For years, formal in-house pro bono and corporate social responsibility (CSR) programs grew on parallel tracks at many companies. Each of these programs was able to accomplish much while operating independently within the same organization. However, increasingly, CSR efforts, charitable contribution policies and practices, and pro bono activities by legal departments are coordinated and integrated for the benefit of the organizations and their communities, bringing better organizational efficiency and greater impact to underserved populations.

On one hand, CSR programs can serve as an example, a source of support, and an opportunity to increase impact by providing a broader approach to addressing pressing needs. On the other hand, pro bono programs can provide services that address the underlying issue or critical legal needs faced by those whom the CSR program has targeted or prioritized. Let’s explore a few examples of how companies have complemented their pro bono efforts with their CSR projects.

The legal department at Verizon Communications Inc.** has aligned its pro bono program – launched in 2006 – with the company’s CSR efforts by identifying projects that are consistent with the focus of the Verizon Foundation and its CSR initiatives, including education and domestic violence prevention. Verizon attorneys and their colleagues in the legal department have provided pro bono legal services to schools for disadvantaged children, to eligible parents in securing school services for disabled children, and to victims of domestic violence in obtaining their immigration status, resulting in increased services to specific communities supported by the company as a whole.

Joint coordination of the management of a department’s pro bono efforts with its company’s community affairs initiatives is another way legal departments can integrate their efforts with the company’s CSR program. Ford Motor Company’s** legal department strategically ties its pro bono efforts to the Ford Volunteer Corps (FVC) four annual “Accelerated Action Days” to encourage and provide service opportunities for Ford employees. The legal department works with FVC to provide pro bono projects to its lawyers and other professional staff. The collaboration reduces time spent planning that can be used providing assistance and connects the department to the company, fostering increased morale and goodwill.

Legal departments also can provide legal support to the beneficiaries of the company’s CSR program. For example, the legal department at American International Group, Inc. (AIG)** reached out to its CSR department to investigate options to align its pro bono efforts with the company’s philanthropic initiatives, which included support of Career Gear, a nonprofit that provides job readiness and professional development to low-income men. Previous contributions to the organization were limited to financial and in-kind clothing donations. The legal department expanded that effort to provide pro bono legal services to Career Gear. At Merck & Co., Inc.**, the legal department’s pro bono program launched a bankruptcy clinic to help low-income individuals and families filing for Chapter 7 and reduce the backlog of bankruptcy cases pending before the courts. To help support the program, the Merck Company Foundation provided funding to the legal service provider that works with the Merck legal department on the project.

For legal departments starting a pro bono program or those with existing programs, the organization’s CSR activities can be sources of projects by adding a legal component to existing community service efforts or charitable contributions of the company. Conversely, CSR departments or staff can provide critical resources to pro bono efforts, such as websites, financial support, communications tools, and more.

For more information, we invite you to listen to the webinar “Best of the PBI Annual Conference – Integrating Pro Bono, CSR, and Charitable Giving.” You may also find additional guidance on Corporate Pro Bono’s website at www.cpbo.org.