We at The PBEye are always excited to hear why our friends are doing pro bono. This week, we hear from Patricia Mugavero, vice president and assistant general counsel, JPMorgan Chase & Co., as she shares her reasons for doing pro bono. YouTube Link
This year marks the 25th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and there is still more work to be done to fight discrimination and promote equal access, independence, opportunity, and freedom from abuse and neglect. Disability rights issues are fertile ground for lawyers, law firms, and legal departments looking to develop or expand their pro bono practice. The range of opportunities is broad and deep, with options for both small and large-scale projects and those that would appeal to litigators and non-litigators alike. Through a variety of pro bono engagements and partnerships with advocacy organizations, pro bono lawyers
Is your firm interested in improving its pro bono program? If so, the spring season, with its emphasis on renewal and growth, makes it the perfect time to check out our Law Firm Pro Bono Self-Assessment Guide, which is designed to help large law firms assess the strengths and weaknesses of their programs and engage in goal-setting and long-term strategic planning. In order to be effective and successful, pro bono programs should be compatible with the firm’s environment, culture, and history. There are a range of ever-evolving factors that shape a firm’s program, such as firm size, geographic location, the
On April 1, new rules approved by the Ohio Supreme Court went into effect, permitting non-locally licensed in-house counsel registered to work in state for their employer to also provide pro bono legal services in Ohio. Under the amended Supreme Court Rules for the Government of the Bar of Ohio (Gov.Bar R. VI, Section 3) and Ohio Rules of Professional Conduct (Prof.Cond.R. 5.5.), registered in-house counsel in Ohio may provide pro bono to “either a person of limited means or a charitable organization” and the legal service is assigned or verified by an approved organization. This is an important step
Today is Yom HaShoah – Holocaust Remembrance Day, a time to commemorate the approximately six million Jews who perished in the Holocaust. Imagine having your family and childhood destroyed by the Nazis, only to be tormented by the crushing burden of poverty in old age. This is unfortunately the reality for a great number of survivors worldwide who live below the poverty line. There are a range of opportunities for pro bono lawyers to help survivors with their legal needs. One inspiring example that has been in the news recently involves a team of pro bono lawyers from Akin Gump
Don’t miss your chance to schedule a house call with the Law Firm Pro Bono Project. We have upcoming trips to Austin, Texas, and Richmond, Va., and we are currently planning our travel schedule for 2015 and early 2016. Make sure your city is one of our destinations! These house calls are part of our expert and confidential consultative services program. Law Firm Pro Bono Project staff visit law firms and meet with firm and office leaders; pro bono committees; pro bono partners, coordinators, directors, and managers; and others to offer individualized assistance. During these meetings we discuss issues and
March Madness is winding down as we head into the Final Four this weekend, and we hope that your brackets are doing as well as ours. The good news is that the excitement doesn’t have to stop on Monday evening after we crown a new champion. The PBEye is thrilled to announce that PBI is partnering with several governing bodies on a new program – Pro Bono Madness! Over the past few years, we’ve seen a rise in various types of informal competitions (i.e., between different offices or practice groups) to boost pro bono performance within law firms. We were
On this week’s episode of Last Week Tonight, John Oliver tackled the issue of criminal justice debt, providing an in-depth look at how relatively small violations can have disastrous effects on the lives of low-income people. He explained how fines and fees arising from traffic and other low-level offenses, often used as a way to fund local governments without raising taxes, can trap those unable to pay in a vicious cycle of debt. Failure to pay a fine can lead to additional surcharges and fees, the suspension of one’s driver’s license, or even jail time in some cases. Furthermore,
Pro bono has become a significant part of the summer associate experience and a crucial differentiator as talented law students make decisions about their futures. Again this year, Law Firm Pro Bono Project staff members are available to speak at events for summer associates. Each summer, we participate in a number of informational programs, during which Project staff, along with firm partners, directors, managers, coordinators, associates, and pro bono committee members, discuss an array of pro bono-related topics, such as: • the relationship of pro bono to professional and skill development; • national trends in pro bono; • “hot” and
The National Law Journal (NLJ) recently shone a spotlight on leading legal departments based in the Minneapolis-St. Paul region and there is at least one thing many of them have in common— commitment to pro bono. In fact, the department that NLJ highlighted as excelling in all categories, Best Buy Co., Inc.** has made pro bono a priority for more than a decade, when the department formalized its program in 2004. Since then, Best Buy’s attorneys have worked on a number of pro bono projects, including staffing expungement and housing clinics and providing assistance in unemployment and family law cases. In
