The PBEye
October 22, 2013

While Congress continues to quarrel about the federal budget, your legal department may want to think about its own budget with regard to its pro bono program. CPBO’s 2012 Benchmarking Report asked departments a number of budget questions, including which of the following source(s) fund the pro bono program.

For departments with a separate budget or a line item within the legal department’s budget, the 2012 Benchmarking Report found that the total amount allocated to the pro bono program within that budget varied across departments as follows:

While budgeting aims to predict expenses accurately, occasionally departments under-budget. When this happens, 68 percent of departments who responded to the 2012 Benchmarking Survey noted that with approval, necessary expenses can exceed the budgeted amount. When formalizing a pro bono program or drafting a budget, there are a number of potential costs to consider. The 2012 Benchmarking Report details what different budgets generally include:

For more details about possible expenses, read Planning Your In-House Pro Bono Budget. If you have questions about your pro bono program’s budget, CPBO is happy to help — just contact CPBO Director Eve Runyon.