PBEye Blog - Pro Bono Institute

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

CPBO Organizes GC and CLO Support for Federal Funding of Civil Legal Aid

June 23, 2025

On June 17, 2025, 104 legal department leaders submitted a letter calling on Congress to fund the Legal Services Corporation (LSC). LSC is the cornerstone of civil legal aid in the United States, providing vital funding and infrastructure to legal aid organizations that serve low-income communities in need, as well as supporting pro bono efforts by law firms and legal departments. Pro Bono Institute (PBI), through its global in-house project, Corporate Pro Bono (CPBO), worked in partnership with the National Legal Aid & Defender Association (NLADA) to invite General Counsel and Chief Legal Officers to sign the letter asking Congress

Insights from the 2025 Equal Justice Conference: Expanding Pro Bono Impact with Expert Support

June 11, 2025

At the 2025 Equal Justice Conference, hosted by the American Bar Association and National Legal Aid & Defender Association, Pro Bono Institute (PBI) organized and led “Building Bridges: Enhancing Impact Through Strategic Partnerships with Experts.” The standing-room-only panel offered a compelling vision for how collaboration with expert services providers can expand the reach and effectiveness of pro bono legal services. The discussion reflected growing interest in the role of expert consultants in strengthening both legal advocacy and organizational capacity. Moderated by Erin Palmer, Associate Director of Corporate Pro Bono, Pro Bono Institute, the panel featured insights from Lisa Dane, Charles

5 Takeaways from the PBI 2025 Annual Conference

June 2, 2025

Earlier this year Pro Bono Institute (PBI) hosted its Annual Conference, bringing together pro bono leaders from law firms, in-house legal departments, and public interest organizations to explore innovative strategies for expanding access to justice. From plenaries to candid discussions, the Conference was a dynamic space for reigniting our collective commitment to justice and preparing for the opportunities and challenges ahead. Select Conference sessions are available on-demand through Practising Law Institute (PLI). Pre-Conference and Conference attendees received an email from PBI with information on how to access these recordings for FREE through October 31, 2025, as part of their Conference

Resilience and Representation: A Legal Path Forward for Asylum Seekers

May 28, 2025

PBI Signatory Showcase Interview with Stinson LLP* In the face of a growing humanitarian need, Stinson has stepped up with a powerful response. Through its Deinard Legal Clinic—the nation’s oldest firm-led medical legal partnership—Stinson launched a pro se asylum project to support newly arrived West African asylum seekers, primarily from Guinea and Liberia. For this Signatory Showcase, we spoke to Tim D. Sanders Szabo, Pro Bono Attorney at Stinson LLP, about this initiative. Please tell us about this project. Our firm runs the Deinard Legal Clinic, a legal clinic at the Community University Health Care Center (CUHCC). The Deinard Legal