Pro Bono Partnerships Archives - Page 3 of 3

Legal Departments, Law Firms, and Pro Bono

September 17, 2013

In January 2012, PBI President and CEO Esther Lardent wrote about pro bono partnerships between law firms and legal departments and the many benefits they can produce. According to CPBO’s 2012 Benchmarking Survey, pro bono partnerships are on the rise: 86 percent of responding legal departments partnered with law firms on pro bono in 2012, up from 68 percent in 2010. And nearly a quarter of responding legal departments partner with firms with whom they do not already have a business relationship. This is not the only trend. CPBO’s 2012 Benchmarking Survey also found that a law firm’s pro bono

Pro Bono Assistance for Young Immigrants

April 23, 2013

When President Obama announced the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program in June 2012, undocumented immigrants were given the opportunity to step out of the shadows and finally pursue their dreams of becoming doctors, engineers, and teachers in the U.S. The program gives a two-year, renewable reprieve from deportation to undocumented immigrants who meet a variety of eligibility requirements, including those who came to the U.S. before age 16 and are in school, high school graduates, or military veterans. Potential participants also need to be under the age of 31 and have lived in the U.S. for five years.

GE, Arnold & Porter, CLC Partner for Kids

November 11, 2011

In the summer of 2010, representatives from General Electric Company** and Arnold & Porter LLP*combined forces to help address some of the issues facing at-risk youth in the Washington, D.C. area. The team met with the Children’s Law Center (CLC), an organization that provides free legal counsel to low-income children in the D.C. area, to formulate a plan. After meeting with CLC, the organizations decided to focus their efforts on increasing access to special education resources. Washington, D.C. has an exceptionally high prevalence of disability among children, with more than 12,000 children who have disabilities requiring special education accommodations. Many schools

Ford, Dykema , and CLR Team Up

October 25, 2011

In 2008, Ford Motor Company**, Dykema Gossett PLLC*, and Community Legal Resources (CLR) conceived of a program to provide legal support to Michigan nonprofit organizations. In the wake of the recession, the nonprofits faced significant financial hardship and found it increasingly difficult to serve their clients. Michigan was one of the states hit hardest by the economic downturn, rendering the services provided by nonprofit organizations all the more important. Witnessing the vulnerability of nonprofits in the state, Ford, Dykema, and CLR developed a program called the Nonprofit Survival Clinic to help implement legal strategies to improve their financial wellbeing. In preparation

UnitedHealth Group and CLC

October 5, 2011

Upon establishing a pro bono program in 2008, UnitedHealth Group Incorporated** set out to create formal legal services partnerships. The Children’s Law Center of Minnesota (CLC) proved to be the perfect fit. CLC’s mission to give a voice and assist children in foster care, many of whom are children of color or have mental disabilities, matches UnitedHealth Group’s values. Plus, CLC provides a strong program in which UnitedHealth Group volunteers can easily work as a part of a team to dramatically impact a child’s life. In the resulting Child Law Project, each volunteer attorney receives training. Then, he or she

ExxonMobil and Hunton & Williams Team Up

September 2, 2011

With care and planning, partnerships between and among legal departments, law firms, and legal service providers can be a useful way to pool resources, increase capacity, and share ideas to help a greater number of people in need. The PBEye loves to hear about successful pro bono partnerships, and we are excited to share their stories with you in a series of blogs in the coming months. The northern Virginia office of ExxonMobil Corporation and the McLean, Va., office of Hunton & Williams LLP* formed a partnership in 2009, tapping their combined resources to serve the northern Virginia community. As its

Collaborating to Serve Consumer Debtors

July 26, 2011

In response to the economic downturn, a group of legal departments and a law firm are collaborating to support a New Jersey Volunteer Lawyers for Justice project dedicated to tackling issues facing consumer debtors. Lawyers from Prudential, AT&T**, Merck** and McCarter & English LLP* banded together to form Newark Legal Aid and Resource Clinic for Consumers (NLARCC), which provides legal assistance to an ever-increasing number of self-represented consumer debtors. Together, the group of lawyers has significantly increased capacity to address the uptick in consumer legal issues. The N.J. court system has been inundated with consumer-related cases, and the work of volunteer

Category: Pro Bono Partnerships