Financial Institution Pro Bono Day

April 18, 2024, marked the fifth annual Financial Institution Pro Bono Day (FIPBD), led by Corporate Pro Bono (CPBO), the global in-house project of Pro Bono Institute (PBI), in partnership with dozens of legal departments in the finance and insurance industries. Pro bono leaders from legal departments, in partnership with legal services organizations and law firms, organized 81 opportunities for pro bono service and training.

FIPBD increases access to justice through events providing legal services to low-income, marginalized communities. FIPBD encourages and promotes in-house pro bono engagement and collaboration across the finance and insurance industries and with legal services organizations and law firms. Several companies also planned community service events as part of FIPBD.

Approximately 950 in-house attorneys and legal staff volunteered in pro bono events that addressed issues such as: voting rights restoration, expungement and record sealing for formerly incarcerated individuals; divorce filings for survivors of domestic violence; affirmative asylum applications for LGBTQIA+ individuals; citizenship applications for legal permanent residents; benefits eligibility evaluations for veterans; assistance with the educational needs of individuals with disabilities; eviction diversion and other housing assistance for low-income clients; estate planning for low-income clients; legal support for nonprofit organizations, small businesses, and micro-entrepreneurs; nonpartisan voter protection opportunities; environmental justice research projects; a compendium on human trafficking laws across the globe; and many more. Additionally, more than 400 law firm volunteers worked alongside their in-house partners at these events, totaling more than 1,350 volunteers across this year’s events.

Collectively, FIPBD volunteers served more than 1,200 clients, and many more clients will receive pro bono services as the result of pro bono training held as part of FIPBD. At several events, volunteers developed novel resources for a nonprofit or NGO that will have far reaching impact and serve many additional beneficiaries.

This year, 48 legal departments participated in FIPBD. Companies organizing FIPBD 2024 events included: American Express, Apple Bank**, Ares Management, Bank of America Corporation**, Bank OZK, Barclays Bank**, Bloomberg L.P.**, BMO Financial Group**, Brighthouse Financial, Capital One Financial Corporation**, Citigroup, Inc. **, Citizens, Discover**, Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae)**, Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac)**, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company**, The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc.**, Raymond James Financial, State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company**, TD Bank, Truist, U.S. Bancorp**, The Vanguard Group, Inc.**, Wells Fargo, and Zurich North America**. Additional legal departments that volunteered at FIPBD events organized by others included: Accenture plc**, AIG, Airbnb, Allied Irish Banks, DCC plc, Docusign, eBay, Fordham University, HSBC, KPMG**, LRQA, Permanent TSB Group Holdings, Shell plc, State Street, Stripe, Inc., Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp., The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation**, The Coca-Cola Company**, ViiV Healthcare, Visa, Stetson University College of Law, and Western Union. We thank these legal departments and the many legal services organizations and law firms they partnered with to organize these pro bono service and training opportunities.

FIPBD events were impactful for clients and meaningful for volunteers. Many clients provided positive feedback, noting the value of services provided and materials produced, as well as the volunteers’ helpfulness throughout the events:

• “We would like to express our deep appreciation for the service we … received yesterday …. Would you please dispatch our gratitude … to everybody … who was working on our issues and answering to our questions in such a friendly and professional fashion. Thank you!”
• “It was a very interesting and effective event. Thanks to this, I discovered a vision of new possibilities.”
• “Very informative, useful and the volunteers were delightful to interact with!”
• “I loved all of it, it was fantastic. It’s hard to choose a highlight as every part was great. I really enjoyed all the opportunities to chat with other founders and the lawyers. It was so helpful.”
• “I wanted to say congratulations on a fantastic day of seminars yesterday. I found them extremely helpful. It’s the kind of resource I’ll keep on coming back to.”
• “These sessions have been really well organized and the content has been so useful.”
• “My meeting was excellent! The volunteers that I met with were very thorough and helped me make decisions that I was stuck on.”
• “My volunteers genuinely provided insight and professional judgement. I truly appreciate … all who participated in today’s session! Thank you for creating this clinic.”
• “This experience helped me get my bearings. Really great communication and coordination!”

Volunteers expressed gratitude for the training provided, which empowered them to assist their clients. Many expressed interest in repeating or deepening their pro bono engagement:

• “Incredibly well-organized. The training video, live training, and analysis tool were excellent and easy to navigate. It’s gratifying to feel like you have been a part of a team that will help multiple people during a single workshop.”
• “The training … provided was excellent and it helps to have it right before the clinic. I think we were able to add value in helping the candidate fill out the forms and explain the steps in the process.”
• “Outstanding event that should be repeated every year.”
• “Great to participate and meet … folks [outside the organization]. [I]t was a seamlessly organized and very engaging event!”
• “Loved participating in this event!”
• “An inspiring, wonderful day – thank you!”
• “Clear communication, well organized on the day and very rewarding – thanks all!”

CPBO thanks everyone who worked so hard to make #FIPBD2024 a success.

* denotes a Law Firm Pro Bono Challenge^® signatory
** denotes a Corporate Pro Bono Challenge^® signatory
† denotes a Law Firm Pro Bono Project^® member

List of Events

National (United States)

Declaration Drafting Clinic with Root & Rebound

At this virtual Declaration Drafting Clinic with Root & Rebound, volunteers gathered relevant facts and helped clinic participants craft declarations to use in their record cleaning petitions, the primary piece of evidence submitted to the court in support of a client’s motion. Success in this process opens doors to increased employment, housing, occupational licensing opportunities, and more. Root & Rebound attorneys and staff provided on-demand guidance. Prior to the clinic, volunteers received on-demand training.

Discharge Upgrade Clinic with the Veterans Consortium

At this virtual intake clinic, volunteers interviewed clinic participants to help the Veterans Consortium evaluate eligibility for benefits. Working in teams, volunteers gathered information about the veteran’s military service and documented what led to their discharge. They then completed detailed intake forms to assist the Veterans Consortium in evaluating the veteran’s eligibility for full representation by their program. In advance of the clinic, volunteers received on-demand training.

Discussion of Upcoming Voter Protection Pro Bono Opportunities

Volunteers heard from Blank Rome and Committee of Seventy about upcoming nonpartisan volunteer opportunities that will be available across the United States relating to voter protection for the 2024 election season.

Election Protection CLE

Volunteers attended a nonpartisan presentation to address Pennsylvania’s unique position as a key swing state, the threats to the integrity of voting processes and barriers that voters might face in 2024, and how people can get involved to help maintain election integrity, including volunteering with the 1-866-OUR-VOTE hotline and serving as a poll worker.

Criminal Record Expungement CLE and Clinic with Volunteer Lawyers for Justice

Teams comprised of Duane Morris and TD Bank volunteers assisted pro bono clients through Volunteer Lawyers for Justice in assessing if they are eligible for an expungement and/or drafting a pro se application. Expungement of criminal records can have tremendous impact on the lives of recipients by expanding access to education, housing, and job opportunities.

Interviews Regarding Fines and Fee Practices for Texas Appleseed

Volunteers participated in a research project that included interviewing attorneys in Harris County to learn more about their experiences and observations of fines and fees practices in the county. These interviews are critical to understanding the practical impacts of fines and fees, which Harris County has asked Texas Appleseed to research. Every day, fines are imposed as punishment for everything from traffic violations to felonies. For people who cannot afford to pay these fees immediately, the impact is exacerbated by late fees. Often, this results in people with the least ability to pay owing the most money and may even result in jail time. This research will help Texas Appleseed identify issues and solutions to make a more equitable fines and fees landscape.

Name Change Training/Clinic

Volunteers from Vanguard and Troutman Pepper, in partnership with the Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund, attended a training related to documentation required to file legal name change documents.

Remote Citizenship Clinic

Volunteers from Citigroup, Inc., in partnership with Goodwin Procter and Immigration Institute of the Bay Area, assisted legal permanent residents in filling out their naturalization applications. This work helped eligible individuals and families take one step closer to their dream of becoming US citizens, which will provide them access to better-paying jobs and the opportunity to obtain a US passport.

Remote Clean Slate Clinic

Volunteers from Citigroup, Inc. and Goodwin Procter, in partnership with the Access Project, helped community college students to clear their records of criminal convictions with the goal of helping remove barriers to employment, housing, education, and community.

Sky’s the Limit

Volunteers from Apple Bank and PNC Bank, in partnership with Perkins Coie, provided brief legal advice to Sky’s the Limit’s underrepresented entrepreneurs in a virtual clinic.

Trademark First Look Workshop

American Express partnered with Start Small Think Big and Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton to support New York City-based small businesses with a Trademark First Look Clinic. Following an introductory “Trademark Basics for Small Businesses” CLE session presented by attorneys from Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton, American Express volunteer attorneys worked in teams to provide small business clients with educational guidance on trademarks and the trademark registration process, as well as introductory trademark clearance searches on publicly available search engines and the US Patent and Trademark Office database.

Veterans Claims Screening CLE and Clinic

Working in teams and with The Veterans Consortium Pro Bono Program, volunteers from TD Bank and Duane Morris (1) drafted screening memorandums providing an overview concerning the merits of a veteran’s appeal before the US Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, and (2) assisted the Veterans Consortium in updating its litigation case law manual by summarizing and coding various Veterans Claims Court cases. Volunteers received training prior to the clinic.

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The United States

Alabama

Free Will Clinic for First Responders 

This free will clinic connected first responders (police, fire, and paramedics) from the City of Bessemer with Volunteer Lawyers Birmingham, Inc. and volunteer attorneys from PNC Bank and Bradley Arant Boult Cummings to assist them in preparing estate planning documents like wills, advance health care directives, and general powers of attorney. Prior to the will clinic, in-person and virtual training was provided to interested attorneys in PNC Bank’s Birmingham offices.

Arkansas

Central Arkansas Housing Stability Legal Clinic

This clinic focused on housing in Little Rock in coordination with Legal Aid of Arkansas’s Fair Housing Office and the Center for Arkansas Legal Services. Volunteer attorneys from Bank OZK and Kutak Rock assisted pro bono clients to obtain and keep housing/property through vital records (how to get records if they are lost) and beneficiary deeds (how to maintain chain of title and avoid probate to keep real and other property in families).

California

Bet Tzedek Virtual Self-Help Conservatorship Clinic

Bank of America’s Southern California Legal Department partnered with Snell & Wilmer for a virtual Self-Help Conservatorship Clinic with Bet Tzedek, where volunteers assisted clients in completing forms for a petition to secure conservatorships over their loved ones. For over 14 years, Bet Tzedek’s Self-Help Conservatorship Clinic has been serving family members to ensure uninterrupted care for their adult children with severe developmental disabilities or for their parents with dementia or other conditions preventing appropriate self-care.

Virtual Nonprofit Legal Wellness Clinic

The Justice & Diversity Center’s Community Organization Representation Project partnered with Bank of America and NEO Law Group to host a virtual Nonprofit Legal Wellness Clinic. The virtual legal clinic helped nonprofits serving Northern California flag legal issues. Volunteers attended a CLE training providing an overview of potential legal issues, then broke into teams to work with an assigned nonprofit client and run through a checklist covering nonprofit legal compliance issues.

District of Columbia

AARP Schedule H Clinic

Fannie Mae worked with AARP to assist indigent DC residents with the preparation of  Schedule H forms (DC Homeowner and Renter Property Tax Credit) on their DC tax returns.

AARP Estate Planning

After a brief training, volunteers from Fannie Mae, in partnership with AARP, provided will drafting and estate planning for indigent clients in DC.

Small Business Clinic

PNC Bank, in partnership with the D.C. Bar Pro Bono Center, hosted a clinic at their DC office for local small business owners to receive legal advice from volunteer attorneys.

Virtual Pro Bono Refugee Immigration Clinic

Volunteers from Bank of America and Davis Polk, in partnership with Volunteers of Legal Service, learned about the refugee crisis and US options to assist refugees, including temporary protected status and asylum, as well as assisted refugee clients as part of the clinic. Volunteers of Legal Service provided a mandatory training session in advance of the clinic.

Florida

Bay Area Legal Services Intake Clinic

Volunteers from Citigroup, Inc. and Raymond James Financial participated in an intake clinic to interview prospective clients of Bay Area Legal Services regarding their legal issues. Volunteers then guided the prospective clients with regard to next steps.

Voting Rights Restoration Clinic

Volunteers from Bank of America and Sidley Austin, in partnership with the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition, assisted formerly incarcerated persons to regain their right to vote upon their completion of parole, probation, and payment of all court fines and fees. Volunteers received training and then conducted public records research to identify for each individual what specific fines and fees remained outstanding and in which jurisdiction.

Illinois

Afghan Adjustment of Status Clinic

Bank of America Corporation, BMO Financial Group, and JPMorgan Chase volunteer attorneys partnered with Chapman and Cutler volunteer attorneys to complete applications for adjustment of status to help eligible Afghan asylees apply for their green cards.

Criminal Records Relief Clinic

Bank of America, BMO Financial Group, and JPMorgan Chase volunteer attorneys partnered with Chapman and Cutler volunteer attorneys to draft petitions for expungement and sealing to allow qualified individuals with criminal records a fresh start and access to housing, jobs, and other benefits.

Equip for Equality

Volunteers from BMO Financial Group supported educational needs of students via a hotline for parents and caregivers in partnership with Equip for Equality, an organization working to advance the civil rights of people with disabilities through legal services, public policy, self-advocacy, monitoring, and training.

Eviction Clinic

In partnership with Prairie State Legal Services, the State Farm Pro Bono Committee provided training and resources for attorneys and paralegals to assist with the Eviction Diversion Program from July 2021 to present. More than 40 State Farm attorneys and paralegals volunteered to meet with tenants prior to their initial eviction hearing to provide advice, and sometimes negotiate with landlords and connect tenants with financial resources. State Farm volunteers participated in Prairie State Legal Services’ standing, weekly eviction clinic in Bloomington-Normal, Illinois as part of FIPBD 2024.

Intake Clinic Training Drive

Volunteers from BMO Financial Group took an on-demand training and participated in an intake clinic with Chicago Volunteer Legal Services to assist low-income residents.

Iowa

Nationwide Des Moines OCLO Power of Attorney Corporate Pro Bono Day

Volunteers from Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company’s Office of the Chief Legal Officer assisted clients screened by Iowa Legal Aid for power of attorney issues, including durable health care power of attorney and financial power of attorney.

Kansas

Expungement Clinic and CLE

Stinson and Kansas Legal Services hosted a CLE on Kansas expungement law and volunteers from PNC Bank participated in an expungement clinic in Wyandotte County, Kansas. Financial institution attorneys paired with Stinson attorneys to review expungement documents prior to clients submitting them to the court.

Maryland

Maryland Pro Bono

Criminal record expungement allows for the complete removal of certain criminal records from public view, allowing individuals to pursue better employment and housing opportunities. Volunteers from Fannie Mae received a short training and then formed groups to work with clients in partnership with Maryland Legal Aid.

Massachusetts

Remote Answer & Discovery Landlord Tenant Clinic

Volunteers from State Street and Goodwin Procter helped individuals whose landlords had served them with a notice to quit to generate their answer and discovery forms using a tool made for pro se litigants. They assisted with drafting the primary forms, including notices of transfer to Housing Court and check box motions to dismiss. Volunteer Lawyers Project provided training videos and staff support during the clinic.

Transactional Legal Clinic for Small Business Owners for MA Companies

Working with the BizGrow Project of the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights and Boston Public Library’s Kirstein Business Library and Innovation Center, volunteers from State Street and Goodwin Procter staffed virtual Zoom client meeting rooms focused on corporate law and intellectual property law.

Written Info Security Policy Clinic

Lawyers Clearinghouse, Morgan, Lewis & Bockius, and Bank of Americavolunteers worked in teams to assist nonprofit organizations with creation or review of Written Information Security Program (WISP) materials. Massachusetts law requires any corporate entity operating in the Commonwealth that handles residents’ personal information to establish and enforce a WISP. Every volunteer was teamed up with a Massachusetts-barred attorney, and training and client materials were distributed a few days in advance of the clinic.

Minnesota

Transfer on Death Deed Project

Mid-Minesota Legal Aid provided training and pro bono opportunities to volunteers from U.S. Bancorp to assist community members with preparation and filing of transfer on death deeds.

Missouri

Health Care Directive & Power of Attorney Clinic

Volunteers from Citigroup, Inc. and Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner provided assistance to Legal Services of Eastern Missouri clients in completing health care directive and health care power of attorney forms, as well as financial powers of attorney.

Small Business Formation Clinic

Volunteers from Citigroup, Inc. and Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner provided assistance to Legal Services of Eastern Missouri (LSEM) clients on small business formation. LSEM hosted a general information session for clinic attendees, and then Citigroup, Inc. and Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner volunteer attorneys met with individual LSEM clients to assist them with business formation questions.

New Jersey

Employment Authorization Clinic

Citigroup, Inc. and Church World Service (CWS) Jersey City hosted a virtual clinic to assist migrants preparing pro se applications for employment authorization and fee waivers. CWS Jersey City hosted a one hour Zoom training in advance of the clinic.

New York

Advance Planning Clinic

Volunteers from JPMorgan Chase and Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson, in partnership with New York Legal Assistance Group, assisted older adults and other low-income clients to create the following documents: power of attorney, health care proxy, and appointment of an agent to control the disposition of remains. Preparing these documents can be crucial for accessing and maintaining housing, health care, and public benefits, as well as ensuring that medical and funeral wishes are followed in the case of future incapacitation. In addition, creating these documents long before a medical emergency or cognitive decline helps clients and families avoid a stressful, expensive, and time-consuming guardianship process if such events occur.

Emerging Artists and Nonprofit Arts Groups Clinic

Citizens and Morgan, Lewis & Bockius attorneys, in partnership with the Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts (VLA), worked together to advise pre-screened emerging artists and nonprofit arts groups on their arts-related legal issues. Volunteers prepared a summary of the consultations that the VLA will then use to facilitate full scope representation through its pro bono referral list.

GlamourGals Note Writing Event

Citigroup, Inc. and Greenberg Traurig worked together to help spread cheer by supporting GlamourGals with its Annual My Dear Friend Spring Campaign to send handwritten cards to isolated seniors.

Help Older Adults Avoid Financial Fraud

Volunteers provided in-person critical financial education training to older adults at local senior centers in New York City. Prior to the event, volunteers attended a virtual training, hosted by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s Office for Older Americans.

JA Finance Park

JA Finance Park is a fun and interactive economic education program for students ages 12 – 18. After an in-class curriculum through which students learn about financial institutions, the benefits of saving and investing, and how to budget for real-world expenses, students attended the JA Finance Park Simulation to work with volunteers in a virtually simulated, life-like community. At the park, students were assigned adult professional, personal, and financial profiles. Volunteers from Citigroup, Inc. and Bloomberg coached a small group of middle or high school students as they created a monthly budget for expenses like housing, utilities, transportation, entertainment, etc. Volunteers shared their own experiences in managing money and making financial decisions to give the students a real-world context. Volunteers received a training session prior to the event.

Life Planning Documentation Clinic for Clients of Limited Means

Volunteers from Bank of America and McGuireWoods, in partnership with Volunteers of Legal Service, participated in a clinic focused on preparation of wills, powers of attorney, health care proxies, and other advance directives.

Neighborhood Entrepreneur Law Project Clinic

Ares Management, Barclays, and Bloomberg partnered with the City Bar Justice Center’s Neighborhood Entrepreneur Law Project to staff a remote legal clinic and provided brief legal services to New York City-based entrepreneurs of limited economic means who seek to achieve financial stability through entrepreneurship. Volunteers addressed questions related to entity formation, contracts, intellectual property, and other small business-related matters during the clinic.

Remote Pro Se Divorce Clinic

Access Justice Brooklyn’s (AJB) Pro Se Uncontested Divorce Clinic helps low-income women, often survivors of domestic violence, file uncontested divorces. Clients are typically individuals who may have lived apart from their abusers for a number of years and successfully litigated or negotiated custody, visitation, and support issues, but have not taken the final step of filing for divorce because they could not afford a lawyer or they were afraid to sever their legal relationship with their abuser. Working in pairs, volunteer lawyers from Bloomberg and Goodwin Procter guided clients through the process of obtaining a divorce by drafting initial divorce papers, helping effectuate service of process, and drafting final divorce papers. AJB’s Director provided hands-on supervision to all volunteers. Bloomberg. lawyers had the option (but not obligation) to follow client representation beyond the Clinic date.

North Carolina

CLE Training on Special Immigrant Juvenile Status Custody Cases

Charlotte Center for Legal Advocacy provided training for pro bono volunteers on Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS) – a path to permanent residency for minor immigrants. This special status is intended to help protect children who have suffered abuse, neglect, or abandonment at the hands of one or both parents. In order to qualify for this status, an authorized state court must find that reunification with one or both of the child’s parents is not viable due to the abuse, abandonment, or neglect and that it is not in the child’s best interest to return to their home country or last country of habitual residence.

Driver’s License Restoration Clinic

Volunteer teams from Brighthouse Financial, Truist, and U.S. Bancorp, in partnership with McGuire Woods, screened records and advised low-income clients whose driver’s licenses were suspended due to their inability to pay traffic fines and fees. For many, lack of a driver’s license precludes or limits work and educational opportunities. Regaining that license can reopen doors and change people’s lives.

Veterans Discharge Upgrade File Review Project Training

Volunteers from Bank of America Corporation and Bradley Arant Boult Cummings interviewed veterans to determine facts that may impact their eligibility to upgrade their discharge status. After concluding the interview volunteers drafted a summary for National Veterans Legal Services Program, which utilizes these summaries to represent veterans if they are selected for legal assistance with their discharge upgrades.

Ohio

Central Community House Brief Advice Clinic

Volunteers participated in an inaugural brief advice clinic hosted by Central Community House, founded in 1936 as part of the settlement house movement, organized by Legal Aid of Southeast and Central Ohio, and sponsored and staffed by legal professionals from Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company’s legal department and Columbus law firm Carpenter Lipps. Volunteer attorneys provided legal advice and non-attorney volunteers provided administrative and paraprofessional support to clinic clients facing a variety of legal and quasi-legal issues.

Pennsylvania

Estate Planning Training/Clinic

Volunteers from Vanguard, in partnership with Morgan, Lewis & Bockius and Philadelphia VIP – a pro bono hub, provided estate planning services to Philadelphia area individuals who have recently acquired homes through the Habitat for Humanity program.

Health Care and Life Planning Documents CLE and Clinic

PNC Bank, McGuireWoods, and Allies in Health teamed up to provide power of attorney, health care power of attorney, and living will documents to low-income clients of Allies in Health who are living with chronic health issues. Attorneys and legal professionals attended a CLE session to learn how to prepare and consult with clients about these important documents and then met with scheduled clients to consult and finalize the documents. Experienced McGuireWoods attorneys trained and supported volunteers.

SeniorLAW Center Will Clinic

Volunteers from PNC Bank and Blank Rome, in partnership with SeniorLAW Center reviewed clients’ wills, living wills, and healthcare and financial powers of attorney and had them signed, witnessed, and notarized.

Support Center for Child Advocates Annual Fundraiser – Change the Story: An Evening for Child Advocacy

The Support Center for Child Advocates (SCCA) is a nonprofit organization that provides pro bono legal assistance and social service advocacy to children who have experienced abuse or neglect in Philadelphia County. SCCA hosted its Annual Benefit Reception where volunteers from Vanguard helped with event duties such as handing out prizes to winners of the silent auction and raffle tickets.

Wills Clinic for Seniors

Volunteers from PNC Bank, in partnership with Duquesne Law School and Allegheny County Bar Association, prepared wills for low-income seniors.

Rhode Island

Nonprofit Bylaws Clinic

Citizens’ Legal Department and Adler Pollock & Sheehan partnered with United Way for a clinic where volunteers helped nonprofit clients review and update their bylaws to ensure the bylaws contain the necessary tax-exempt provisions and the relevant state registration requirements. The clinic included training and two consulting sessions. Following the client meetings, volunteers gathered for a debrief reception.

Texas

Citibank Irving Pro Bono Day

Citigroup, Inc.’s Irving legal team worked with Locke Lord, in partnership with the Dallas Volunteer Attorney Program, on a one-day legal intake clinic helping members of the Dallas community. Pro bono services for the local Dallas community included estate planning, small business assistance, veteran needs, and housing issues, among many others.

Dallas Volunteer Attorneys Project

Volunteers from Fannie Mae, in partnership with the Dallas Volunteer Attorney Program, provided will drafting and estate planning for indigent clients in the Dallas area.

Virtual Legal Intake Clinic

Volunteers from Bank of America and McGuire Woods, in partnership with the Dallas Volunteer Attorney Program, participated in a general intake clinic for legal issues.

Virginia

Pro Bono Uncontested Divorce Clinic

Volunteers from Capital One Financial Corporation and Freddie Mac, in partnership with Legal Services of Northern Virginia, participated in a clinic for low-income individuals filing for an uncontested divorce.

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International

Global Compendium – Human Trafficking Laws

Volunteers from Citigroup, Inc. and Jones Day participated in a virtual training session describing the Compendium Project (to gather in one single place information and relevant laws on human trafficking on multiple jurisdictions/countries across the globe) and signed up for short- and longer-term projects.

Remote Affirmative Asylum Clinic for LGBTQ/HIV+ Clients 

More than eighty countries have laws that criminalize people who are LGBTQ – with several applying the death penalty. Asylum gives clients an enduring shot at a stable, safe life in the United States. After a comprehensive virtual training, volunteers from Citigroup, Inc. and Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom connected with Legal Services NYC clients to begin the process of helping them apply for asylum in the United States. Volunteers worked with clients via phone or WebEx to complete their asylum applications, prepare client affidavits, and gather relevant documents.

Virtual Penguin Watch (Rockhopper Fiesta)

Southern rockhopper penguins are classified as Vulnerable under the Red List of the International Union for Conservation of Nature. Penguin Watch Rockhopper Fiesta is a project started by Zooniverse, which gives people the chance to participate in real research. It is a live project where an active team of researchers are using the data produced to examine penguin population dynamics and better understand the way in which colonies are responding to various threats. Citigroup, Inc. and Linklaters came together to participate in the virtual Penguin Watch Rockhopper Fiesta. The data created from this volunteering activity will help researchers understand the effect climate change is having on penguin populations and their survival rates and breeding timing, with the aim to help conserve these incredible species.

The Americas

Earth Day Justice in Action Pro Bono Sprints – Electric School Buses: An equitable approach to getting children to school for a healthier planet

Justice in Action Pro Bono Sprints are half-day sessions that bring together volunteers from different entities to work together on substantive pro bono projects for four hours; here, an equitable approach to getting children to school on electric school buses. The transition to electric school buses can be a model for a greater effort to center equity across the vast clean energy transition underway today. To help advance this effort, volunteers examined air quality in school districts that have been able to electrify their fleet, mapped the electrification of fleets to understand what is and is not working, charted out successful clean school bus legislation and legislative efforts across the country, and explored legal options for communities where electrification has been unsuccessful.

APAC

Human Library

Volunteers from Bank of America contributed to a project that portrays each person as a book to allow participants to hear directly from each “book” about their experiences of adversity, struggle, and hope. The Human Library not only raises awareness among participants in a new way, but also empowers Centre for Refugees’ clients by providing them with a platform to tell their story and speak out for themselves.

Asia-Pacific (APAC) and Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA)

Earth Day Justice in Action Pro Bono Sprints – Investigations of Animal Cruelty Project

Justice in Action Pro Bono Sprints are half-day sessions that bring together volunteers from different entities to work together on substantive pro bono projects for four hours: here, investigations of animal cruelty. Humane Society International (HSI) works to end the cruelest practices toward animals, care for animals in crisis and build a stronger animal protection movement worldwide. One of the ways HSI accomplished its work is through investigations where they obtain documentation relating to the treatment of animals without the explicit cooperation or knowledge of the concerned persons or organizations, with the intent to document abuses and cruel practices and/or nonconformance with applicable laws or standard industry practices. The output from these investigations is critical to HSI’s work. Volunteers analyzed applicable law and legal risk of investigations in different jurisdictions around the globe.

Asia-Pacific (APAC), Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA), and the Americas

Earth Day Justice in Action Pro Bono Sprints – Nature-Focused Analysis of Climate Change

Justice in Action Pro Bono Sprints are half-day sessions that bring together volunteers from different entities to work together on substantive pro bono projects for four hours; here, a nature-focused analysis of climate change. Volunteers examined important questions related to damages to nature caused by climate change. Using a nature-led approach, volunteers identified analyses that recognize the value of nature and biodiversity for and of itself, considering what is reparable and what is irreversible and what will deter states from contributing to such impacts. Volunteers also examined international law and domestic laws and practices around the globe for model legislation and actions.

Earth Day Justice in Action Pro Bono Sprints – Climate Change Planning Around the Globe

Justice in Action Pro Bono Sprints are half-day sessions that bring together volunteers from different entities to work together on substantive pro bono projects for four hours; here, climate change planning around the globe. Legal Response International (LRI) provides free legal support to developing countries and civil society observer organizations at the UN climate change negotiations. As countries are embarking on the update of their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) under the Paris Agreement, LRI is planning to develop knowledge products and provide legal support on this topic. Volunteers reviewed existing NDCs that countries have put forward to inform the legal support the LRI provides and evaluated them on issues related to equity and transparency, common features, how countries are adopting NDCs into domestic legislation, future plans, and more. Volunteers examined important questions related to damages to nature caused by climate change. Using a nature-led approach, volunteers identified analyses that recognize the value of nature and biodiversity for and of itself, considering what is reparable and what is irreversible and what will deter states from contributing to such impacts. Volunteers also examined international law and domestic laws and practices around the globe for model legislation and actions. 

Canada

Pro Bono Ontario Free Legal Advice Hotline

Volunteers from BMO, in partnership with Pro Bono Ontario, provided free legal advice to Ontario residents who otherwise could not afford a lawyer. 

England

Career Carousel

Lawyers from Clifford Chance and Citi met in person with 16- and 17-year-old students from a London comprehensive school to discuss their education and personal career journey and answer student questions. This event allowed students to learn about the variety of options within the legal profession and make better-informed decisions about their future careers.

Kids in Need of Defense UK – Insight Afternoon with Training

Kids in Need of Defense (KIND) is a charity that provides free legal help to children and young people (and their families) to navigate the UK immigration system. Volunteer attorneys from Citigroup, Inc. and Norton Rose Fulbright (London) partnered to advise KIND. Volunteers had the chance to meet some of the KIND team and gained insight into how to provide legal advice to help the charity’s clients.

Micro Rainbow Employability Session

Micro Rainbow provides housing, legal and employability support to LGBTQ+ refugees and asylum seekers. Volunteers worked closely with beneficiaries to provide one-to-one support with preparing a CV; conduct mock interviews and share real time constructive feedback, as well as practical hints and tips; and participate in a speed networking session to discuss different career routes, all with the aim of equipping beneficiaries with the necessary skills and confidence to pursue their individual career aspirations.

France

Mentoring with Article 1  

Volunteers from Citigroup, Inc. received a presentation from Article 1, an NGO that supports high school and university students from underprivileged backgrounds with the aim of achieving equal access to higher education and job opportunities, and solicitations to register for mentoring programs.

Germany

Citi Germany and Allen & Overy Donations Collection

Citigroup, Inc. and Allen & Overy partnered to collect donations such as hygiene products, clothes, and food packages.

SABA-Language Partnership Project

The Crespo Foundation is a nonprofit private foundation that implements its own programs and promotes partner initiatives in the cultural and social fields. The Foundation’s fields of action are art, cultural education, personal empowerment, and educational opportunities. SABA is one of the central programs of the Crespo Foundation: about 80 migrants receive financial support, counseling, and special training each school year as part of a scholarship to obtain a high school diploma. In this context, the Crespo Foundation project team and Clifford Chance coordinate language tandems each school year, through which migrant women receive valuable one-to-one support with a particular focus on German and English. The tandems meet about once a week, usually at Clifford Chance’s premises, and discuss linguistic, educational, and sometimes practical life issues. Citigroup, Inc. volunteers partnered with Clifford Chance and Crespo Foundation to join in with new language tandems in the near future.

Ireland

Data Privacy and Cybersecurity Training for Local NGO

Volunteers provided a training session to a local NGO charity in Northern Ireland on the complex topics of data privacy and cybersecurity, which aimed to update the charity’s officers with key information and issues on these topics.

Labor Market and Employment Rights Presentation and Discussion

Volunteers participated in a presentation and discussion to make international protection applicants aware of their rights in the workplace and provided information on how to enter the labor market, including obtaining work permits/visas and how to set up a bank account.

United Kingdom

Access to Justice Training Event

Volunteers took part in an online training program for the Access to Justice Program (“A2J”). The A2J Program was set up in response to the legal aid cuts in the United Kingdom in the area of social welfare law. Citigroup, Inc. has been supporting A2J through Simmons & Simmons for several years. Volunteers from Citigroup, Inc. and Simmons & Simmons supported vulnerable individuals in pursuing disability welfare benefits appeals at the Social Security Tribunal, including reviewing client bundles, meeting with clients, preparing written submissions, and attending disability benefits appeal hearings with clients. A training and taster session covered how to volunteer and the key pieces of law necessary to volunteer.

Employability Festival 

Volunteers from the in-house pro bono groups of several financial institutions worked to equip long-term unemployed adults from Suited & Booted, Dress for Success Greater London, and Westminster Kingsway College with the skills and confidence to secure meaningful employment.

LawWorks Online Legal Training for Charities (Virtual)

Volunteers from Bank of America, Goldman Sachs, and Weil, Gotshall & Manges helped equip small charities and not-for-profits with the legal knowledge to protect and enhance their mission with support from LawWorks.

Refugee Action Training Session 

Citigroup, Inc. volunteers were given virtual training to allow them to work with Clifford Chance and Refugee Action to assist refugees with their asylum applications. The training will allow trainees to prepare country of origin memos, which set out the legal, political, social, cultural, and religious background to an asylum claim. Groups of volunteers will work under the supervision of one of Clifford Chance’s managing associates.

Upskill and Connect: Grow Your Venture 

Volunteers from the in-house pro bono groups of several financial institutions, in partnership with Hatch Enterprise, met, connected, and networked with innovative entrepreneurs to seek guidance and information to grow their enterprise.

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* denotes a Law Firm Pro Bono Challenge^® signatory
** denotes a Corporate Pro Bono Challenge^® signatory
† denotes a Law Firm Pro Bono Project^® member