PBEye Blog - Pro Bono Institute

CLE Credit and Pro Bono Participation: Growth in the U.S. and Beyond

July 30, 2026

By Anne Hickey, PBI Sheehan Scholar Continuing legal education (CLE) requirements are designed to ensure attorneys remain informed about developments in the law and maintain the skills necessary to serve their clients effectively. Traditionally, attorneys have satisfied CLE requirements through courses, trainings, and other educational programs. An increasing number of jurisdictions have recognized another way for attorneys to contribute to their professional development: providing pro bono legal services. To help attorneys and organizations navigate credit rules, Pro Bono Institute (PBI) recently updated its CLE Credits and Pro Bono Guide, which provides an overview of how jurisdictions around the U.S. address

Expanding Opportunity for Second Chances in Missouri

July 29, 2026

By Erica Norris, PBI Intern Missouri joined 13 other states and the District of Columbia that have clean slate laws, which automatically seal or expunge certain offenses from an individual’s criminal record and help remove barriers to successful reentry, according to the Clean Slate Initiative. Since Pennsylvania passed the first clean slate law in 2018, advocates have pushed for other states to implement clean slate policies and for federal recognition of clean slate initiatives. On May 15, Missouri took a major step toward expanding second chances by passing bipartisan public safety bill, Senate Bill 1421 (SB1421), with a 110–25 vote.

Access to Justice, AI, and the Unauthorized Practice of Law

July 28, 2026

By Anne Hickey, PBI Sheehan Scholar As information technology continues to advance and evolve, new opportunities and new challenges arise for access to justice organizations. Technological advances have paved the way for online resources and tools that help individuals navigate legal issues efficiently and cost-effectively. At the same time, the legal profession is exploring new strategies to engage professionals who are not lawyers in access-to-justice solutions. However, where there is less attorney oversight, more automated assistance/programs, or both, access to justice organizations face more legal challenges alleging the unauthorized practice of law. Update on Upsolve and UPL Restrictions in New

130+ Chief Legal Officers and General Counsel Urge Congress to Support Funding for Civil Legal Aid

June 25, 2026

By Alyssa Saunders, Director, Corporate Pro Bono On May 29, 2026, 132 General Counsel and Chief Legal Officers called on Congress to fully fund the Legal Services Corporation (LSC) for Fiscal Year 2027. LSC is the largest funder of civil legal aid in the United States, providing essential support to legal aid organizations that serve low-income communities in need in every congressional district. The 2026 GC/CLO letter to Congress is linked here. This is the tenth year that Pro Bono Institute (PBI), through its global in-house project, Corporate Pro Bono (CPBO), has worked in collaboration with the National Legal Aid

Celebrating Growth in Pro Bono: P&G Signs on to the CPBO Challenge

June 11, 2026

The Pro Bono Institute Corporate Pro Bono (CPBO) Challenge® initiative is celebrating its 20th anniversary alongside PBI’s 30 years of advancing access to justice. These milestones are an opportunity to celebrate the evolution of in-house pro bono, welcome one of the newest additions to the CPBO Challenge initiative, and encourage more legal departments to participate in delivering pro bono legal services to those in need. After a year of revitalizing its Pro Bono Program, Procter & Gamble’s Legal Division (P&G) was honored to sign on to the CPBO Challenge initiative. In April 2026, P&G’s North America General Counsel Dara Kendall signed the pledge and

Pro Se Litigants Need Pro Bono Support

May 12, 2026

By Andrew Braun, PBI Intern Challenges for Pro Se Litigants Millions of pro se or self-represented litigants (SRLs) appear in state and federal courts each year, with some jurisdictions such as Washington, DC seeing as many as 75% to 97% of litigants go without counsel in certain civil matters. But those figures come at a serious cost to obtain justice in a judicial system designed to serve litigants with lawyers. Courts’ lawyer-centric design seriously disadvantages pro se litigants. Jim Sandman, Distinguished Lecturer and Senior Consultant to the Future of the Profession Initiative at the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School

Reed Smith: Guiding Communities Through Disaster

April 30, 2026

In early 2025, the Los Angeles wildfires devastated communities across Southern California, displacing families, destroying homes, and leaving thousands navigating an overwhelming and unfamiliar insurance landscape. With deep roots in the region and many of its own staff members directly affected, Reed Smith* mobilized its Insurance Recovery Group (IRG) to respond. What began as an internal effort to support colleagues quickly expanded into a large-scale pro bono initiative aimed at helping wildfire victims understand their rights, document losses, and access the insurance benefits essential to rebuilding their lives. We spoke with members of Reed Smith’s Insurance Recovery Group, including Amber

Montana Supreme Court Approves State Community Justice Worker Program

April 16, 2026

By Andrew Braun, PBI Intern Since the original publication of this blog post, the Montana Supreme Court has issued an order for public comments to authorize community justice workers. The deadline to submit a comment is July 19, 2026. You can read the full order here. Montana is expanding access to justice with the nation’s latest community justice worker program. On March 27, the Montana Supreme Court authorized a program for Community Justice Workers — certified lay volunteers who aren’t attorneys — to provide limited legal services to address certain critical civil legal needs in the state. Specifically, the Court’s

Creating Sustainable and Impactful Partnerships in Pro Bono

March 30, 2026

By Jennifer Pei, PBI Intern In honor of the 30th Anniversary of Pro Bono Institute (PBI) and the 20th Anniversary of the Corporate Pro Bono (CPBO) Challenge® Initiative, the PBEye blog reflected on long-standing in-house pro bono projects and partnerships throughout our history. The longevity of these partnerships demonstrates how sustainable approaches and best practices can significantly extend the impact of pro bono work. Through consultation, resources, Annual Conference programming, and annual awards, PBI advances the development of sustainable pro bono projects and celebrates their long-term success. The CPBO Partner Award Every year, the PBI and its CPBO project honor

Connecting Expertise to Impact: Expert Support for Legal Services Organizations

March 26, 2026

By Erin Palmer, Associate Director, Corporate Pro Bono At the Pro Bono Institute 2026 Pre-Conference, Maximizing Access, Maximizing Justice: Expanding Pro Bono Beyond Traditional Limits, one session focused on a critical and often underutilized resource for legal services organizations: expert support. The session, Pro Bono for Institutional Resilience: Leveraging Expert Support to Build Stronger Legal Services Organizations, explored not just why expert support matters, but what it looks like in practice, how organizations can use it, and how to access it. At its core, the conversation was grounded in a simple reality: legal services and public interest organizations are being