Celebrating Women’s History Month with an Access to Justice Pioneer

March is Women’s History Month, dedicated to the many achievements and contributions of women throughout American history, including women in the legal profession. Among the women to have pioneered access to justice in law is Clara Shortridge Foltz, a once-celebrated but now largely forgotten public servant. Foltz was the first woman on the Pacific Coast to pass the bar after first lobbying the California legislature to change a legal code that allowed only white males to become lawyers. Foltz had a successful corporate practice and also represented many indigent defendants in criminal trials where she witnessed rampant prosecutorial misconduct and

Read More »

John Oliver Takes On Voting Rights

  The presidential primaries are in full swing and The PBEye was pleased to see that John Oliver kicked off season three of Last Week Tonight with a timely segment about voting rights. He took aim at states that have implemented voting restrictions following the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Shelby County v. Holder, which weakened the Voting Rights Act. According to Oliver, “Since 2011, seven states have curtailed early voting and 13 have added requirements that voters show some kind of ID at the polls.” After showing clips of state lawmakers claiming that these new voting requirements are simply

Read More »

It’s Pro Bono Podcast Monday

Leap day is here, which means you have some extra time to catch up on any Pro Bono Happy Hour episodes you may have missed. Tune in to the Law Firm Pro Bono Project’s podcast 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. Check out our recent two-part interview with Pam Wandzel of Fredrikson & Byron*†, where she talks

Read More »

It’s Pro Bono Podcast Monday

Too much fun at your Super Bowl party yesterday? Need an antidote for the Monday blues? Tune in to the Law Firm Pro Bono Project’s podcast, the Pro Bono Happy Hour, and learn about 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 episodes, featuring Scottie Brown of Hunton & Williams*† and Jonathan Baum of

Read More »

Warm Up This Winter with Pro Bono

The National Law Journal recently released its annual Pro Bono Hot List, which showcases significant and noteworthy pro bono efforts at major law firms. This year’s issue recognized 10 Law Firm Pro Bono Challenge® Signatories and/or Law Firm Pro Bono Project Member Firms for “raising the bar” through their inspiring and exceptional pro bono initiatives: Chadbourne & Parke*† (advising a Virginia task force on the creation of a human trafficking prevention foundation); Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton* (winning a unanimous jury verdict in New Jersey against a firm promising “conversion therapy” for LGBTQ youth); DLA Piper*† (working with Texas Appleseed

Read More »

Law Firm Pro Bono Challenge® Reporting Is Now Open!

Reporting season for the 2015 calendar year is now open. We have emailed unique survey links to all Law Firm Pro Bono Challenge® Signatories, so be sure to check your spam filter if you did not receive yours. The deadline for reporting is February 26. Each year, Challenge Signatories provide a brief, electronic report to the Law Firm Pro Bono Project on their progress in meeting the Challenge. The individual firm data is kept confidential, but each submission provides the basis for critically important aggregate statistics about trends in law firm pro bono. Please assist us in communicating the good

Read More »

May the Pro Bono Force Be With You (Part One)

Millions of people around the world – including us – were swept up in the excitement surrounding the much-anticipated release of “Star Wars: The Force Awakens.” The new blockbuster has gotten us thinking about how Yoda’s classic insights and wisdom are universal and can be readily applied to law firm pro bono. We’ve come up with a few pieces of his advice that apply today just as well as they did a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away: “Do. Or do not. There is no try.” Yoda’s most memorable quote is particularly apt for January. With the

Read More »

Pro Bono Gift Round-Up

Happy Holidays from The PBEye! Choosing the perfect gift during the holiday season is always a challenge. Fortunately, we are here to help with a round-up of our favorite pro bono gift ideas. • A gift that would appeal to pro bono supporters and their children, and to those who are still kids at heart, is Mommy and Daddy Do It Pro Bono. The book aims to inspire the next generation to give back to their communities and explores the importance of social responsibility. • For a look at pro bono outside the legal profession, check out The Power of

Read More »

Time Flies

Does your law firm’s pro bono timekeeping have room for improvement? Check out the Law Firm Pro Bono Project’s new resource, Where Does the Time Go? Practice Tips for Pro Bono Timekeeping and Matter Management, designed to help firms strengthen their practices and procedures for tracking pro bono time. Pro bono timekeeping can be a straight-forward, yet indispensable, way for a firm to illustrate and assess its commitment to pro bono and access to justice. Whether your firm is starting from scratch, undertaking a comprehensive system overhaul, or making minor adjustments, there are steps you can take to maximize your

Read More »

It’s Pro Bono Podcast Monday

Need an antidote for the Monday blues? 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 latest episodes, featuring John Fleming of Sutherland Asbill & Brennan*† and Julie LaEace of Kirkland & Ellis*†. Subscribe to the Pro Bono Happy

Read More »