The PBEye
December 13, 2012
The reduced visibility last Tuesday in Boston didn’t stop 29 in-house attorneys from convening to participate in CPBO’s final Clinic in a Box® program in 2012, co-hosted by CPBO, Association of Corporate Counsel–Northeast Chapter (ACC-Northeast), Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky, and Popeo, P.C.*†, the Boston Bar Foundation, and The Lawyers Clearinghouse. This Clinic proved to be just as successful as last year’s Boston Clinic in a Box® program, by helping 13 nonprofits.
The Clinic began with a 90-minute training session led by nonprofit experts from Mintz Levin. Having received a binder of resources and a general overview of governance, employment, real estate, taxation, and other legal topics important to nonprofit operations, volunteers were ready to meet with nonprofit clients.
After the training session, ACC-Northeast members were divided into small teams and assigned to a local nonprofit. Each team then conducted a legal audit of its assigned organization. The participating nonprofits provide many valuable services, such as legal assistance, education, shelter, and a variety of other community support initiatives to those in need in Boston and outside communities.
Clients and volunteers were complimentary of the Clinic’s ability to create effective partnerships that could become lasting relationships. One volunteer noted that the Clinic was a great experience and she “was glad to realize that [her] skills as an in-house lawyer are useful to a nonprofit.”
The PBEye applauds the Boston’s in-house community’s continued commitment to pro bono and is appreciative of the host firm Mintz Levin. Those interested in learning more about CPBO’s recent clinics should click here and here. You may also contact CPBO Director Eve Runyon to learn more about hosting a Clinic in a Box® program.
* denotes a Signatory to the Law Firm Pro Bono Challenge®
† denotes a Member of the Law Firm Pro Bono Project