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Just Released: Law Firm Pro Bono Staffing Survey Report

January 10, 2013

Over the summer, the Law Firm Pro Bono Project conducted a survey to obtain current information about pro bono staffing at large law firms. We frequently receive requests from firms regarding trends in pro bono staffing and the survey results enable us to provide accurate information about the evolving law firm pro bono staffing ecosystem. The 2012 report on this survey has been published and provides an update to similar surveys conducted in 2001 and 2007. The report – the most comprehensive of its kind – documents the detailed information obtained from more than 100 respondents from 89 different law

Your Guide to Global Pro Bono is Here

December 6, 2012

PBI is pleased to introduce the 2012 edition of Latham & Watkins LLP’s* “Survey of Pro Bono Practices and Opportunities in Select Jurisdictions.” A compilation of reliable and locally sourced information, the 2012 Survey offers chapters on more than 70 countries – from Angola to Venezuela – that describe the legal landscape and provide essential details about local legal aid programs, unmet legal needs, and rules that shape the framework for pro bono legal services. The survey is a useful tool for law firms, legal departments, and others interested in understanding pro bono services around the globe and who seek

The Three Rs

November 29, 2012

We spend a lot of time thinking, talking, and writing about why lawyers, law firms, and legal departments should do pro bono work. Many of the benefits of pro bono work, both the easily measureable ones and those less quantifiable, support an unwavering business rationale for pro bono and for institutional engagement. It is critical that pro bono supporters persuasively identify the aspects of pro bono work that, when appropriately structured and woven into the fabric of the workplace, yield important institutional benefits for the law firm or legal department and its attorneys, in addition to the clients and communities

Protecting Women from Violence with Pro Bono

November 26, 2012

On November 25, the world celebrated the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. Around the world, violence against women and girls has become one of the most pervasive tragedies of our time. According to UN Women, up to 70 percent of women experience physical or sexual violence in their lifetime. The group also states that acts of violence cause more death and disability than cancer, malaria, traffic accidents, and war combined, in women ages 15 to 44. These statistics are among the reasons why the United Nations designated a day of recognition to promote awareness of violence

In Support of Our Elders

November 21, 2012

Nearly 50% of the legal departments that responded to CPBO’s 2010 benchmarking survey provide pro bono legal services to the elderly. The following highlights a few of the many projects The PBEye has identified, in which in-house counsel have dedicated their time to assist elderly clients in need. Wills Clinics for the Elderly Many legal departments participate in clinics that assist with end-of-life planning. Among them, Caterpillar, Inc.** often partners with an outside firm and a legal services provider to host clinics in its headquarters in Peoria, Ill., as well as in Chicago, where attorneys aid the elderly in preparing

In-House Pro Bono Efforts Aiding Our Nation’s Youth

November 20, 2012

November 20 is Universal Children’s Day! Established by the United Nations to promote the welfare of children worldwide, this day commemorates the Assembly’s 1959 adoption of the Declaration of the Rights of the Child, and 1989 Convention on the Rights of the Child. In honor of Universal Children’s Day, The PBEye notes the many ways in-house attorneys improve the lives of children by providing them with quality pro bono legal services. Providing Legal Services for Immigrant Children Unaccompanied immigrant children in the U.S. often face unimaginably dire situations, regardless of whether they fled here or were coerced for forced labor.

Guest Blog: Attorneys, Advocates, and Law Students Collaborate with Appleseed to Reimagine U.S. Immigration Courts

November 12, 2012

By Betsy Cavendish, Appleseed, and Malcolm Rich and Katy Welter, Chicago Appleseed Collaborating across firms, disciplines, and cities, a team of attorneys, advocates, and law students evaluated the federal Immigration Court system and recently released its findings in “Reimagining the Immigration Court Assembly Line: Transformative Change for the Immigration Justice System.” The report is the product of a model approach to pro bono advocacy efforts, and work to implement its reforms has already begun. “Reimagining the Immigration Court Assembly Line” grades the U.S. Immigration Court system’s response to recommendations from the team’s 2009 “Assembly Line Injustice” report. Pro bono attorney

Pro Bono After Hurricane Sandy

November 8, 2012

Last week, millions of people on the East Coast were thrown into a state of disarray by Hurricane Sandy. Despite the destruction created by the storm, there were many inspiring stories of strangers helping each other. From individuals setting up charging stations for their neighbors without power, to restaurants providing free food to victims, the days following Hurricane Sandy have been filled with random acts of kindness. Naturally, times of crisis prompt many of us to take action to help those in need and lawyers are no exception. Attorneys in the tri-state area have been quick to respond to the

Honoring Our Veterans Through Pro Bono

November 7, 2012

Aimee Sherrod was only 25 years old when she was discharged from the Air Force. She was deployed three times from 2001-2005, serving in both Iraq and Pakistan, where she frequently saw the horrors of war firsthand. After being diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), Sherrod was separated from the military and was denied the military retirement benefits to which she was entitled. She married and started a family, but her young family suffered from the financial burden of purchasing healthcare, and they could not afford an essential surgery her son needed. In 2008, the National Veterans Legal Services Program

Pro Bono Me-Tooism

October 25, 2012

A few years ago, Bill and Melinda Gates and Warren E. Buffett created the Giving Pledge—to stimulate discussions about philanthropy among the ultra-wealthy and unleash a wave of “me-tooism” among others that would help solve our most pressing problems and bring about “the Second Great Wave of Philanthropy.” Each person who chooses to pledge makes a public statement in support of a moral commitment to give the majority of their wealth to philanthropic causes and serves as a role model to others, of all financial means and backgrounds. The concept has caught on quickly; Giving Pledge commitments have increased from