On May 7, 2008, the Pro Bono Partnership of Atlanta and Corporate Pro Bono (CPBO), a joint project of the Association of Corporate Counsel and the Pro Bono Institute, partnered with the law firm of Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker LLP and 46 volunteers from Reed Elsevier, Inc. to conduct a Clinic in a Box℠. The Clinic was held at the offices of Paul Hastings and provided vital pro bono legal services to seventeen non-profit organizations from Atlanta and the surrounding area by Reed Elsevier attorneys, led by Senior Vice President and General Counsel Kenneth R. Thompson II, as part of a gathering of global members of their legal department. The department is a Signatory to the Corporate Pro Bono Challenge℠.

Exemplifying the type of top-down support that can truly make a pro bono program thrive, Thompson noted, “This kind of onsite clinic illustrates how actively we are pursuing pro bono across the company.”

Thompson also pointed out, “We do it because it’s the right thing to do. One of the underpinnings of our society is that under the Rule of Law everyone – rich or poor – is entitled to access to the law. Our pro bono initiatives help make that access available to individuals and organizations who otherwise may find themselves left out.”

The clinic consisted of two sessions, the first providing the in-house volunteers with training on legal issues that may impact non-profit organizations, and the second allowing the in-house volunteers to consult with Atlanta area non-profits on issues requiring resolution, all within the Clinic in a Box℠ framework. This framework provides for legal departments of corporations to conduct their own pro bono clinics. Through the clinic model, corporate in-house volunteer lawyers, aided by legal staff, conduct a legal health checkup for local non-profit groups who cannot afford the legal assistance they need. The checkup includes the range of legal issues that confront nonprofits such as tax, governance, employment, and intellectual property.

A panel of attorneys from Paul Hastings, all with previous experience in counseling non-profit organizations in the State of Georgia, conducted the training session for which volunteer participants received CLE credit. These attorneys also developed comprehensive and invaluable training materials that the in-house volunteers will be able to rely on when consulting with nonprofit organizations outside of the clinic, should they decide to continue this type of pro bono work independently.

For more information about Onsite Pro Bono Clinics, or to learn more about in-house pro bono, please contact Eve Runyon, director of CPBO, at 202.729.6694, or at cpbo@probonoinst.org, or visit www.cpbo.org.

Developed by Corporate Pro Bono
A global partnership project of the Pro Bono Institute and the Association of Corporate Counsel
www.cpbo.org