PBEye Blog - Pro Bono Institute

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

Expanding Legal Access by Redefining Legal Services: Georgia’s Efforts to Narrow the Justice Gap

September 24, 2025

By Jovana Fitzgerald, PBI Law Clerk In August 2024, the Supreme Court of Georgia launched a committee to explore legal regulatory reform in an effort to address the significant civil justice gap in Georgia. After a year of research, the committee put forth its recommendations for measures to support low-income and rural Georgians. The Civil Justice Gap in Georgia In the South, more than 22 million individuals have household incomes that fall below 125 percent of the poverty threshold. In Georgia, more than 1.4 million people are considered below the poverty threshold. In 2023, Georgia courts saw more than 420,000

Foster Garvey PC: Correcting the Record

September 23, 2025

Foster Garvey PC* has been a partner of the Seattle Clemency Project (SCP) since its founding in 2017, helping individuals seeking early release and those facing deportation due to old criminal convictions pursue clemency, resentencing, or other forms of release from sentences imposed under outdated or excessively harsh laws. Through this partnership, Foster Garvey has helped secure freedom for clients who have demonstrated transformation and rehabilitation, while contributing to SCP’s broader impact: 126 people released, more than 1,400 years of incarceration saved, and dozens of immigrants spared deportation. This work highlights the firm’s deep commitment to advancing justice, restoring dignity,

Mandatory Pro Bono in the Philippines

September 11, 2025

By Richelle Khor, PBI Intern On February 3, 2025, the Rules on Unified Legal Aid Service (the ULAS Rules) adopted by the Supreme Court of the Philippines took effect, making the Philippines one of a small minority of countries worldwide to implement mandatory pro bono. The ULAS Rules apply to lawyers who are (1) active members of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP), (2) not retired under the by-laws of the IBP, and (3) not subject to an exception under the ULAS Rules. For registered organizations, such as corporations, partnerships, associations, and law firms, the ULAS Rules extend to

LSC Grantees Innovating the Pro Bono of Tomorrow: 2024 Pro Bono Innovation Fund (PBIF) Awards

July 28, 2025

Innovation is key to transforming the landscape of pro bono legal services. Across the United States, Legal Services Corporation (LSC) grantees are pushing the boundaries of traditional legal service delivery by developing various approaches to meeting the needs of underserved communities. Each year, a number of these projects are awarded LSC Pro Bono Innovation Fund (PBIF) grants, allowing them to expand and refine their innovative approaches. Over the past 11 years, 139 projects in 36 jurisdictions have received PBIF grants — a collective investment of over $40,000,000. Current awardees are continuing the PBIF legacy of leveraging technology, partnerships, and new

Sustaining Tenants’ Right to Counsel

July 21, 2025

By Pilar Steward, PBI Intern Right to Counsel (RTC) programs, which jurisdictions across the United States have enacted, are both crucial to helping low-income tenants remain in their homes and provide a well-established return on investment to the governments that fund them. Yet despite their proven effectiveness, RTC programs remain severely underfunded, forcing many to limit eligibility and ultimately failing on the promise of a true “right” to counsel. Now with the expiration of COVID-19 emergency funds and threats to federal and local civil legal aid funding, these programs are at a crossroads. To ensure the survival of RTC programs

Highlights from Pro Bono Institute Annual Conference: Project Development & Volunteer Engagement

July 16, 2025

At the Pro Bono Institute (PBI) 2025 Annual Conference earlier this year, pro bono experts from in-house, law firm, and legal services organizations gathered to share their expertise and to collaborate about the future of pro bono. Here, the PBEye blog highlights two sessions that focused on pro bono project development and volunteer engagement, in different contexts: global pro bono and rapid response pro bono. These sessions are illustrative of the expert panelists, interactive in-depth discussions, and practical takeaways that PBI Annual Conference sessions provide. Global Pro Bono Development At the session titled “Global Projects as Opportunity for Cross-Cutting Collaboration,”

Community-Centered Pro Bono in Singapore

July 7, 2025

By Richelle Khor, PBI Intern Over the past decade, pro bono awareness has been growing within the legal community in Singapore. Lawyers in Singapore have an aspirational target of 25 hours of pro bono service. Opportunities abound in this thriving pro bono market, allowing lawyers to meet and exceed this goal. Join us as we explore the sourcing, regulation, and delivery of pro bono legal services in Singapore. Pro Bono Sources in Singapore Lawyers in Singapore can seek pro bono work from both governmental and non-governmental sources. One governmental source for pro bono matters is The Legal Aid Bureau (LAB)

Spotlight on Educational Justice: Two Case Studies from the Pro Bono Institute Annual Conference

July 1, 2025

At the Pro Bono Institute (PBI) 2025 Annual Conference, two powerful case studies highlighted how pro bono and public interest lawyers are driving systemic reform to improve education for students with disabilities. These sessions offered attendees the opportunity to learn from groundbreaking litigation and advocacy and encouraged them to get involved in this important work. Recordings of these sessions are now available upon request by emailing PBI staff. Case Study #1: The Missing School Bus – Transportation and the Rights of Students with Disabilities In a compelling session, panelists discussed their recent class action lawsuit challenging the District of Columbia’s

Empowering Veterans: KPMG LLP Aligns Business, Culture, and Community

June 27, 2025

KPMG LLP**’s Legal, Regulatory & Compliance Pro Bono & Community Impact Advisory Council’s (“PBCI”) vision is to enable a best-in-class team that aligns strategically with KPMG LLP’s business and culture goals in an environment that fosters engagement, empowerment, professional development, and innovation. The PBCI is committed to providing pro bono legal opportunities to KPMG LLP’s Legal, Regulatory and Compliance team (“KPMG”) to service individuals of limited means and charitable organizations. Additionally, the PBCI identifies, develops, and approve pro bono opportunities for professionals, promotes our pro bono commitment, and cultivates strategic relationships. Damon Dennis, Assistant General Counsel in KPMG LLP’s Office