Corporate Counsel
Shannon Green
June 3, 2011
Want to do pro bono work but find that your state’s restrictions on multi-jurisdictional practice are just too cumbersome? A couple of recent rule amendments may signify a trend toward easing age-old limitations on in-house pro bono.
Effective April 15, the Virginia Supreme Court approved an amendment to its rules governing in-house lawyers’ ability to do pro bono work for needy clients. Previously, Virginia allowed attorneys licensed in other states to do pro bono—but only through an approved legal aid organization and only under the direction of a supervising attorney. In some pro bono matters the Virginia rules had also required an in-house lawyer to obtain written permission from the client and approval from the court.
For many in-house lawyers, restrictions such as those can be a strong disincentive to perform pro bono services.
In late March, the Arkansas Supreme Court adopted language to its practice rules allowing non-admitted attorneys, including in-house counsel licensed in other states, to provide legal pro bono services. But the Arkansas decision—while a step in the right direction—doesn’t go far enough, says Eve Runyon, project director of Corporate Pro Bono (CPBO).
CPBO is a joint effort of ACC and the Pro Bono Institute. Created to assist in-house counsel who want to establish or improve their legal departments’ pro bono efforts, CPBO has changed the face of in-house pro bono. Although in-house lawyers have previously been permitted to work for an employer in states where they are not barred, many states’ practice rules have been silent on whether these lawyers may assist low-income clients. In-house counsel already face significant hurdles in establishing formal pro bono programs, and CPBO has urged states to modify rules to address the growing need for pro bono.
In its push to modify the Virginia rule, CPBO had the help of Verizon Communications Inc. general counsel Randal Milch. The GC spoke last year at Virginia’s Pro Bono Summit about the importance of pro bono. He urged the court and the bar to make the changes necessary to tap in to the expertise of the state’s 800 in-house lawyers. After the summit, the CPBO assisted a taskforce of attorneys to draft the rule amendment.
Milch is part of a vibrant pro bono program at Verizon—with more than 44 percent of lawyers participating in the program at the end of April. “When I became GC of Verizon, I was looking to bring to the more than 400 lawyers we have the ability to do pro bono work,” said Milch. He points out that many of Verizon’s 200,000 employees were already doing a lot for the communities where Verizon does business, and “it’s very important for the Verizon legal department to give back to the community.”
Verizon’s national pro bono programs focus on three main areas: education, domestic violence, and veterans’ affairs; but, according to Milch, there are “underserved populations all across the board.”
In-house lawyers’ skills are fungible, despite a strand of practitioner in the legal community who “thinks because you only have one client you’re limited in your ability to serve on other matters.” Milch said, “That never made any sense to me.”
He said that in-house lawyers fight some degree of trade protection coming from other lawyers who work in firms. “There is a plain old feeling that if there were no in-house lawyers, there would be more work,” said Milch.
But he thinks the notion that in-house lawyers are not of the same quality has largely been put to rest. More than anything, Milch said, in-house lawyers are just dealing with the obstacles of antiquated rules when it comes to pro bono. He’ll be working with ACC and the Pro Bono Institute, other in-house counsel, and other bar members who realize the value of unleashing the capabilities of in-house counsel.
And CPBO is glad to have his help. “Right now we’re looking at a number of states,” said Runyon. “We’ve talked to people in Connecticut and Massachusetts.” Currently, only Virginia, Colorado, Delaware, and Pennsylvania have expressly allowed in-house counsel to perform pro bono work under their limited licenses. Nineteen other states and the District of Columbia have rules allowing practice through approved legal services organizations.
MJP-NEWS