PBEye Blog - Page 29 of 68 - Pro Bono Institute

Pro Bono Leaders Shine at Transatlantic Legal Awards

June 21, 2016

Legal Week and The American Lawyer recently hosted the 2016 Transatlantic Legal Awards, celebrating achievement by both firms and in-house legal departments in global legal affairs. In particular, The PBEye was thrilled to hear that among the awardees were many leaders with regard to pro bono, including Microsoft Corporation**, its President and Chief Legal Officer Brad Smith, and DLA Piper*†. DLA Piper was recognized as Pro Bono Programme of the Year in honor of its signature pro bono project, aimed at upholding the rights of and providing legal assistance to the roughly 13.9 million immigrants across the globe displaced by war and

It’s Pro Bono Podcast Monday

June 20, 2016

Need some listening material for your upcoming vacation? Tune in to the Law Firm Pro Bono Project’s podcast, the Pro Bono Happy Hour, and learn about exciting and meaningful developments in the world of law firm pro bono. Each week we interview insightful and entertaining expert guests from Law Firm Pro Bono Project Member Firms and Law Firm Pro Bono Challenge® Signatories, and offer a smart, fresh, creative take on pro bono. You don’t want to miss our recent interview with Gary Connelley of Crowley Fleck†. He talks about being a public interest lawyer and his transition, 20 years ago,

Inside the Making of a Pro Bono Video

June 16, 2016

Have you tuned in to the Pro Bono Happy Hour? It’s the Law Firm Pro Bono Project’s podcast that highlights exciting and meaningful developments in the world of law firm pro bono. Each week we interview insightful and entertaining expert guests from Law Firm Pro Bono Project Member Firms and Law Firm Pro Bono Challenge® Signatories, and offer a smart, fresh, creative take on pro bono. We recently spoke with Aileen Bleach of Sutherland Asbill & Brennan*† about the firm’s inspirational new pro bono video. She shares her “behind-the-scenes” perspective and discusses why the firm decided to make a video,

In-House Pro Bono in the News: Continuing the Conversation

June 14, 2016

In May, Corporate Pro Bono was featured on Legal Executive Institute, a Thomson Reuters website that offers insight into the profession of law and the legal marketplace through blog commentary and legal news analysis. In the piece Benchmarking In-House Pro Bono: CPBO Challenge Hits 10-Year Milestone, Eve Runyon, President and CEO of PBI, recounts the progress of the CPBO Challenge® initiative, “During the past 10 years the initiative has become the industry standard, with nearly 150 signatories from organizations that provide pro bono service in more than 44 countries. CPBO Challenge® signatories range in terms of size, industry and location, but they all

How Do You Measure A Year?

June 9, 2016

With the Tony Awards on Sunday night fast approaching, our initial answers are borrowed liberally from the lyrics of Rent: Five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred minutes? In daylights? In sunsets? In midnights? In cups of coffee? In inches? In miles? In laughter? In strife? In love? Yes, to all of the above. In part, we measure a law firm pro bono program’s year in hours, attorney participation rates, hours per attorney, pro bono time as a percentage of billable time, pro bono for those of limited means, and charitable giving to legal services organizations. How was 2015? Stay tuned.

The PBEye Salutes Solicitor General Donald Verrilli

June 3, 2016

After five years as Solicitor General of the United States, Donald Verrilli will be stepping down from the position. Verrilli is well known not only as a gifted orator but a staunch advocate for pro bono. PBI was honored to have him join us at the 2015 PBI Annual Conference to discuss his passion for access to justice and his hopes for the future of pro bono. When asked about whether he advises others to share his personal goal of spending at least 10 percent of his hours on pro bono matters he said: The way it looks to me now

Best Legal Departments of 2016

May 31, 2016

Corporate Counsel recently released its list of the Best Legal Departments of 2016, and it came as no surprise to The PBEye that the legal departments at Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company (HPE)** and Viacom Inc.** were two of the four featured for their members’ abilities to multitask. HPE’s legal department earned its place on Corporate Counsel’s list for its handling of Hewlett-Packard Co.’s split – the largest corporate split in history – into HPE and Hewlett Packard Inc. “while still succeeding in other areas such as litigation, talent development and pro bono.” Success with regard to HPE’s pro bono program was

Guest Blog: More Free Legal Ed for Nonprofits in Ohio

May 24, 2016

On May 13, ACC Central Ohio Chapter (CO-ACC), United Way of Central Ohio (UWCO), CPBO, and Barnes & Thornburg*† hosted another in its series of free legal education programs for nonprofits in Columbus, Ohio. The program, started in 2013, was originally inspired by the Clinic in a Box® program. The presentation topics were Ohio’s laws on fundraising and the regulatory landscape for fundraising for nonprofits, as well as the business of fundraising for nonprofits. The speakers at this session were Veronica Bennu, managing counsel at Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company** and Sera Koulabdara, the development officer at Make-a-Wish Foundation. The speakers each

CPBO Challenge® Signatories Shine in America’s 50 Outstanding General Counsel

May 17, 2016

The National Law Journal recently released its annual ranking of America’s 50 Outstanding General Counsel, which recognizes chief legal officers who lead not only their legal teams but in their communities. Highlighting the growing importance of in-house pro bono, the NLJ considers each CLO’s dedication to providing pro bono work to the underrepresented when selecting the 50 outstanding general counsel. The PBEye is excited to note that 15 of the 50 attorneys listed as America’s outstanding general counsel lead departments that are signatories to the Corporate Pro Bono Challenge® initiative: Ricardo Anzaldua (MetLife Inc.**) Ona Alston Dosunmu (The Brookings Institution**) Cameron Findlay (Archer-Daniels-Midland

Hot Off the Presses!

May 12, 2016

Summer associates and the next recruiting season at major law firms will be here before we know it, and many law students around the country are looking to join firms where pro bono is an integral part of the culture. We are honored to be able to promote our Law Firm Pro Bono Challenge® Signatories and their demonstrated commitment to pro bono. As part of these efforts, the Law Firm Pro Bono Project recently distributed its annual Challenge poster to the career services offices of all ABA-accredited law schools. The poster lists every Challenge Signatory, raises the visibility of these