LexisNexis, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. and a Corporate Pro Bono ChallengeSM Signatory, has released a Corporate Responsibility Report, highlighting the community service and legal pro bono work that Lexis employees participated in during 2007, and outlining objectives for 2008.

The impact of Corporate Pro Bono (CPBO), a partnership of the Association of Corporate Counsel and the Pro Bono Institute, has accelerated in recent months, with several new companies signing on to the Corporate Pro Bono ChallengeSM, developed by CPBO.  The Corporate Pro Bono ChallengeSM is designed to empower corporate legal departments to identify, benchmark, and communicate their commitment to pro bono service.

The danger to American soldiers in Iraq has received a great deal of media coverage, but the danger to Iraqis who have assisted American soldiers has gone largely unnoticed.  For those who are forced to flee Iraq, the process leading to safety can be laborious.  The cover story of the July 2008 ABA Journal details the struggle of one Iraqi refugee to get himself and his family to safety after he risked his life to serve as a translator to the paratroopers of the 82nd Airborne.

The Committee Encouraging Corporate Philanthropy (CECP) is an international forum of more than 165 business CEOs and Chairs, including many leaders from the world’s largest companies, pursuing a mission to lead the business community in raising the level and quality of corporate philanthropy. Engaging with the public, private, and independent sectors, CECP members seek and create opportunities to serve as corporate giving advocates, practitioners, educators, and spokespersons to advance the case for philanthropy and to inspire other business leaders to make a lasting commitment to community giving.  In recent months, CECP has expanded its mission to include the promotion of non-legal “pro bono” at corporations.

On June 24, 2008, Corporate Pro Bono (CPBO), a joint project of the Association of Corporate Counsel and the Pro Bono Institute, along with the Legal Aid Society of New York, partnered with the law firm of Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP and volunteers from The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. to conduct a Clinic in a Box℠. The Clinic was held at the offices of Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP and provided vital pro bono legal services to ten microentrepreneurs and small businesses from New York City and the surrounding area as the Goldman Sachs legal department utilized their pro bono legal skills to contribute to a larger company-wide community service initiative.

The Wyeth Pro Bono Program recently received the International Law Office Global Counsel Pro Bono Award at a black tie dinner in New York City.  The award, presented with the support of the Association of Corporate Counsel, recognized Wyeth’s creation and launch of a pro bono program at three of Wyeth’s sites over the past year.

The Pro Bono Institute continues to work with the National Veterans Legal Services Program (NVLSP) to implement and expand the veterans’ pro bono program. The interest and commitment to the program shown by law firms and legal departments has been incredible, and the volunteer base has continued to grow. Eight months since the October 31 orientation and launch of this initiative, the referral of veterans’ benefits cases at the Board of Veterans’ Appeals or Appeals Management Centers is thriving, and more than 145 cases have been placed, thanks to the more than 50 law firms and legal departments who have signed on to volunteer their time.

On May 14, 2008, the San Diego Volunteer Lawyer Program hosted a clinic for the Legal Department of Symantec Corporation.  The clinic was designed to help undocumented women and children, who are the survivors of domestic violence, to complete applications to receive passports from the Mexican Consulate, allowing them to take the next step towards legal residency and ultimately to secure legal protection against their abusers.

Qwest Communications International, Inc., a recent Corporate Pro Bono Challenge℠ Signatory, has been named the 2008 Best Legal Department by Corporate Counsel magazine.  It is important to note that the company exemplifies the type of top-down support for pro bono work that can make a pro bono program flourish.  The article, reprinted below, notes that several changes in the legal department that were introduced by General Counsel Richard Baer, have reduced turnover rate from 25 percent to 4 percent.  The article also notes that participation in the nascent pro bono program (initiated in 2003) has increased every year, with a thirty percent increase between 2006 and 2007.  While much of the article focuses on the changes Baer has introduced to Qwest’s legal department, the strength of the legal department’s pro bono efforts was an important consideration in the award process.  Read below for details.

Please welcome the newest Corporate Challenge℠ Signatory: Federal Reserve Bank of New York. The legal department of this company has become the latest corporate legal department to sign onto the Corporate Challenge℠, developed by Corporate Pro Bono (CPBO), a joint initiative of the Association of Corporate Counsel and the Pro Bono Institute.  The Corporate Pro Bono Challenge℠ is designed to empower corporate legal departments to identify, benchmark, and communicate their commitment to pro bono service. To view the full text of the Corporate Challenge℠ or to find the complete list of Corporate Challenge℠ Signatories, visit the CPBO website.