Inspired by Professor Marc Galanter’s groundbreaking study of upcoming demographic changes in the legal profession, the Pro Bono Institute (PBI) in Washington, D.C., launched Second Acts® i.e., second acts in the lives of lawyers approaching retirement age – an ambitious initiative designed to support transitioning and retired lawyers who are interested in a second, volunteer career in public interest law. Grounded in PBI’s own rigorous research on the viability of a new model of transition and retirement in the legal profession (available upon request), PBI is working with major law firms, corporate legal departments, and public interest organizations to develop a new paradigm of legal retirement that will reduce the widening access to justice gap. Among the support offered, PBI is providing technical assistance to law firms, a growing number of whom are structuring programs to support the desire of their more experienced lawyers to expand their role in pro bono practice.
In a major step forward, and with the aid of a three-year grant award from The David and Lucile Packard Foundation, the Pro Bono Institute has selected five outstanding public interest organizations to pilot four innovative demonstration projects that make significant use of the talents and skills of seasoned lawyers. The Legal Aid Society in New York, Volunteer Lawyer’s Project of the Boston Bar Association, Bar Association of San Francisco’s Volunteer Legal Services Program, Bay Area Legal Aid, and Kids Matter, Inc. plan to implement scalable and replicable projects that make strategic use of this unique pool of legal talent. PBI will provide the organizations with technical assistance, advice, training, and $40,000 annually for three years to launch the following pro bono projects that engage transitioning or retired lawyers from large firms or in-house legal departments and will also work closely with them to secure the input and participation of larger law firms and legal departments in their committees:
The Legal Aid Society in New York will develop original methods to create pro bono opportunities for experienced attorneys in individual representation, law reform, transactional, and legislative policy work in all areas of poverty law practice.
The Volunteer Lawyers Project of the Boston Bar Association will target Boston’s largest law firms to sponsor initiatives that will provide their transitioning attorneys with opportunities to engage in significant and meaningful public interest practice.
The Bar Association of San Francisco’s Volunteer Legal Services Program and Bay Area Legal Aid are collaborating to establish a pilot project that will develop a range of opportunities for transitioning and retired attorneys, including: creating an expert litigation panel, engaging experienced attorneys in policy work, and enabling volunteers to develop and lead projects.
Kids Matter Inc., in Milwaukee, Wisconsin will launch a project to engage Wisconsin’s transitioning and retired attorneys in working to better the lives of special needs foster children in guardianship cases, in complex special education matters, and on law reform and policy issues.
The projected impact of these demonstration projects is wide-ranging: redefining legal retirement and the transition to legal retirement; providing firms’ pro bono programs with a vast new reservoir of legal expertise and human capital; and providing much-needed resources and seasoned legal skill to understaffed and under-funded public interest organizations with an expansive and nuanced understanding of the legal needs in their client community.
Developed by Corporate Pro Bono
A global partnership project of the Pro Bono Institute and the Association of Corporate Counsel
www.cpbo.org