PBEye Blog - Page 61 of 65 - Pro Bono Institute

Challenge Firms Champion Rights of Refugees

July 8, 2011

Human Rights First celebrated World Refugee Day 2011 by paying homage to their law firm partners for outstanding pro bono legal service on behalf of indigent refugees. Refugees are persons who are unable or unwilling to return to their native countries due to a well-founded fear of persecution or because their lives or freedom would be threatened. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees estimates that, by the end of last year, nearly 44 million people had been forcibly displaced worldwide, 15.4 million of them refugees. Many displaced men, women, and children spend years living in crowded camps, others languish in detention

15 Ways to Boost Your Firm’s Pro Bono Hours

July 7, 2011

Based on the results of the recently released PBI Challenge Report, it may be helpful to carefully assess your firm’s pro bono program to indentify what’s working and what’s not. For those firms with pro bono time lagging behind past years or falling short of your firm’s goals, or those looking to build on previous success and improve their firm’s pro bono performance, here are some tips that might help you reinvigorate your pro bono program, increase pro bono hours, and improve program visibility: 1. Maximize your pro bono timekeeping; 2. Credit pro bono time – and show you mean it;

CPBO Spotlight On: Verizon Communications

July 5, 2011

CPBO ChallengeSM Signatory Verizon Communications Inc. officially launched its pro bono program in late 2009. Already, the department has exceptionally high pro bono participation rates with attorneys and staff participating in offices across the United States. So far in 2011, nearly half of Verizon’s attorneys are participating. Under the program, the company’s more than 700 attorneys and staff are encouraged to volunteer a minimum of 25 hours per year. The department is fortunate to be under the leadership of a true pro bono devotee, Executive Vice President and General Counsel Randal Milch. The program is chaired by John Frantz, Verizon’s vice

CPBO Spotlight On: Royal Bank of Canada

June 28, 2011

Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) has been a pro bono leader among Canadian companies. RBC’s success is in large part due to the support of Executive Vice President and General Counsel David Allgood. Under his supervision, in 2007, RBC adopted a formal pro bono policy and its program has continued to flourish. With approximately 150 lawyers worldwide, the legal department has provided a wide variety of work for nonprofit organizations, including assistance with incorporation, governance, charitable tax status, employment and real estate issues, legal risk assessments, and the development of policies. In addition, RBC is involved in a variety of impactful

Pro Bono Weathers Rough Economy

June 27, 2011

As promised, PBI‘s Law Firm Pro Bono Project released its annual report of pro bono participation at large law firms today. The Law Firm Pro Bono Challenge® report examines the 2010 pro bono activities of firms that have signed on to the Challenge. In 2010, attorneys from 138 firms completed more than 4.45 million hours of pro bono service, the third highest year on record! The executive summary notes: • Overall Challenge Performance — Reporting firms completed a total of 4,451,009 hours of pro bono work, the third highest year in the history of the Challenge. • Service to Persons

VIDEO: How Pro Bono Can Help Firms Recover

June 20, 2011

Last week we brought you The Evolving Law Firm Business Model and its Impact on Pro Bono, a webinar on how law firms have dealt with the economic crisis and are responding to a new market (on demand version coming soon). This week we have a few words from our friend Marlene Halpern at The Legal Aid Society on a related topic. Halpern, supervising attorney for pro bono at Legal Aid, talks about firms’ recovery from the economic crisis as an emerging issue and practical ways it intersects with the need for pro bono services for the poor. YouTube Link

Pro Bono and Employee Engagement

June 16, 2011

Last Friday, our friends at Deloitte* celebrated their 12th annual IMPACT Day, a national day of service during which employees devote the day to volunteerism. More than 50,000 employees participated this year, volunteering at more than 800 events nationwide. Some of these volunteer projects were skills-based and allowed employees to use their business knowledge and expertise in order to help a good cause—in other words, they were pro bono projects. IMPACT Day encourages Deloitte employees to contribute to their communities, but the benefits don’t stop there. Each year, Deloitte conducts its IMPACT Survey to explore trends and issues in corporate philanthropy. Deloitte’s 2011

In the Windy City, Lawyers Give Back

June 13, 2011

Chicago in-house attorneys embodied the city’s old motto “I Will” on June 7, when they turned out in force to provide pro bono legal services to local nonprofit organizations during a Clinic in a BoxSM program, co-hosted by Corporate Pro Bono, United Way of Metropolitan Chicago, Navistar, and the Chicago Association of Corporate Counsel Chapter (ACC Chicago). 60 members of ACC Chicago provided legal assistance to 14 local nonprofit organizations. These organizations provide a broad range of services and serve a population of more than 42,800 low-income and under-served Chicagoans. CPBO’s off-the-shelf Clinic in a BoxSM model provides in-house attorneys

Environmental Pro Bono – Anacostia River Clean Up

June 9, 2011

DC Appleseed has released a report exposing the dismal, polluted conditions of the Anacostia River and urging the federal government to take a more active role in coordinating river cleanup. “A New Day for the Anacostia,” published in May 2011, calls on the president and Congress to fund Anacostia River cleanup programs and install pollution controls in the watershed. Pro bono attorneys from Covington & Burling LLP*, Hughes Hubbard & Reed LLP*, Patton Boggs LLP*, and Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP* assisted the DC Appleseed Anacostia Waterfront Initiative in researching and writing for this project. Click here to download a

Guest Blog: Social Media And Pro Bono

June 8, 2011

Considering my 20+ years of law practice, I might be an old fogey, but I’m also an “early adopter” – not a techie by any stretch, but I enjoy using new technologies. I’ve been on Facebook forever, and I’m closing in on 2000 Tweets. I first used social media for personal fun – keeping up with old friends, fomenting minor revolutions with political rantings, but began to realize how social media could be a powerful tool. Everybody needs a website – people tend not to be interested in any organization without one. When my firm got involved with the fabulous