Market Areas > Practice Management > Pro Bono

Pro Bono: A Win-Win in a Down Economy

Course Description:

History would suggest that a down economy would mean a downturn in pro bono work.  Yet, according to The American Lawyers’ annual Pro Bono Report the nation's 200 highest grossing firms devoted more hours to pro bono this year than ever before. 

Pro bono can be a win-win for lawyers and the firm in tough economic times.  In fact, pro bono not only keeps lawyers occupied and engaged while honing their skills, it also enables the firm to better tolerate excess capacity while improving their reputation and visibility.

Yet, managing this seemingly perfect alternative to layoffs can be a challenge, as firms need to find pro bono placements that enhance lawyer’s skills and fit with the firm’s culture and beliefs. 

Find out how to get the most out of pro bono opportunities through planning and effective management in this CCM teleconference.  You’ll learn practical techniques to:

• Quickly and effectively strengthen your pro bono program,
• Best use pro bono opportunities for enhanced professional development, team building, staff morale, and publicity, and
• Effectively align pro bono with other key firm activities and goals to reduce costs. 

During this critical program, you’ll also learn:

• Key elements included in successful pro bono packages
• Best practices for managing excess capacity- layoffs, deferrals and pro bono
• How to choose the right pro bono placements for associates with delayed start dates
• How public interest rotation/externships work
• Pro bono as an important recruitment/retention tool.
• Malpractice issues in pro bono
• Why cohesive and consistent messaging is essential for pro bono success
• Best practices for assigning credit/parity for approved pro bono time

Featured Faculty:

Latonia Haney Keith, Pro Bono & Community Service Counsel, McDermott Will & Emery LLP

Latonia Haney Keith is Pro Bono & Community Service Counsel at the law firm of McDermott Will & Emery LLP based in the Firm’s Chicago office.

Latonia works closely with the Chair of the Firm’s Pro Bono and Community Service Committee and Firm leadership to lead and manage all aspects of the Firm’s pro bono, community service and charitable giving initiatives, both in the United States and abroad. She focuses on developing new pro bono initiatives, encouraging pro bono participation across the Firm, fostering deeper relationships with pro bono referral agencies, and establishing pro bono and community service partnerships with Firm clients. Latonia also provides legal services directly to a diverse range of pro bono and community service organizations.

Latonia serves on the boards of the Harvard Law Society of Illinois and the Friends of the Montessori Academy of Chicago and is a member of the Teen Programs Committee of the Step Up Women’s Network, which is dedicated to developing programs and events promoting health and wellness, leadership and self-esteem, and career and college development for underserved teen girls. She is alsoa member of the Executive Committee of the American Bar Association Section of Business Law's Committee on Pro Bono anda member of the Association of Pro Bono Counsel, a group of pro bono professionals from large law firms whose mission is to develop the skills of pro bono practice leaders.

Amanda D. Smith, Pro Bono Partner, Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP

Amanda D. Smith is the pro bono partner at Morgan Lewis. In this full-time position, Ms. Smith works to advance the quality of pro bono opportunities for Morgan Lewis lawyers, the effectiveness and impact of the firm's pro bono representations, and the breadth of participation in the firm's extensive pro bono program. She also handles the day-to-day administration of the pro bono practice, serves as a liaison with national and local legal services organizations, and provides recommendations to firm management on pro bono issues.

Ms. Smith joined Morgan Lewis in 2003 in the Litigation Practice, and focused on the areas of insurance recovery and appellate litigation. In 2005, she was selected as Morgan Lewis's first pro bono counsel. Ms. Smith's pro bono practice focuses on human rights litigation under the Alien Tort Statute. As part of a larger team, she obtained a $140 million judgment on behalf of four Bosnian Muslims who had been detained and tortured in the former Yugoslavia and a $37 million judgment on behalf of two Peruvian women who had seen their mothers and siblings killed by the Peruvian military. Ms. Smith's other pro bono work includes criminal defense, asylum, homelessness and domestic violence advocacy, election law, veterans law, and general legal assistance and strategic advice to nonprofit organizations. Ms. Smith serves on the Legal Advisory Council of the Center for Justice and Accountability in San Francisco.

Kendra N. Thompson, ACLU of Illinois, Staff Attorney

Kendra Thompson is a staff attorney at the ACLU of Illinois. Ms. Thompson began work with the ACLU in April 2009. At the ACLU, Ms. Thompson has an active impact litigation practice focusing on protecting and enforcing the rights of institutionalized persons. Prior to her public interest fellowship at the ACLU, Ms. Thompson was an associate in the Sidley Austin General Litigation group. Ms. Thompson plans to return to Sidley Austin in the Spring of 2010. Ms. Thompson is a 2008 graduate of Harvard Law School and a 2005 graduate of Hampton University.

Steven Banks, Attorney-in-Chief of The Legal Aid Society

Steven Banks has been the Attorney-in-Chief of The Legal Aid Society since July 2004, and is responsible for leading the Society's legal practice that annually handles some 300,000 civil, criminal and juvenile rights cases with a staff of 1,450, including 850 lawyers. For 28 years, he has held a number of significant positions at the Society and he is one of the best known poverty lawyers in the country. The American Lawyer has listed him as one of the top 45 public interest lawyers in the United States, The Daily News described him as “perhaps the City’s most legendary Legal Aid attorney in this generation,” and New York Magazine has called him one of the most influential New Yorkers. In addition to his other responsibilities, he serves as the coordinating attorney of the Society's Homeless Rights Project, which is also counsel to the Coalition for the Homeless. Together with his colleagues at the Project, he has litigated the cases which establish the right to shelter in New York, and require the provision of safe, suitable, and adequate housing, assistance, and services to homeless New Yorkers.

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Your CD recording includes the complete audio conference presentation, audience Q&A and presentation materials.

CLE:

CCM provides audio conference attendees with CLE credit processing services. To expedite CCM processing your CLE request, please complete and submit the evaluation form available from CCM at the conclusion of the audio conference. It will be necessary to enter the following information: name of each attorney requesting CLEs with full contact information, including e-mail address, bar number, and the state in which the attorney wants credits. Each attorney requesting credits must submit an evaluation.

Please be advised CCM audio conferences are subject to approval from each CLE issuing organization and approval is not guaranteed (state bar associations in Delaware, Indiana, Kansas, Ohio, and Pennsylvania do not grant CLE credits for audio conferences). The approval process takes approximately 6 - 8 weeks for most organizations but can take as long as 3 - 4 months. You will be notified via e-mail with the final status of your CLE application.

Any person applying for CLE credits must attend the audio conference from start to finish (attendance will be taken for compliance reasons). Requests for CLE credits must be received no later than two weeks following the conclusion of the audio conference or live conference. CLE credits are not available for CD recordings.

If you have any questions regarding CLE credits, contact Jill Adler at 631.368.2082 x 21 or jill.adler@meeting-matters.com.

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