PBEye Blog - Pro Bono Institute

Pro Bono and CLE Credit: An Underrated Avenue to Increased Access to Justice

November 17, 2023

Wouldn’t it be great to receive continuing legal education (CLE) credit for your public good contributions? In recent years, U.S. jurisdictions have adopted regulations that allow lawyers to receive CLE credit for their pro bono service because it incentivizes lawyers to engage in more pro bono and aids access to justice reforms by providing low-income communities with competent representation to address their legal needs. The birth of CLE credit for pro bono service dates back to the early 2000s. Since then, many states have gradually adopted their own version of pro bono service for CLE credit rules, most recently over

Pro Bono Evolution: A New Maturity Model for In-House Pro Bono

October 30, 2023

The legal department at Microsoft and the Corporate Pro Bono (CPBO®) project of Pro Bono Institute are proud to announce the release of a Pro Bono Maturity Model for in-house pro bono programs. In-house pro bono has grown over the past three decades, with more corporate legal departments creating and implementing formal pro bono programs. The Pro Bono Maturity Model is designed to assist pro bono leaders at departments with robust or longstanding pro bono programs who may wonder how to take their program to the next level. The Maturity Model offers guidance to departments to assess the strengths and

Chief Legal Officer’s Point of View: Doing Well and Doing Good

October 25, 2023

Corporate Pro Bono (CPBO), a global project of Pro Bono Institute (PBI) committed to enhancing in-house pro bono, presented a session at the 2023 Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC) Annual Meeting in San Antonio, Texas this week: Chief Legal Officer’s Point of View: Doing Well and Doing Good. Eve Runyon, President and CEO of PBI, moderated an engaging discussion with Marcus Brown, Executive Vice President & General Counsel of Entergy Corporation, and Hossein Nowbar, Chief Legal Officer of Microsoft Corporation. Entergy and Microsoft both have robust, longstanding pro bono programs. They are signatories to the Corporate Pro Bono Challenge® initiative,

Pfizer Refugee Leadership Initiative

October 25, 2023

The Corporate Pro Bono (CPBO) project is highlighting the legal department of Pfizer for this month’s Signatory Showcase. Pfizer’s Refugee Leadership Initiative has helped Afghan refugees rebuild their careers and homes in the U.S. since 2021. We spoke with Shehzad Siddiqui, a Senior Corporate Counsel in the Pfizer Legal Division’s Corporate Governance group, about this impactful project. Why has the refugee initiative been rewarding for both the partnered law firms and Afghan refugees? Shehzad Siddiqui: In late 2021 Pfizer launched the Pfizer Refugee Leadership Initiative, committing to hiring 100 refugees in 2022. In 2023, we expanded the goal to hiring

2023 Pro Bono Week Preview

October 18, 2023

It’s time to get ready for Pro Bono Week 2023! From October 22-28, attorneys and legal staff from across the nation will have numerous opportunities to participate in pro bono work. During the 2023 National Celebration of Pro Bono, spearheaded by the American Bar Association (ABA), the legal community will unite in a week of giving back, while also fostering connections and relationships among pro bono volunteers. Pro Bono Week presents the legal community with the chance to get involved in increasing access to justice, learn about new legal topics, and gain hands-on experience with pro bono work. This week

Impact of Race in Climate Change

October 12, 2023

For some, climate change is an issue to deal with later. For others, it is a catastrophe they are dealing with now. by Palak Srivastava, PBI Intern Systematic racism is an issue that protrudes into each and every crevice of society, and climate is no exception. Keeping that in mind, discourse about climate change is mostly about rising temperature or increasing carbon emissions. What is left out of many conversations is who exactly is being affected by such climate trends. Environmental injustice refers to the disproportionate impact of climate change that has befallen low income and minority communities. Though much

AI & Pro Bono

September 25, 2023

By PBI Intern Emily Cardona There is a crisis currently within the American justice system, a crisis in access to justice. Under the current approach, there are not enough lawyers to go around. Reform is needed to make the justice system more accessible. Incorporating artificial intelligence (“AI”) may be at least part of the solution. Recent developments in AI have flooded news outlets since systems like ChatGPT became available to the public. These systems have allowed students and organizations to achieve new levels of productivity and creativity. With this, it is still important to note that these systems have significant

Michigan Supreme Court Cites Pro Bono Institute in Recent Decision Allowing Pro Bono Fee Award

September 12, 2023

By Hena Mehta, Sheehan Summer Law Clerk (2023) On July 26, 2023, The Supreme Court of Michigan issued a landmark decision in Woodman v. Department of Corrections regarding pro bono representation as it relates to an attorney fee award amount.[1] The question of whether a reasonable attorney fee award can be lessened based on representation being provided on a pro bono basis was a case of first impression in the state of Michigan.[2] Among other key points, the highest court made clear in their ruling that “pro bono representation is not an appropriate consideration in determining the reasonableness of attorney

Pro Bono & Natural Disaster Recovery: Interview with Alameda County Bar’s Tiela Chalmers

August 21, 2023

By PBI Intern Julianne Alejos Pro Bono Institute (PBI) had the great fortune to interview Tiela Chalmers, the Chief Executive Officer and General Counsel at Alameda County Bar Association, on how pro bono efforts may provide necessary support in natural disaster recovery. The success of the Alameda Legal First Responders program (ALFR) demonstrates how pro bono addresses the rise in demand for an effective disaster legal response network. “Ten years ago, we were still focused on earthquakes,” explains Chalmers, “and we still are working hard on that, but the fires shifted us significantly.” Over the course of 2022, a total

Afghan Refugee Initiative

August 21, 2023

The Corporate Pro Bono (CPBO) project is highlighting the legal department of Zurich North America for this month’s Signatory Showcase. In 2022 Zurich partnered with the National Immigrant Justice Center (NIJC) to co-host an Afghan Asylum Clinic with the Women’s Muslim Resource Center. Zurich North America’s Legal Services Department focuses on supporting its businesses by providing representation and legal services for the company, but each year more than 50 percent of the company’s in-house lawyers also help those less fortunate through volunteering their time and expertise to provide pro bono advice on immigration, estate planning, criminal records relief, and other