PBEye Blog - Page 61 of 68 - Pro Bono Institute

VIDEO: Pro Bono for Global Social Change

October 25, 2011

The PBEye has been excited to report on various global pro bono efforts that have harnessed the power of attorneys to affect social change. So of course we were delighted to talk to Edwin Rekosh, executive director of PILnet (formerly the Public Interest Law Institute), abut his organization’s mission to promote the use of law for social change. Internationally, civil society organizations are using legal tools to pursue certain public interests, but don’t always have the backing of pro bono lawyers that they do in the U.S. That’s where PILnet seeks to strengthen pro bono culture to assist foreign NGOs.

Ford, Dykema , and CLR Team Up

October 25, 2011

In 2008, Ford Motor Company**, Dykema Gossett PLLC*, and Community Legal Resources (CLR) conceived of a program to provide legal support to Michigan nonprofit organizations. In the wake of the recession, the nonprofits faced significant financial hardship and found it increasingly difficult to serve their clients. Michigan was one of the states hit hardest by the economic downturn, rendering the services provided by nonprofit organizations all the more important. Witnessing the vulnerability of nonprofits in the state, Ford, Dykema, and CLR developed a program called the Nonprofit Survival Clinic to help implement legal strategies to improve their financial wellbeing. In preparation

TKO for Pro Bono

October 17, 2011

The PBEye sends special congratulations to Dewey Bozella on winning his first and only professional boxing match on Saturday. As we’ve reported on this blog previously, Bozella was an amateur boxer when he as wrongfully convicted of murder and spent 26 years in prison. He was released in 2008 thanks to the hard work of attorneys at Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale & Dorr LLP*, which took his case pro bono. Incidentally, Bozella will be our special guest at the 2011 PBI Annual Dinner in New York. Bozella’s story is truly inspiring and reminds us of the importance of pro bono in closing

VIDEO: Broadening the Bench: Involving Non-Attorneys

October 12, 2011

Law firms and legal departments are made up of a lot of people – many of whom may not be lawyers. Involving paralegals; librarians; compliance specialists; marketing staff; policy, science, human resources, and information technology experts; and other non-lawyer staff in your pro bono efforts is one way to effectively increase your pro bono practice and serve more clients. In order for non-lawyers to successfully contribute to your pro bono efforts: (1) the culture of your firm or organization must support non-lawyer participation; (2) non-lawyers must be informed and made aware of relevant pro bono opportunities; (3) you should cater

Singapore’s Solution to Dead-Beat Dads

October 11, 2011

In 2009 alone, Singapore moms filed 3,600 claims against fathers who failed to make child support and spousal maintenance payments, some of them repeat defaults. Custodial parents who depend on regular payments to support their minor children endure an endless stream of time-consuming court procedures in an effort to enforce their kids’ legal right to support. The PBEye recently learned from The Straits Times that pro bono is about to make justice more accessible to single parents in Singapore. The Singapore Council of Women’s Organisations (SCWO) is tackling this barrier to justice by shifting the burden from the custodial parent

VIDEO: Thinking Practically About Pro Bono Risk Management

October 6, 2011

On Tuesday, The PBEye posted a video about risk management at law firms and legal departments in the context of Maples v. Thomas. In Maples, the U.S. Supreme Court is considering whether a defendant is prohibited from arguing the unconstitutionality of his death sentence in federal habeas proceedings, because – through no fault of his own – his lawyers missed a filing deadline in the Alabama state court. In Tuesday’s video, our own Reena Glazer, assistant director of the Law Firm Pro Bono Project, discussed a few best practices regarding the duty to supervise subordinate lawyers and non-attorneys in pro

UnitedHealth Group and CLC

October 5, 2011

Upon establishing a pro bono program in 2008, UnitedHealth Group Incorporated** set out to create formal legal services partnerships. The Children’s Law Center of Minnesota (CLC) proved to be the perfect fit. CLC’s mission to give a voice and assist children in foster care, many of whom are children of color or have mental disabilities, matches UnitedHealth Group’s values. Plus, CLC provides a strong program in which UnitedHealth Group volunteers can easily work as a part of a team to dramatically impact a child’s life. In the resulting Child Law Project, each volunteer attorney receives training. Then, he or she

VIDEO: Integrating Risk Management into Pro Bono Practice

October 4, 2011

The U.S. Supreme Court today heard oral arguments in the case of Maples v. Thomas, which concerns the appeals process for death row inmate Cory Maples (more on the case and oral arguments here). At issue in the case is whether a mailroom mix-up at the firm that was representing Maples at the time should cost him his critical appeal. The PBEye has been watching the case closely and has some insights on risk management and best practices that pro bono lawyers should consider implementing with regards to supervision of pro bono work and the treatment of pro bono matters

Troy Davis’ Pro Bono Attorney Reflects on the Case

October 4, 2011

The American Lawyer recently published an interview with Jason Ewart, an eighth-year associate in the mergers and acquisitions department at Arnold & Porter LLP*†. Ewart has been in the public eye recently for representing Troy Davis, a Georgia man convicted and sentenced to death for killing an off-duty police officer. He was executed on Sept. 21. Davis maintained his innocence for 20 years, especially after seven of the nine eyewitnesses who originally testified against him changed or withdrew their testimony. Ewart began defending Davis as a first year associate in 2003, with the help of a pro bono legal team

VIDEO: How Effective is Your Pro Bono?

October 3, 2011

Pro bono work can make a big impact in the life of an individual or an entire community. But often, regardless of the scale, it is difficult to gauge effectiveness of the services rendered. And as pro bono work matures, it is becoming increasingly important to be able to measure its effectiveness across multiple fields. David Williams, CEO of Deloitte Financial Advisory Services LLP, talked to The PBEye about several topics including how creating common metrics for pro bono work being done by law firms, legal departments, and public interest groups can take pro bono to the next level. Williams, who