Volunteer lawyers in Newark have embarked on a novel program to advise low-income, pro se litigants on a pro bono basis.

At the 2010 ACC Annual Meeting, the Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC), a Signatory to the Corporate Pro Bono Challenge℠, provided its members the opportunity to engage in and learn more about in-house pro bono. Working with Corporate Pro Bono (CPBO), ACC’s global partnership project with the Pro Bono Institute, ACC sponsored the 13th Annual CPBO Onsite Pro Bono Clinic and hosted the CPBO informational booth on the ACC Exhibit Hall Floor. During the Onsite Pro Bono Clinic, twenty-three ACC members from across the country provided pro bono legal assistance to six Texas nonprofit organizations that together serve over 58,200 individuals. The nonprofit organizations provide assistance to a variety of groups, including low-income entrepreneurs, disadvantaged women, and Texans who lack affordable housing, among others.

On October 19, 2010, the Minnesota Chapter of the Association of Corporate Counsel, hosted in partnership with Corporate Pro Bono, a partnership project of the ACC and the Pro Bono Institute, the Metropolitan Economic Development Association (MEDA), and Dorsey & Whitney LLP (a Signatory to the Law Firm Pro Bono Challenge®) the first Minnesota Clinic in a Box℠ program. The Clinic, an off-the-shelf pro bono program developed by Corporate Pro Bono for in-house counsel, attracted as volunteers 26 Chapter members from a diverse group of corporate legal departments, including Xcel Energy, Welsh Companies, Target, Best Buy, Medtronic, UnitedHealth Group, and Ameriprise Financial.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Corporate Pro Bono (CPBO), the Pro Bono Institute (PBI), and the Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC) are pleased to announce a major milestone in advocacy for corporate pro bono programs with the addition of CPBO’s 100th Challenge Signatory.

Verizon, in partnership with Corporate Pro Bono (CPBO), DLA Piper (US) LLP (a Signatory to the Law Firm Pro Bono Challenge®), and Pro Bono Partnership hosted its second Clinic in a Box℠ program. The Clinic took place at the Verizon offices in Basking Ridge, N.J., on November 16, 2010. The previous Verizon Clinic was hosted at Verizon’s Virginia office.

Many in-house legal department attorneys, while licensed and in good standing in at least one U.S. jurisdiction, are not admitted to practice (or are admitted under special practice rules only) in the state in which they currently work for their corporate employer.  As interest in in-house pro bono grows, existing rules regarding their ability to practice on behalf of pro bono clients are a major barrier in translating interest into actual pro bono service.

On September 24, Corporate Pro Bono, the Association of Corporate Counsel San Francisco Bay Area Chapter, the Volunteer Legal Services Program of the Bar Association of San Francisco, and Fenwick & West LLP (a Signatory to the Law Firm Pro Bono Challenge®) hosted the Bay Area Onsite Pro Bono Clinic.  The clinic was the second in the Bay Area this year and attracted 32 volunteer attorneys and eight local nonprofit organizations.  The volunteer attorneys represented several corporate legal departments, including Hewlett-Packard, The Clorox Company, Oracle, United Health Care, and Thermo Fisher Scientific.

Pro bono specialist Esther Lardent talks to Craig Sisterson about international trends towards formalised pro bono programmes for corporate legal teams as well as law firms.

Washington, D.C. – September 23, 2010 – Corporate Pro Bono (CPBO), a partnership project of the Pro Bono Institute (PBI) and the Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC), is delighted to announce that the legal departments of Accenture, Caterpillar, Merck, in partnership with Baker & McKenzie and the Public Interest Law Institute (PILI), have been selected as this year’s CPBO Pro Bono Partner Award winners for their innovative partnership program. The award will be presented at PBI’s Annual Dinner in New York on November 4.

Demonstrating its commitment to pro bono service, the legal department at Fidelity Investments partnered with Corporate Pro Bono (CPBO) and Bingham McCutchen LLP (a Signatory to the Law Firm Pro Bono Challenge®) to host a CPBO Clinic in a Box℠ program and provide legal assistance to nine Boston-area nonprofit organizations.  The clinic took place at the Bingham McCutchen offices on October 5, 2010, and gave 38 Fidelity lawyers and legal department staff the opportunity to conduct a legal health assessment of each of the nonprofit clients in attendance.  The Fidelity Corporate Services & Sponsorship team recruited the Boston-area nonprofit clients.