PBEye Blog - Page 17 of 67 - Pro Bono Institute

The Year of the Law Firm Merger

October 26, 2017

According to every indication, 2017 is poised to be a record year for law firm mergers. Altman Weil’s MergerLine reports that the end of the third quarter of this year, there have already been 76 deals. This pace signals that the 2015 record of 91 deals is likely to be broken and experts predict that there could be more than 100 combinations this year. Mergers involve many complicated and moving pieces (compensation policies; client conflicts issues; leadership and administrative reorganization and consolidation; etc.) and can create anxiety and tension. Pro bono, however, can be an effective piece of a larger

It’s Pro Bono Podcast Monday: A Conversation with Mary Gay Scanlon

October 23, 2017

Mary Gay Scanlon of Ballard Spahr*† joins PBI on the Law Firm Pro Bono Project’s podcast, the Pro Bono Happy Hour, to explore how she connects lawyers with pro bono opportunities tailored to their interests, motivates attorneys with a sticker incentive program and alerts, and how the firm’s upcoming merger with Lindquist & Vennum will reinforce both firms’ strong commitments to pro bono. Mary Gay also discusses the increase in immigration-related pro bono since January, pro bono efforts to promote access to nutritious food, broadcasting leadership’s pro bono work throughout the firm, and cultivating a mindfulness practice to reduce stress.

It’s Pro Bono Podcast Monday: A Conversation with Eliza Vorenberg

October 16, 2017

Eliza Vorenberg from the Roger Williams University School of Law joins us on the Law Firm Pro Bono Project’s podcast, the Pro Bono Happy Hour, to explore her career, the Pro Bono Collaborative, which connects law firms, attorneys, and law students to community organizations that need pro bono legal services, and the access to justice culture in Rhode Island. We also discuss the wide variety of law student pro bono opportunities; the role of volunteer attorney mentors: expungement clinics; providing civil legal advice to individuals in a medium security prison and tax assistance clinics for low-income residents; and more. Take

It’s Pro Bono Podcast Monday: A Conversation with BJ Jensen

October 9, 2017

BJ Jensen of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison*† joins us on the Law Firm Pro Bono Project’s podcast, the Pro Bono Happy Hour, to discuss his role as the firm’s first Pro Bono Associate, the firm’s pro bono work for immigrants, transgender clients, and more. He describes how he infuses emails with the personal relationships he’s built throughout the firm to better recruit volunteers to staff pro bono matters. BJ also discusses how the firm leadership’s deep commitment to pro bono encouraged them to quickly mobilize in response to January’s travel ban and engage in meaningful “airport advocacy.” Take

Ferguson, Fines, and Fees

October 5, 2017

Check out our most recent webinar produced in partnership with West LegalEdcenter, Ferguson, Fines, and Fees, to explore inspiring developments in the effort to decriminalize poverty and how pro bono lawyers can be of help. Since the killing of Michael Brown in August 2014, St. Louis and its neighboring municipalities including Ferguson, Missouri, have been frequently cited for legal and moral failings in the region’s municipal justice system, which routinely sends thousands of people to jail because they cannot pay legal fines and fees. Poor and African-American people are disproportionately affected. The events in Ferguson, Missouri shined a spotlight on

Ferguson, Fines, and Fees

October 5, 2017

It’s Pro Bono Podcast Monday: A Conversation with Kat McGee

October 2, 2017

Katharyn Christian McGee of Duane Morris*† joins us on the Law Firm Pro Bono Project’s podcast, the Pro Bono Happy Hour, to discuss the firm’s medical-legal partnerships, protecting survivors of domestic violence and sex trafficking, and one of her favorite parts of her job: getting to know every attorney at the firm. Kat advises getting associates “hooked” on pro bono early in their careers and finding niche pro bono areas that are underserved by other firms and that appeal to individual attorneys. Take 50 minutes to listen to our conversation with Kat about how pro bono “feeds the soul.” Subscribe

Pro Bono Innovation and Evaluation

September 21, 2017

We are constantly amazed and inspired by the brilliant pro bono work being done every day to improve and save lives. Despite the passion and generosity of pro bono lawyers, we continue to confront a persistent access to justice crisis. In response, the legal community has been experimenting with innovative approaches to close the justice gap. A key component of innovation, however, must be evaluation. Our friend Jonathan Asher of Colorado Legal Services once said that the problem with legal assistance is that it has “too many uncritical lovers and too many unloving critics.” Now more than ever, pro bono

It’s Pro Bono Podcast Monday: A Conversation with Greg McConnell (Part 2)

September 18, 2017

“What does it mean to build a culture of pro bono?” In the continuation of our conversation with Greg McConnell of Winston & Strawn*†, we explore how pro bono is “more than winning” and how he, his pro bono team, and firm leadership took the program from “good” to “excellent,” including integrating pro bono into its firm-wide strategic plan. Take 40 minutes to listen to part two of our conversation with Greg on the Law Firm Pro Bono Project’s podcast, the Pro Bono Happy Hour. If you missed part one, it is available on Apple Podcasts and YouTube. Subscribe to

Pro Bono Happy Hour Podcast, Special Edition: DACA

September 14, 2017

PBI recently released a special edition of the Law Firm Pro Bono Project’s podcast, the Pro Bono Happy Hour, in response to the cancellation of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. President and CEO Eve Runyon also released a statement about PBI’s support for our stakeholders who are providing legal assistance to DACA recipients and other immigrants. In this episode, we talk with Chris Marquardt of Alston & Bird*†, David March of the Minnesota Corporate Pro Bono Council, and Liz Markuci of Volunteers of Legal Service (VOLS) about the impacts the cancellation of DACA will have on immigrant