The PBI Wire
December 19, 2014
Corporate Pro Bono’s (CPBO) Clinic in a Box® program, which recently celebrated its 50-clinic milestone, continues to be in great demand among legal departments and Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC) chapters. In response to several in-house hosts requesting additional opportunities, CPBO has begun to develop and co-host expanded “in-a-box” in-house pro bono events.
Designed in 2003, the original off-the-shelf Clinic in a Box® program owes its success to combining the strengths of the co-hosts, providing training and support, following a strong structure, offering CLE credit, and utilizing the skills of in-house counsel and their legal department colleagues to provide meaningful assistance in a limited amount of time to organizations in need. The goals of CPBO’s additional programming include replicating the successful aspects of the traditional model while offering enhanced opportunities to engage volunteers and assist the community.
Nonprofit Legal Educational Training Programs
In Columbus, Ohio, CPBO and the Central Ohio ACC Chapter (CO-ACC) have developed an educational series for nonprofits that trains and provides brief legal advice to executives from local United Way agencies. CO-ACC co-hosted a Clinic in a Box® program with CPBO, United Way of Central Ohio (UWCO), and Barnes & Thornburg*† in 2013, and saw the potential for members to continue assisting UWCO member nonprofit organizations throughout the year. With all of the co-hosts on board, the team spent a year researching and developing a model program. The series was launched on June 23, with the first legal education program for UWCO member agencies on the subject of hiring and firing. The second program, held on November 19, focused on governance issues and included a brief advice component. Both events were successful and the co-hosts are planning a third program for the spring of 2015.