PBEye Blog - Page 14 of 67 - Pro Bono Institute

Doing Pro Bono to Preserve Democracy

September 6, 2018

With the 2018 midterm elections around the corner, an added spotlight is placed on ensuring the right to vote in jurisdictions across the United States, and pro bono lawyers have played a unique role in protecting the right to vote for individuals and marginalized communities. In the last seven years, dozens of states have adopted a range of laws that impact voting. In 2017, legislatures in Arkansas, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Montana, and North Dakota passed laws that impose voter ID requirements, purge voters, and limit voter registration drives. Opponents of these regulations argue that they have a disproportionate impact on

When Skills Meet Needs

August 17, 2018

A recent Stanford University-led study found that a majority of adults over the age of 50 highly value “prosocial” behaviors, actions that are positive, caring, helpful and of benefit to others. The study also found that one third of older adults exhibit a need for a purpose that is beyond themselves. This one-third equates to more than 34 million people who dedicate their time to addressing the needs of others and making the world a better place. As a benefit, those who engage in prosocial behaviors reported a more positive outlook on life and positive effects on health. Like the Stanford’s study,

The Numbers Are In!

August 16, 2018

The Law Firm Pro Bono Project recently published its Report on the Law Firm Pro Bono Challenge® which found that 129 firms collectively demonstrated increased totals in pro bono hours, average hours per attorney, average pro bono percentage, and attorney participation rates. In 2017, signatories reported performing 4,988,525 hours or pro bono work, the largest annual amount since the inception of the Challenge Report in 1995. The annual Report examines the pro bono activities of signatories to the Challenge which serves as a unique and inspirational standard for law firms. In a time when threats to the rule of the law, uncertainty,

Freddie Mac Lawyers Step Up to Represent Immigrants

July 31, 2018

Although some in-house lawyers gravitate toward discrete, time-limited pro bono opportunities, there are long-term engagements that in-house counsel have engaged in with great success. Immigration is one area, for instance, in which in-house attorneys have effectively provided longer term pro bono services. Attorneys at Freddie Mac**have been working on immigration cases as part of their pro bono program for three and a half years. Freddie Mac exemplifies a legal department that has successfully sustained its long-term representation of immigrant detainees. With the current climate of heightened interest in immigration issues, and the critical need for lawyers to assist detained families, we

From Clinic in a Box® to Community Center: How GGP Helped the American Indian Center Find a New Home

June 29, 2018

Little did a team of GGP attorneys know when they were assigned to assist the American Indian Center (AIC) at a Clinic in a Box® program that it would lead to a three-year pro bono relationship spanning a variety of corporate matters and culminating in a complex real estate deal to find a new home for AIC’s community center. Corporate Pro Bono asked the attorneys at GGP to share their remarkable experience in representing a pro bono client on a long-term engagement. Their story demonstrates the profound impact pro bono can have for both the client and volunteers. AIC was founded

Pro Bono at the Border and Beyond

June 25, 2018

Lawyers are stepping up to meet a need once again, as the pro bono community has been mobilizing on the behalf of those in DHS custody along the border. There has been an amazing response by pro bono lawyers to address issues from family detention to reunification, arising from the separation of families at the United States’ borders. PBI reached out to Ellyn Josef of Vinson & Elkins*† and Karen Grisez of Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson*† to discuss their work at the border and beyond and how others can get involved. Where and what is the greatest need? KG: The greatest need

Salary Wars and Law Firm Pro Bono

June 13, 2018

Here we go again. In early June, Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy*† announcedthat it was increasing starting salaries to $190,000. (Law firms made significant changes to the associate compensation scale in 2007, just prior to the Great Recession, and in 1999, in advance of the dot-com crash.) Predictably, Milbank’s move triggered similar raises with firms announcing matching (or more generous) compensation scales, even raising the salaries for their summer associates who just arrived from law schools. This pattern may continue, as “salary wars” are once again being waged at major law firms across the United States. As of now, decisions about compensation are still

Pro Bono Summer Reading

May 31, 2018

Summer is finally here! No, it’s not technically yet, but it feels like it should be! There is no time like the present to get your summer reading in order and we have recommendations for you. This summer, we are focusing our suggestions on criminal justice reform and its many issues, including mass incarceration, racial disparity in prosecuting and sentencing, and the criminalization of poverty. PBI has been directly involved in criminal justice reform efforts through our Minnesota Collaborative Justice Project. The Project involves stakeholders from more than 25 organizations working together to reduce recidivism and dramatically improve the experiences and

The Pro Bono Power Launch: How Leidos Hit the Ground Running

May 15, 2018

Since its inception in 2000, CPBO has helped countless in-house departments start and expand their pro bono programs. Despite the upward trend in in-house involvement, launching a brand-new pro bono program can present a daunting task for a legal department. With this in mind, CPBO reached out to Kristin Grimes, an attorney at Leidos, Inc.**, who recently spearheaded the successful launch of her department’s pro bono program, incorporating key elements CPBO has identified in its guide to getting started. We asked Kristin to share some insights and lessons learned about the process. You can read more about Leidos’ pro bono program here.

Loaned Lawyers: A Win-Win-Win

April 26, 2018

Want to make a meaningful difference and improve access to justice? Looking for new ideas for professional development? Are you interested in new pro bono opportunities? A rotation or externship program may be the solution. Also known as secondments, an externship or rotation is when a law firm “loans” a lawyer to an outside organization. The attorney will typically work in a legal services, public interest, government, or other host organization full-time while still employed at their law firm. On the Pro Bono Happy Hour, we spoke with Amy Barasch, Susie Hoffman, and Becca Naylor about how loaned lawyer programs