Category: Public Interest

Recently, the power of pro bono was featured in the documentary The List at the Tribeca Film Festival.  Directed by Beth Murphy, The List tells the classic pro bono story of client, volunteer attorney, and the nonprofit organization that brings them together.  However, beyond that, nothing about this story and the people in it is ordinary. The film follows three Iraqi nationals who have been endangered as a result of their work with and in support of the U.S. effort in Iraq and are trying to find safety.  It introduces Kirk Johnson and The List Project, the nonprofit he founded

The PBEye and access to justice community mourn the loss of John G. Brooks  this week after the “champion for access to legal services for the poor died Sunday at his home.” Brooks, who was the past president of the Boston Bar Association and partner at Peabody & Arnold, spent his career advocating on behalf of access to legal services. In a tribute to Brooks on its website, the Boston Bar Association notes: In the 1950s, he began a lifetime commitment to pro bono work to improve the delivery of legal assistance for the poor. He became intimately involved in the

The PBEye was saddened to hear of the passing of John Payton, president and director-counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund.  Payton was a lifelong champion for equal rights and justice.  Going back to his time at Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP*, he embraced pro bono as a critical part of his practice and used his influence to encourage colleagues at the firm to promote pro bono work. Tributes have come pouring in in his memory, including President Obama: “A true champion of equality, [Payton] helped protect civil rights in the classroom and at the ballot box.