PBEye Blog - Page 64 of 65 - Pro Bono Institute

Ten Pro Bono Ways To Stop Dreading Tax Day

April 7, 2011

April 15 is just around the corner — a day that strikes dread in the stoutest of hearts. But it needn’t, for a variety of reasons. Here at The PBEye, we’ve put together a list of pro bono tips to stop dreading tax day. 1. Participate in an IRS-sponsored VITA (Volunteer Income Tax Assistance) clinic for low-income taxpayers, and help low-income taxpayers take advantage of tax credits designed precisely for them. 2. Sponsor a year-round low-income taxpayer clinic, because the other 364 days get jealous. 3. Sponsor a year round tax clinic for particularly vulnerable populations who are eligible for

Another Exciting Pro Bono Win

April 5, 2011

The PBEye is pleased to learn about another exciting pro bono victory! The New York Law Journal reports that junior-level associates from Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP* along with Yale University law students secured a $650,000 settlement for eight day-laborers who alleged they were the victims of racial profiling and anti-immigrant sentiment. The plaintiffs were among the “Danbury 11,” a group of day-laborers who were arrested in an illegal undercover sting operation in Danbury, Conn. Michael Wishnie, Yale University Professor and part of Yale’s Worker & Immigrant Rights Advocacy Clinic approached Gibson Dunn to take on the case. A team of junior-level associates at Gibson

CPBO Spotlight On: Ford Motor Company

April 5, 2011

Good corporate citizenship is a top priority at Ford Motor Company. It’s with that in mind that Ford encourages its employees to spend up to 16 hours of regularly scheduled work time each year participating in volunteer activities. Within the legal department, the Ford Pro Bono Committee, with the support of Group Vice President and General Counsel David Leitch, ensures that Ford attorneys and other legal department staff have access to a variety of pro bono opportunities. These engagements include time-limited clinics as well as longer term projects. Ford volunteers participate in the following pro bono clinics:

An Asylum Victory for Hunton & Williams

April 1, 2011

Here at The PBEye, we love to hear stories of lawyers doing good, so we were happy to see this story from the Dallas Business Journal come across our desks earlier this week. It seems that Steve Leshin of Hunton & Williams LLP* recently represented a client from the Democratic Republic of Congo in an asylum case — and won. Leshin’s client was accused by Congolese government agents of being politically aligned with people from a province in the Congo who are hostile to the government of Kabila. The client was targeted because he hired people from this opposition province as

Thank Up

March 24, 2011

We received a suggestion from one of our 2011 Seminar/Forum attendees on how legal services providers can better publicize their appreciation for pro bono assistance within a law firm or corporation with which they partnered: “Make sure that, in addition to thanking the individual attorneys, legal service providers also ‘thank up’ the chain to show value, then the thank yous will funnel down.” Making leadership aware of the efforts of their pro bono lawyers can spread institution-wide awareness and may inspire more lawyers to participate in future projects and partnerships And while we’re talking about thanks, we’d like to thank

CPBO Spotlight On: AT&T Inc.

March 18, 2011

When the legal department at AT&T formed its pro bono program in 2009, it sought to provide opportunities for its attorneys throughout the United States. In 2010, the department restructured its program and developed regional pro bono committees to better support its attorneys in different areas around the nation. To ensure a unified program, the department also formed an executive committee to oversee the regional programs efforts. With support from Senior Executive Vice President and General Counsel Wayne Watts, the program has undertaken many pro bono projects across the country. In 2010, nearly 100 AT&T lawyers were involved in more

VIDEO: Judge Robert Katzmann- Pro Bono Visionary

March 16, 2011

In 1995, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit Judge Robert A. Katzmann, then in his role at the Brookings Institution, published The Law Firm and the Public Good, a collection of essay compiled to examine pro bono in large law firms. The book, a must read for the aspiring pro bono champion, looked to make both the moral and business cases for doing pro bono. More than 15 years later, Judge Katzmann’s book is as relevant as ever as law firms think more strategically about their maturing pro bono programs. Judge Katzmann’s work and commitment to pro bono

VIDEO: Why LSC Budget Cuts Will Hurt Pro Bono

February 28, 2011

The PBEye was troubled by a proposal in mid-February in the U.S. House to severely cut the budget of the Legal Services Corporation (LSC). We were then dismayed to learn of House approval of a $70 million cut on Feb. 19, which would be certain to hurt legal services throughout the country. PBI’s President and CEO Esther F. Lardent wrote a column for the March edition of The National Law Journal, explaining how the cuts would have a cascading negative impact on access to justice. The 136 local legal services programs that receive grants from LSC will have their funding

VIDEO: Law Firms and Pro Bono Post-Recession

February 23, 2011

PBI is privileged to have such a knowledgeable and experienced lawyer as Jim Jones as chair of its Board of Directors. Jones, who is senior vice president of Thomson Reuters and Chairman of the Hildebrandt Institute, has been a critical thinker in matters of pro bono and strong advocate in the fight to close the justice gap. Naturally, when Jones stopped by the PBI office for a visit, The PBEye had plenty of questions for him. But in the interest of being timely (and keeping up with fast-paced online media) we asked him to talk a bit about the direction

CPBO Spotlight On: Qwest Communications International Inc.

February 15, 2011

In 2002, Qwest Communications International Inc. launched its “Spirit of Service” campaign to emphasize its dedication to customer satisfaction. That same year brought the leadership of Rich Baer as Executive Vice President and General Counsel to Qwest’s legal department. Embracing the new motto, Baer encouraged the department to develop a pro bono program that would allow it to serve the needs of those in the communities in which Qwest employees live and work. In 2003, under Baer’s direction, an enthusiastic group of attorneys formed a Pro Bono Committee led by Associate General Counsel Christie Searls. As first steps, the Committee