhode Island. We also discuss the wide variety of law student pro bono opportunities; the role of volunteer attorney mentors: expungement clinics; providing civil legal advice to individuals in a medium security prison and tax assistance clinics for low-income residents; and more. Take

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It’s Pro Bono Podcast Monday

Don’t miss the latest episode of the Law Firm Pro Bono Project’s podcast, the Pro Bono Happy Hour, featuring Courtney Darts of the Pro Bono Partnership. Courtney talks to us about pro bono initiatives to support nonprofit organizations, transactional pro bono opportunities that strengthen communities, advice for aspiring public interest lawyers, and more. Subscribe to the Pro Bono Happy Hour on Apple Podcasts and be sure to leave a review! We’d appreciate the feedback and it would help us expand the conversation about access to justice. The podcast is also available on YouTube. Links to all of our episodes can

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Guest Blog: Boston Scientific Makes an Impact

We at The PBEye are inspired every day by the  Corporate Pro Bono Challenge® signatories. In celebration of the 10th anniversary of the launch of the CPBO Challenge® initiative, we are showcasing some of their projects with the hope that they inspire you, too. At Boston Scientific Corporation**, a global medical device company dedicated to transforming patient lives through innovative medical solutions, one of our credos is “Everyone Makes an Impact.” This statement rings true not only with respect to the company’s commitment to patient care but its philosophy on corporate citizenship, including contributions made through its pro bono program. Although Boston Scientific’s pro

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Global CSR + Pro Bono

One of the ways to increase pro bono activities within in-house legal departments is to closely align them with the company’s ethos and its global corporate social responsibility (CSR) efforts. One such example of the complementary nature of Global CSR and pro bono programs is the work done by International Business Machines Corporation (IBM), which have garnered numerous awards and recognition for the company. IBM’s legal department’s pro bono activities routinely match with the company’s CSR initiatives through such programs as IBM’s employee Corporate Service Corps and On Demand Community. In 2011, IBM celebrated its 100-year anniversary by encouraging employees

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Partnership Develops Tools to Aid Judges in South Asia

South Asia has suffered from a significant amount of terrorist violence over the years. For example, 38 percent of terrorist incidents in 2013 occurred in South Asia, according to the Global Center on Cooperative Security. In 2014, according to the U.S. State Department, more than 60 percent of terrorist attacks took place in just five countries (Iraq, Pakistan, Afghanistan, India, and Nigeria), of which three are in South Asia; nearly 6,700 people died from terrorist attacks in Pakistan, Afghanistan, and India that year. In recognition of the need to build expertise in the adjudication of terrorism-related cases, the Global Center

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