Pro Bono

The art of austerity - the surprisingly close ties between the worlds of art and law

By Legal Week | April 7, 2011

The Adelaide Nature Reserve is a community wildlife garden close to the railway tracks in Camden, North London. Last autumn, graphic artist Lindsay Noble was commissioned to design a mural to be painted over a graffiti-covered wall. An application was placed with the Arts Council for funding, but it was duly rejected. Corporate sponsorship was the next stop, Noble explains, which is how a team of lawyers from White & Case and bankers from The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) spent a Saturday applying colour to an 'encyclopaedia wall' of wildlife. "It turned out for the best," Noble says. "The law firm had its client day and the nature reserve got its mural. Everyone's a winner."

1 minute read

Four firms win spots on NSPCC pro bono panel

By Friederike Heine | February 8, 2011

The National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) has appointed its first formal panel of law firms to provide pro bono legal advice. Clifford Chance (CC), Baker & McKenzie, Wragge & Co and Walker Morris have all been appointed to the roster after 21 firms were invited to pitch.

1 minute read

Freshfields CSR report details fast-rising increase in pro bono efforts

By Claire Ruckin | December 13, 2010

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has seen the number of hours dedicated to volunteer work more than double over the last two years, according to the firm's latest corporate social responsibility (CSR) report. The magic circle firm spent 42,559 hours on pro bono activities during the 2009-10 financial year, according to the firm's second CSR report - up from the 16,409 hours detailed in the first CSR report, which covered 2007-08. Meanwhile, the total combined hours spent on volunteering and pro bono activities increased by 87% over the period, with just under 40% of the firm's staff now involved in either community or pro bono activities - a 10% increase on 2007-08.

1 minute read

Linklaters reports 86% increase in pro bono hours over two years

By Friederike Heine | December 9, 2010

Linklaters spent around £8m on pro bono activities during the last financial year, equating to around 63,750 hours invested by its lawyers in community and voluntary work. The figures, contained within the firm's annual corporate responsibly report, mark Linklaters out as one of the few UK law firms to place a value on its non-profit efforts.

1 minute read

CSR Initiative/Programme of the Year

By Legal Week | December 7, 2010

The Legal Response Initiative (LRI) is the result of collaboration among lawyers based at Oxfam GB and World Wildlife Fund UK and a number of law firms and barristers' chambers. Its purpose is to provide pro bono legal advice to non-governmental organisations (NGOs) taking part in the ongoing United Nations climate change negotiations. By doing so it seeks to redress the imbalance between the level of legal representation enjoyed by the world's richest nations and the advice at the disposal of the least developed nations, who rely on NGOs to support them. The LRI provided legal advice at last year's Barcelona and Copenhagen sessions and two sessions in Bonn this year. Liaison offices based at the conferences passed on legal queries to a 'situation room' in the London office of Simmons & Simmons.

1 minute read

Law Firm of the Year

By Legal Week | December 7, 2010

Neville Eisenberg, longstanding managing partner of Berwin Leighton Paisner (BLP), was on hand to collect the Law Firm of the Year Award, which was decided by the judging panel on the night. BLP beat strong competition from the other contenders. It won the judges' approval for the transformative journey it has been on under Eisenberg's watch. Since its creation via the merger of Berwin Leighton and Paisner & Co in 2001, BLP has been the definition of the innovative, upwardly-mobile City law firm.

1 minute read

Off the clock - how pro bono can enhance lawyers' fee-earning work

By Legal Week | November 30, 2010

I was recently honoured to receive the International Bar Association (IBA) annual Pro Bono and Access to Justice Committee Award and was asked by the IBA to provide my pro bono biography. Most lawyers I should imagine do not have a pro bono biography; pro bono work is often undertaken ad hoc. I was no exception. When putting this together, I was genuinely surprised by the large number of pro bono projects I have been involved with over my nine years at Allen & Overy (A&O). There has been no great plan behind this. My pro bono commitments have been rather opportunistic in a sense.

1 minute read

CC signs up to £1m pro bono deal to provide trainees for legal aid work

By Sofia Lind | November 12, 2010

Clifford Chance (CC) has pledged to provide pro bono support worth £1m to legal aid practice Law For All (LFA) over the next five years. The magic circle firm has signed a five-year agreement with longstanding pro bono partner LFA, which sees CC commit to supply up to five full time-equivalent trainees each year to the organisation - an investment CC estimates at worth more than £1m over the period.

1 minute read

Bakers creates pro bono director role to lead on CSR initiatives

By Friederike Heine | November 9, 2010

Baker & McKenzie has appointed Madeleine Schachter as global director of pro bono and corporate social responsibility (CSR), with the appointment coming as the firm moves to strengthen its CSR initiatives with clients. In the newly-created role, New York-based partner Schachter will work exclusively on CSR matters, including pro bono work with an emphasis on international humanitarian rights, constitutional law and civil rights issues.

1 minute read

Clifford Chance places value on pro bono efforts of £17m a year

By Sofia Lind | October 13, 2010

Clifford Chance (CC) has estimated the value of its pro bono activities last year at £17m - breaking convention among City firms by defining the value of its non-profit efforts. The figure is contained in CC's 2010 Corporate Responsibility Report, which estimates the value based on 57,071 hours invested by its lawyers in community and pro bono efforts. The firm's non-legal staff committed a further 2,274 community hours while the Clifford Chance Foundation paid out £2.4m in charitable donations.

1 minute read

The American Lawyer

Distracted Justice: Talent Churn, Client Demand Pulled Attention Away From Pro Bono

By Brenda Sapino Jeffreys | July 18, 2022

Big Law firms did less pro bono work in 2021 than in 2020, according to the 2022 Pro Bono Scorecard, a development likely related to booming client demand.

9 minute read

The American Lawyer

The 2022 Pro Bono Scorecard: International Rankings

By ALM Staff | July 18, 2022

Jenner & Block had the highest pro bono score among its non-U.S. lawyers.

1 minute read

The Legal Intelligencer

Public Interest Calendar of Events

By The Legal Intelligencer | July 15, 2022

Check out volunteer sessions, trainings and a family picnic in this month's calendar.

2 minute read

National Law Journal

Akin Gump Lawyers on Representing an Ex-Oath Keeper, and the 'Jaw-Dropping' Revelations of the Jan. 6 Committee

By Andrew Goudsward | July 12, 2022

"It's a good reminder of the ability of people to change, the ability of people to be a force for good and the ability of lawyers to help in that process," said Akin Gump partner Rafi Prober, who helped prepare Jason Van Tatenhove for his congressional testimony.

10 minute read

The American Lawyer

Big Law Unlikely to Bow to Texas Freedom Caucus' Threats on Abortion Travel

By Dan Roe | Andrew Maloney | July 12, 2022

If Texas Republicans want a legal fight with multibillion-dollar law firms, they'll get it, say managing partners at firms with Texas offices.

6 minute read

New Jersey Law Journal

Doing Pro Bono Is Their Trademark

By Christine Michelle Duffy | July 8, 2022

Director of the New Jersey Program of Pro Bono Partnership highlights four in-house lawyers who have each worked on 20 or more IP matters for the Partnership's nonprofit clients.

7 minute read

New Jersey Law Journal

On the Move & After Hours: Scarinci & Hollenbeck; Riker Danzig; Florio Perrucci; Legal Services

By David Gialanella | July 7, 2022

New Practice Chair Picked William C. Sullivan Jr. was appointed chair of Scarinci & Hollenbeck's the firm's environmental law section. He…

7 minute read

Corporate Counsel

Fewer US In-House Counsel Doing Pro Bono Work, Survey Finds

By Jessica Mach | June 27, 2022

"Respondents' comments provide additional perspective that 2021 was a year of both difficulty and innovation for in-house pro bono," the survey said.

2 minute read

Daily Report Online

Supreme Court Honors Retiring Legal Aid Leader for 50 Years of Service to the 'Most Vulnerable People'

By Katheryn Hayes Tucker | June 24, 2022

"I came for the mission, but I stayed for the people," Gottlieb told the Daily Report Friday.

3 minute read

Pro Mid Market

Pashman Stein Pro Bono Work Influences Policy on Jury Discrimination, Police Transparency

By Justin Henry | June 23, 2022

"Our goal was and is to be involved in every significant policy issue that comes into our region and, by and large, we have met that objective."

8 minute read