CPBO recognizes the success of Aetna, Inc.’s pro bono program, which was founded in 1981. Aetna’s legal department participates in programs such as the Connecticut Lawyers’ Legal Aid to the Elderly, Lawyers for Children America, among many others.

The PBEye ponders Evan Hochberg of Deloitte’s article in the Huffington Post regarding the exponentially higher monetary value of skilled volunteerism in comparison to that of traditional volunteer services.

The parallels between CSR and pro bono are obvious. Read about some of the aspects of CSR that have taken hold in the legal community.

Harvard Law’s One Day’s Work program, through which second-year law students working as summer associates contribute a day’s salary and work to support classmates working without pay for public interest organizations, demonstrates the growing interest in pro bono work among generation Y lawyers.

Pro bono legal work was once the sole province of law firms. But no more. Now that terrain is increasingly inhabited by in-house legal departments, too.

The Williams Companies maintains a strong pro bono program with focuses on elder care, guardian ad litem cases, and also partners with external organizations to run the Courthouse Assistance Program.

CPBO shares 10 lessons learned from the experiences of various legal departments.

Legal departments went from being a non-factor in pro bono only five years ago to being a driving force today.