The folks in the legal department at Exelon Corp. know a thing or two about pro bono work. Since the early 1990s, the company has had in place an informal pro bono program. But in 2002, General Counsel Bill Von Hoene recognized his team’s—lawyers and paralegals alike—interest in pro bono work and decided to implement an official initiative.

Since its formal adoption of pro bono policy in 2007, the legal department of the Royal Bank of Canada has given much time to its Small Claims Court Duty Counsel Project, Volunteer Lawyer Services, and various other pro bono projects.

PHILADELPHIA, Jun 28, 2011 (BUSINESS WIRE) — The Pep Boys — Manny, Moe & Jack, the nation’s leading automotive aftermarket service and retail chain, has been named Best Pro Bono and Community Service Legal Team of the Year by the Legal Intelligencer.

While their company works to make sure clients’ cars run smoothly, the attorneys in Pep Boys’ legal department are trying to smooth the way for the area’s homeless to transition into self-sufficiency.

The PBEye is sad to see Fred Krebs, president of ACC, and Susan Hackett, senior vice president and general counsel of ACC- both great friends to CPBO – to leave at the end of this month.

The PBEye explores some key points from Deloitte’s annual IMPACT survey, which explores trends and issues in corporate philanthropy.

On May 16, 2011, the Massachusetts Access to Justice Commission convened the In-House Counsel Pro Bono Forum, inviting lawyers from legal departments and law firms, and judges from several Massachusetts courts to discuss developing robust in-house pro bono programs in legal departments across the state. The Honorable Ralph Gants, associate justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Court, and David Rosenberg, of counsel at Englander, Leggett & Chicoine, P.C., co-chaired the meeting, which was held in the John Adams Courthouse in Boston. Susan Finegan, pro bono partner at Mintz Levin*, planned and moderated the meeting with assistance from Corporate Pro Bono.

In the social science and economic development fields commentators now focus on what they term “structural poverty.” Structural poverty is defined as “deprivation which is reinforced by administrative, economic and social barriers preventing access to new life skills, employment opportunities, improved health care and better housing.”

The personal rewards of doing pro bono work are well documented. So it was no surprise to hear lawyers tell heart-tugging stories about helping childless couples adopt or abused women escape violent relationships at a June 2 panel discussion on pro bono work sponsored by Silicon Valley Campaign for Legal Services.