The Metropolitan Corporate Counsel
March 20, 2013
“With the enormous demand for free legal services and the deep cuts to civil legal aid programs, the need for pro bono attorneys has never been greater. Law firms have a longstanding tradition of providing pro bono legal services. But for lawyers in other practice settings, such as those working in corporate legal departments, pro bono participation has been a more recent phenomenon. Over the past few years, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, through its Standing Committee on Pro Bono Legal Services (“Committee”) and its Access to Justice Commission (“Commission”), has focused attention on in-house lawyers as an untapped resource for pro bono needs.
In-house pro bono initiatives have grown over the past decade from a handful of promising efforts to hundreds of formal programs at companies of all sizes throughout the country. Backed by the resources and support of organizations like Corporate Pro Bono, a global partnership of the Pro Bono Institute and the Association of Corporate Counsel (“ACC”), many companies have embraced the important role that their in-house attorneys can play in addressing the pro bono legal needs of their communities.”