Pro Bono

Wells Boosts Legal Corps

Just three days after the inauguration of President Barack Obama, ABA President H. Thomas Wells Jr. was meeting with new White House Counsel Greg Craig about some of the association’s key policy initiatives.

Mar 2, 2009 2:30 AM CST

Real Lawyers Step In to Help Clients of N.Y. Man Accused of UPL

The lobby of the New York City Bar Association was packed on Monday evening as more than 100 former clients of a man accused of posing as an immigration lawyer waited to meet with more than 50 actual attorneys who volunteered to provide them with real legal advice. Victor Espinal,…

Feb 25, 2009 6:30 PM CST

ABA Pushes for 1,000-Lawyer Legal Corps

Emboldened by the fact that there is not just one, but two lawyers at the executive branch helm, ABA President H. Thomas Wells Jr. headed to the White House to see if he could make some progress on ABA initiatives. The economic crisis had already nearly completely overtaken Wells’ term…

Feb 15, 2009 12:47 AM CST

More Lawyers Representing the Poor for Free, ABA Study Finds

More lawyers are donating more time to representing the poor for free, a study by the ABA Standing Committee on Pro Bono and Public Service has found. The report was issued today at the ABA Midyear Meeting in Boston. The study (PDF) found that 73 percent of attorneys provided some…

Feb 13, 2009 9:48 PM CST

Gibson Dunn Worked Pro Bono Seeking to Block Troopergate Probe

Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher was among the law firms donating pro bono assistance to six Alaska legislators seeking to block the Troopergate investigation of Gov. Sarah Palin. The law firm donated about $185,000 in billable time, the Am Law Daily reports. The firm also represented GOP presidential candidate John McCain…

Feb 11, 2009 3:27 PM CST

Bickel & Brewer Satellite Office is a Pro Bono Powerhouse

At its satellite office in south Dallas, Bickel & Brewer has an unusual practice focus: pro bono work. But it reflects Bill Brewer and John Bickel’s longtime commitment to representing low-income clients. They decided to one day open a separate division to represent low-income clients about three years after they…

Feb 9, 2009 6:34 PM CST

Laid Off? Work for Us for No Pay, Legal Job Ad Suggests

Taking advantage of a tough job market, an Illinois nonprofit is advertising for volunteer lawyers. “CARPLS Legal Aid is looking to put unemployed attorneys to work counseling the growing number of low-income families who are urgently in need of help during these difficult economic times,” the agency reports in a…

Feb 6, 2009 12:10 AM CST

1st Oral Argument for Jenner Associate is in US Supreme Court

It was Lindsay Harrison’s first oral argument. And it was in the U.S. Supreme Court. So was the 30-year-old Jenner & Block associate perhaps just a bit nervous before she walked into court on Wednesday? Not as much as she expected to be, reports Above the Law. “I was still…

Jan 23, 2009 10:54 PM CST

Indiana AG Hopes to Improve Lawyers’ Reputation

Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller says he’d like to improve the reputation of lawyers. At one time, lawyers were family counselors and trusted advisers, Zoeller says, and he’d like to revive the tradition, according to the Indianapolis Star. He said pro bono work has been an effective image booster. “That…

Jan 16, 2009 2:28 PM CST

Federal Judge Might Ax $2M Legal Fee in Seattle ‘Pro Bono’ Case

There’s no question that Davis Wright Tremaine won a civil rights victory for a Seattle parents group by fighting all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court the local school district’s partially race-based high school admissions policy. In 2007, the nation’s top court held that the policy was an unconstitutional…

Jan 14, 2009 8:21 PM CST

Davis Wright Lawyer Plans Suit on Behalf of Detainee Who Claims Torture

A partner at Davis Wright Tremaine is planning to file suit on behalf of a former Guantanamo Bay detainee who claims he was tortured as part of the Bush administration’s extraordinary rendition program. The former detainee, Muhammad Saad Iqbal, says he was beaten, subjected to electric shocks, forced to drink…

Jan 6, 2009 2:45 PM CST

ACLU Among Legal Groups Touched by Madoff Losses

A group that doles out grants to public interest legal organizations had its money invested with Bernard Madoff, the hedge fund manager accused of losing $50 billion in investor money in a massive Ponzi scheme. The group, the JEHT Foundation, is now dissolving, the National Law Journal reports. JEHT gave…

Jan 5, 2009 1:06 PM CST

WSJ Calls Gitmo Pro Bono Lawyers ‘the Latest in Radical Chic’

Large law firms have lined up to provide “legal dream teams” for the world’s most dangerous men at Guantanamo, outgunning the 60 or so Justice Department lawyers handling about 200 habeas appeals, according to a newspaper editorial. The Wall Street Journal column decrying the imbalance is headlined “Gitmo Lawyers Are…

Dec 16, 2008 4:53 PM CST

Law Firms Switch Idle Lawyers to Pro Bono Work

There is at least one benefit to the economic downturn: More lawyers are volunteering for pro bono work. Several law firms have switched lawyers experiencing idle time to pro bono work, the American Lawyer reports. The magazine says these law firms are among those making a change: • Dechert, which…

Dec 16, 2008 3:25 PM CST

Special Export

ABA initiatives help to bolster pro bono efforts by lawyers around the world

Dec 2, 2008 1:20 AM CST