How Do You Measure A Year?

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.

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The PBEye Salutes Solicitor General Donald Verrilli

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

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Best Legal Departments of 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

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Guest Blog: More Free Legal Ed for Nonprofits in Ohio

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

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

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

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Hot Off the Presses!

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

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Giving Back at Work

The PBEye was thrilled to see three Law Firm Pro Bono Project Members Firms and Challenge Signatories make Fortune’s list of 50 Best Workplaces for Giving Back: Alston & Bird*†; Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz*†; and Cooley*†. Fortune enlisted the help of Great Place to Work, which surveyed employees at more than 600 companies about the difference they make at work, the meaningfulness of their jobs, and the impact they feel their employer makes in its community. Their evaluations also considered the generosity of each company’s community-oriented programs, relative to its size and revenue. As we have long known,

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It’s Pro Bono Podcast Monday

Need a new podcast to add to your line-up? 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 Kate Fritz, Managing Partner of Fenwick & West*†. She discusses law firm leadership, the importance of integrating pro

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Exercise Trackers and Pro Bono Motivators

We were intrigued so see so many attendees at last month’s PBI Annual Conference wearing exercise trackers, and this observation got us thinking: these devices have changed lives. Why? No doubt many people had been walking a lot before they got their trackers, but they probably had no idea what they had accomplished. Now, they cannot let even one day (including one spent sitting in inspiring Conference sessions) go by in which they don’t reach their pre-set goals. We imagine attendees took repeated walks to see the cherry blossoms or even walked around their hotel rooms at night to reach

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Virginia’s Ongoing Commitment to Pro Bono

On April 20, the Chief Justice of the Virginia Supreme Court convened the 2016 Pro Bono Summit, sponsored by The Virginia Bar Association (VBA) and organized by a committee of the VBA’s recently appointed Pro Bono Council.  A biennial event, the first Virginia Pro Bono Summit was called in 2000 by then-Virginia Supreme Court Chief Justice Leroy Rountree Hassell, Sr., to expand the availability of free legal services for those unable to afford an attorney. The 2016 Summit began with remarks by current Chief Justice Donald W. Lemons, a welcome by VBA President James Patrick Guy II, an introduction by

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