The PBEye
December 7, 2011

Last week, Gap, Inc.’s** legal department met with ten local nonprofits to conduct a legal audit of the organizations and ensure that they are operating in good legal health.  Gap partnered with CPBO, Volunteer Legal Services Program (VLSP) of The Bar Association of San Francisco, and Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP* to host a Clinic in a Box^® program.

The Clinic, held at the Gap headquarters in San Francisco, attracted 42 members of the Gap legal department, including Senior Vice President, General Counsel, Secretary, and Chief Compliance Officer Michelle Banks, who participated in the training session and met with a nonprofit client.  Banks also addressed the volunteers and clients, thanking Morgan Lewis for their expertise and support during the Clinic and beyond, VLSP for their work with the client organizations, the nonprofit clients for their work to improve the community, and CPBO for helping Gap create and expand the legal department’s pro bono program.

The Clinic began with a training session for the Gap volunteers led by lawyers from the San Francisco office of Morgan Lewis.  The training covered issues pertinent to the legal health of nonprofit organizations.  Following the training, members of the Gap legal department met with executive directors of Bay Area nonprofits, issue spotting and providing legal advice as necessary.  The Clinic was a terrific team-building exercise for the legal department, as lawyer and non-lawyers alike teamed up to provide pro bono legal assistance.

The clients serve a variety of low-income and otherwise disadvantaged people, including an organization that promotes safer neighborhoods through crime prevention and public safety services, a home for the elderly, and a group that works to expand access to financial services, savings, and investment opportunities for low-income and working poor families.

To learn more about the Clinic in a Box^® model, contact Eve Runyon, director of CPBO.

 *denotes a Signatory to the Law Firm Pro Bono Challenge^®
**denotes a Signatory to the Corporate Pro Bono Challenge^®