On June 1, 2009, the Hildebrandt Institute and the Pro Bono Institute, through Corporate Pro Bono, its partnership project with the Association of Corporate Counsel, sponsored an interactive virtual seminar on how to use pro bono partnerships to improve relationships between law firms and in-house legal departments.  Pro Bono Institute’s President and CEO, Esther Lardent, served as a panelist for the June webinar, titled “Putting the Values in Value: Using Pro Bono to Enhance Inside-Outside Counsel Relationships.”

Lardent was joined by the Association of Corporate Counsel Senior Vice President and General Counsel, Susan Hackett; Hildebrandt Managing Director and Chair of the Pro Bono Institute Board of Directors, James Jones; and Intel Corporation Deputy General Counsel, Suzan Miller.  Representatives from law firms around the country listened from remote locations as the panelists discussed how firms and in-house legal departments can form successful pro bono partnerships and responded to thoughtful questions from participants.

Susan Hackett began the session by focusing on how pro bono partnerships can improve other aspects of “inside-outside” relationships by increasing trust and opening the lines of communication between inside counsel and outside firms.

Esther Lardent gave a thorough overview of the nuts and bolts of partnering, including best practices and tips on how to avoid common pitfalls.  Jim Jones relied on his experience as the former managing partner of Arnold & Porter LLP and as the former General Counsel of APCO Worldwide while describing the benefits of partnerships from the law firm’s perspective.

Esther Lardent and Jim Jones also both touched on the need for pro bono partnerships to focus on pro bono work, and not client or business development.  Suzan Miller reported that Intel prefers to partner with firms with which they have existing commercial relationships, in order to avoid being subjected to marketing pitches from those they haven’t retained previously.

Lastly, Suzan Miller discussed Intel’s various pro bono projects, explaining how she and her colleagues applied the principles discussed by the other panelists to create stable pro bono partnerships with several different law firms and legal services providers.  Intel’s program has been particularly successful, involving nearly a third of its legal department and taking on projects in four cities as well as through virtual sites.  In 2008, Intel worked on approximately 100 different pro bono matters.

This seminar was the second in a series hosted by Hildebrandt and the Pro Bono Institute on the intersection of pro bono and the economy.  Recordings of the June 1 event as well as the previous webinar, “Making the Best of It: Using Pro Bono to More Effectively Address Underutilized Lawyers,” are available for purchase on the West LegalEdCenter website.  CLE credit may be available for this program.

We are grateful for the assistance provided by Anne Gooch, Pro Bono Institute intern, in preparing this article.

Developed by Corporate Pro Bono
A global partnership project of the Pro Bono Institute and the Association of Corporate Counsel
www.cpbo.org