PBEye Blog - Pro Bono Institute

Celebrating 20 Years of the Corporate Pro Bono Challenge Initiative

December 11, 2025

By Alyssa Saunders, Director Corporate Pro Bono In 2026, the Pro Bono Institute Corporate Pro Bono (CPBO) Challenge® initiative will celebrate its 20th anniversary alongside PBI’s 30 years of advancing access to justice. These milestones are an opportunity to celebrate the growth of in-house pro bono over the years and challenge more legal departments to participate in delivering pro bono legal services to those in need. Background on the Challenge and In-House Pro Bono In 2000, PBI founded the CPBO project to develop and transform in-house pro bono. Since then, the CPBO project has worked with more than one thousand

Repairing Lives, Restoring Credit: How PBI Helped Launch a National Virtual Credit Repair Clinic for Trafficking Survivors

November 24, 2025

When Pro Bono Institute (PBI) convened the PBI 2025 Annual Conference in February 2025, one session on innovative pro bono models for serving trafficking survivors sparked a collaboration that resulted in a pilot series of clinics this fall. Panelists shared how the National Survivor Law Collective (NSL Collective) had begun offering virtual clinics to help survivors with credit repair under the Debt Bondage Repair Act (DBRA), which went into effect in July 2022, and the related Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s Regulation V. The DBRA is an amendment to the Fair Credit Reporting Act that empowers survivors of human trafficking to

Guest Blog: Bridging the Justice Gap — Virginia’s Proposed Expansion of Assistance with Court Forms

November 12, 2025

By David Greenspan, Pro Bono Partner, McGuireWoods Paige Osgood, 2025 Pro Bono Summer Associate, McGuireWoods In January 2025, the Virginia State Bar took an important step toward addressing the access to justice gap by inviting public comment on proposed amendments to Virginia’s Unauthorized Practice of Law Rules. The proposed changes, as amended, would allow non-lawyer professionals, such as court clerks, law librarians, and approved courthouse navigators or self-help center staff, to provide limited legal assistance with court-approved forms. This includes helping individuals identify, select, understand, and review legal forms for completeness. The amendment would also allow form-completion assistance for individuals

Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe: Holding Power Accountable

October 22, 2025

Since 2021, Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe*† has partnered with the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law to challenge the Baltimore Police Department’s unlawful seizure of property from gun violence survivors without a warrant or consent. In August 2024, Orrick reached a class action settlement resulting in major policy reforms, improved oversight, and a formal process for returning victims’ belongings. Their team also overcame qualified immunity defenses, which marked a rare but important step toward police accountability. This case reinforces the power of pro bono work to drive systemic change and protect civil rights. Alison Epperson, Senior Associate at Orrick, shares

Pro Bono Week 2025: Rising to Meet the Moment

October 15, 2025

By Christiana Teodoro, PBI Intern Since January, budget reductions and staffing changes at the federal level have created new challenges for communities across the United States. With funding cuts to programs like Medicaid, food assistance, and equity programs, many are looking to volunteers with legal and human resources expertise for counseling. Furthermore, a recent survey of nonprofits showed that 74% of the surveyed organizations experienced increased demand for their services at the same time that 60% of the organizations had their funding cut. These conditions indicate that there is a greater need for pro bono work. One impactful way that

Setback for Justice Advocates in Upsolve Litigation

October 7, 2025

By Alyssa Saunders On September 9, 2025, the Second Circuit ruled that the nonprofit organization Upsolve, Inc.’s use of trained volunteers to assist pro se New Yorkers with their debt-collection actions violated the state’s unauthorized practice of law (UPL) statutes. The Second Circuit overturned a May 2022 decision by the District Court for the Southern District of New York that prohibited New York’s Attorney General from enforcing the UPL statutes against Upsolve. As a result of the Second Circuit’s decision, people facing debt collection lawsuits who cannot afford an attorney will no longer have access to free specialized advice by trained

The Role of Civil Legal Aid in Improving Reentry Outcomes

September 25, 2025

By Pilar Steward, PBI Intern The cycle of release and return to prison is both costly to governments and negatively impacts individuals, families, and communities. Community stakeholders and governments can help improve reentry outcomes and reduce recidivism rates by investing in reentry programming. Pro bono partners can provide holistic services through civil legal aid to reduce barriers that hinder reintegration. A Look into Reentry Programming The Minnesota Collaborative Justice Project (MNCJP), an initiative of Pro Bono Institute (PBI), works to improve reentry outcomes through reentry planning, access to services, and policy and advocacy. The MNCJP Steering Committee includes representatives of

Expanding Legal Access by Redefining Legal Services: Georgia’s Efforts to Narrow the Justice Gap

September 24, 2025

By Jovana Fitzgerald, PBI Law Clerk In August 2024, the Supreme Court of Georgia launched a committee to explore legal regulatory reform in an effort to address the significant civil justice gap in Georgia. After a year of research, the committee put forth its recommendations for measures to support low-income and rural Georgians. The Civil Justice Gap in Georgia In the South, more than 22 million individuals have household incomes that fall below 125 percent of the poverty threshold. In Georgia, more than 1.4 million people are considered below the poverty threshold. In 2023, Georgia courts saw more than 420,000

Foster Garvey PC: Correcting the Record

September 23, 2025

Foster Garvey PC* has been a partner of the Seattle Clemency Project (SCP) since its founding in 2017, helping individuals seeking early release and those facing deportation due to old criminal convictions pursue clemency, resentencing, or other forms of release from sentences imposed under outdated or excessively harsh laws. Through this partnership, Foster Garvey has helped secure freedom for clients who have demonstrated transformation and rehabilitation, while contributing to SCP’s broader impact: 126 people released, more than 1,400 years of incarceration saved, and dozens of immigrants spared deportation. This work highlights the firm’s deep commitment to advancing justice, restoring dignity,

Mandatory Pro Bono in the Philippines

September 11, 2025

By Richelle Khor, PBI Intern On February 3, 2025, the Rules on Unified Legal Aid Service (the ULAS Rules) adopted by the Supreme Court of the Philippines took effect, making the Philippines one of a small minority of countries worldwide to implement mandatory pro bono. The ULAS Rules apply to lawyers who are (1) active members of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP), (2) not retired under the by-laws of the IBP, and (3) not subject to an exception under the ULAS Rules. For registered organizations, such as corporations, partnerships, associations, and law firms, the ULAS Rules extend to