PBEye Blog - Page 59 of 65 - Pro Bono Institute

CPBO Spotlight On: Caterpillar Inc.

September 28, 2011

Caterpillar established a pro bono program in 2006, under the leadership of Senior Vice President and Chief Legal Officer Jim Buda, who recognized the benefits of developing a pro bono program, both for the legal division and for the communities in which the company operates. In five short years, the legal division, which consists of more than 300 attorneys and staff in 26 offices worldwide, has provided thousands of hours of pro bono legal services to those in need. In addition, a Charter Signatory to the Corporate Pro Bono ChallengeSM, the Caterpillar legal division has met the Challenge’s 50 percent

Predicting the Future by Shaping It

September 23, 2011

At a time when so there is so much uncertainty about the economy and the future, it may seem counterintuitive that PBI is seeing a growing trend in requests for assistance in undertaking strategic planning focused on pro bono from law firms and legal departments. Upon reflection, however, the growth in this part of PBI’s consultative services practice is not surprising. Given the profound shifts in law firm and legal department overall policies and practices, taking a long hard look at the firm or department’s pro bono program to ensure that it is complementary to and fully aligned with the

CPBO Spotlight On: LexisNexis Group

September 21, 2011

LexisNexis is a leading global provider of business information solutions to a wide range of professionals in numerous industries. Under the leadership of Ken Thompson, a staunch supporter of pro bono, the LexisNexis legal department has undertaken a number of impactful pro bono initiatives. Southern Africa Litigation Center In 2007, LexisNexis launched its first pro bono project, which offers support to the Southern Africa Litigation Center (SALC). SALC trains attorneys, supports human rights cases, and carries out other programs to advance the rule of law. In partnership with local lawyers and human rights NGOs, SALC identifies the specific constitutional and

Partnerships at Work: Ford and LAD

September 19, 2011

Now that you’ve read about the successful pro bono partnership developed by our friends at ExxonMobil and Hunton & Williams LLP*, The PBEye would like to share the story of another important collaboration between Ford Motor Company** and the Legal Aid and Defender Association, Inc. (LAD). Ford first partnered with LAD in March 2010 to pilot a food stamp clinic. The clinic seeks to assist the growing number of people living in poverty in Detroit, which recently exceeded 30 percent of the population, resulting in an overwhelming number of food stamp benefit cases being referred to government caseworkers. During the clinic,

Chicago Firms Tackle Pro Bono Strategically

September 12, 2011

The PBEye was delighted to see a recent article in Chicago Lawyer Magazine highlighting Chicago-based law firms committed to making pro bono an institutional priority. The article cites the findings from the 2010 Law Firm Pro Bono Challenge Report, and how these firms have responded to the “ebb and flow” of attorneys’ pro bono participation over time. The firms quoted in the article include DLA Piper LLP*, Holland & Knight LLP*, Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP, Mayer Brown LLP*, SNR Denton*, and Winston & Strawn LLP*. The article highlights three strategic tactics to increase pro bono participation at large law firms:

Russia’s Pro Bono Revolution

September 8, 2011

Until a few years ago, pro bono was a largely unfamiliar concept in Russia. According to an article in The Moscow Times, Russia’s recent pro bono revolution comes at an opportune time when Russian nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) are in dire need of legal support: The legal environment for NGOs has become more challenging. New registration requirements and complex tax regulations have added a heavy burden to NGO operations, and securing access to affordable legal support is now critical to strengthening civil society. It is here that both international and local firms can have the greatest impact. Over the past few years, pro bono lawyers from Clifford Chance and other Russia-based law firms have

ExxonMobil and Hunton & Williams Team Up

September 2, 2011

With care and planning, partnerships between and among legal departments, law firms, and legal service providers can be a useful way to pool resources, increase capacity, and share ideas to help a greater number of people in need. The PBEye loves to hear about successful pro bono partnerships, and we are excited to share their stories with you in a series of blogs in the coming months. The northern Virginia office of ExxonMobil Corporation and the McLean, Va., office of Hunton & Williams LLP* formed a partnership in 2009, tapping their combined resources to serve the northern Virginia community. As its

Pro Bono Benchmarking

August 31, 2011

In our surveys of large law firms, PBI has been delighted to discover that the performance benchmark associated with our Law Firm Pro Bono Challenge® – 3 or 5 percent of total billable hours – is the goal now used by the majority of those firms. In other words, the Challenge benchmark is now the gold standard for pro bono performance among that important segment of the legal profession. Recent developments show that the Challenge goals are now increasingly being viewed as the industry standard for the legal profession as a whole. The goal was recently cited in a New

Planning Your In-House Pro Bono Budget

August 25, 2011

As the U.S. continues to learn, it’s important to think about budgets early and often. While many of us are still in summer mode, it is never too early to start thinking about your legal department’s 2012 pro bono budget. Many budgets are due by the end of the third quarter so that they can be discussed and, hopefully, approved by year end. End of third quarter is less than 40 days away. Has your department started thinking about it? As The PBEye previously reported, CPBO conducted an in-house pro bono benchmarking survey for 2010. Survey says! Nearly 46 percent of the legal departments that responded include

VIDEO: Helping Lawyers Help Immigrants in Need

August 24, 2011

It comes as a surprise to many to learn that, in the United States, an immigrant detainee facing deportation who cannot afford to hire an attorney is not appointed one. Without the assistance of pro bono counsel, many immigrants – some of them asylum seekers and victims of violent crimes – are denied the opportunity to identify legal recourse or present their cases to the courts. To learn how pro bono lawyers can help immigrant detainees gain access to justice, we spoke to Maria Odom, executive director of the Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc. (CLINIC). Maria gave us some interesting