PBEye Blog - Pro Bono Institute

Strengthening Families, One Clinic at a Time

December 22, 2025

By Jovana Fitzgerald, PBI Law Clerk Partners in Minnesota are taking an integrated approach to serving those in need. In November 2025, the Minnesota Collaborative Justice Project, in partnership with Faegre Drinker*†, Adult Representation Services, Volunteer Lawyer’s Network, Bellis, and the Minnesota Department of Corrections hosted its third clinic at Shakopee Women’s Correctional Facility. The program was attended by 14 residents, and featured an educational session, conversations with a Juvenile Court Judge, and one-on-one brief advice sessions with an attorney. Parenting from Prison The Sentencing Project, a nonprofit that conducts research and advocacy for sentencing reform, reports sobering statistics about

Fernandez v. United States: The Future of Compassionate Release – and the Growing Role of Pro Bono

December 19, 2025

By Christiana Teodoro, PBI Intern In Fernandez v. United States, No. 24-556, the United States Supreme Court will resolve a circuit split as to whether there are limitations on what factors a federal judge may consider when granting a sentence reduction for “extraordinary and compelling reasons” under the statute governing compassionate release, 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1)(A). In this case, Joe Fernandez was convicted for involvement in a murder-for-hire crime. Fernandez was sentenced to a mandatory life sentence on a murder conspiracy charge and to a consecutive life sentence on a firearm charge. Later, the same trial judge expressed “disquiet” about the

Comcast: Planning with Dignity

December 16, 2025

Each January around MLK Day, the Comcast** legal department joins with SeniorLAW Center and Blank Rome to honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. through a hands-on “Day of Service” life-planning clinic for older Philadelphians. This event succeeds because of the close partnership and shared commitment of all three organizations: SeniorLAW Center, Blank Rome, and Comcast. The partners serve the clients of SeniorLAW Center, a nonprofit legal services organization founded in 1978 that champions justice for older people through the power of the law, education, and advocacy on local, state, and national levels, focusing on those in greatest economic and social

Celebrating 20 Years of the Corporate Pro Bono Challenge Initiative

December 11, 2025

By Alyssa Saunders, Director Corporate Pro Bono In 2026, the Pro Bono Institute Corporate Pro Bono (CPBO) Challenge® initiative will celebrate its 20th anniversary alongside PBI’s 30 years of advancing access to justice. These milestones are an opportunity to celebrate the growth of in-house pro bono over the years and challenge more legal departments to participate in delivering pro bono legal services to those in need. Background on the Challenge and In-House Pro Bono In 2000, PBI founded the CPBO project to develop and transform in-house pro bono. Since then, the CPBO project has worked with more than one thousand

Repairing Lives, Restoring Credit: How PBI Helped Launch a National Virtual Credit Repair Clinic for Trafficking Survivors

November 24, 2025

When Pro Bono Institute (PBI) convened the PBI 2025 Annual Conference in February 2025, one session on innovative pro bono models for serving trafficking survivors sparked a collaboration that resulted in a pilot series of clinics this fall. Panelists shared how the National Survivor Law Collective (NSL Collective) had begun offering virtual clinics to help survivors with credit repair under the Debt Bondage Repair Act (DBRA), which went into effect in July 2022, and the related Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s Regulation V. The DBRA is an amendment to the Fair Credit Reporting Act that empowers survivors of human trafficking to

Guest Blog: Bridging the Justice Gap — Virginia’s Proposed Expansion of Assistance with Court Forms

November 12, 2025

By David Greenspan, Pro Bono Partner, McGuireWoods Paige Osgood, 2025 Pro Bono Summer Associate, McGuireWoods In January 2025, the Virginia State Bar took an important step toward addressing the access to justice gap by inviting public comment on proposed amendments to Virginia’s Unauthorized Practice of Law Rules. The proposed changes, as amended, would allow non-lawyer professionals, such as court clerks, law librarians, and approved courthouse navigators or self-help center staff, to provide limited legal assistance with court-approved forms. This includes helping individuals identify, select, understand, and review legal forms for completeness. The amendment would also allow form-completion assistance for individuals

Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe: Holding Power Accountable

October 22, 2025

Since 2021, Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe*† has partnered with the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law to challenge the Baltimore Police Department’s unlawful seizure of property from gun violence survivors without a warrant or consent. In August 2024, Orrick reached a class action settlement resulting in major policy reforms, improved oversight, and a formal process for returning victims’ belongings. Their team also overcame qualified immunity defenses, which marked a rare but important step toward police accountability. This case reinforces the power of pro bono work to drive systemic change and protect civil rights. Alison Epperson, Senior Associate at Orrick, shares

Pro Bono Week 2025: Rising to Meet the Moment

October 15, 2025

By Christiana Teodoro, PBI Intern Since January, budget reductions and staffing changes at the federal level have created new challenges for communities across the United States. With funding cuts to programs like Medicaid, food assistance, and equity programs, many are looking to volunteers with legal and human resources expertise for counseling. Furthermore, a recent survey of nonprofits showed that 74% of the surveyed organizations experienced increased demand for their services at the same time that 60% of the organizations had their funding cut. These conditions indicate that there is a greater need for pro bono work. One impactful way that

Setback for Justice Advocates in Upsolve Litigation

October 7, 2025

By Alyssa Saunders On September 9, 2025, the Second Circuit ruled that the nonprofit organization Upsolve, Inc.’s use of trained volunteers to assist pro se New Yorkers with their debt-collection actions violated the state’s unauthorized practice of law (UPL) statutes. The Second Circuit overturned a May 2022 decision by the District Court for the Southern District of New York that prohibited New York’s Attorney General from enforcing the UPL statutes against Upsolve. As a result of the Second Circuit’s decision, people facing debt collection lawsuits who cannot afford an attorney will no longer have access to free specialized advice by trained

The Role of Civil Legal Aid in Improving Reentry Outcomes

September 25, 2025

By Pilar Steward, PBI Intern The cycle of release and return to prison is both costly to governments and negatively impacts individuals, families, and communities. Community stakeholders and governments can help improve reentry outcomes and reduce recidivism rates by investing in reentry programming. Pro bono partners can provide holistic services through civil legal aid to reduce barriers that hinder reintegration. A Look into Reentry Programming The Minnesota Collaborative Justice Project (MNCJP), an initiative of Pro Bono Institute (PBI), works to improve reentry outcomes through reentry planning, access to services, and policy and advocacy. The MNCJP Steering Committee includes representatives of