On Friday, February 29, 2008, the legal department of Bank of America Corporation will receive the Pro Bono Institute’s 2008 Laurie D. Zelon Pro Bono Award during a reception at the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington, D.C.  Timothy J. Mayopoulos, Executive Vice President and General Counsel of Bank of America Corporation, will accept the award on behalf of the legal department.  The award, given each year to an individual or organization that has provided exemplary pro bono service, will be presented in conjunction with the Institute’s 2008 Pro Bono Seminar and Forum on In-house Corporate Pro Bono – a global conference that brings together major law firms, corporate legal departments, and public interest and civil rights organizations to focus on joint efforts to enhance and improve pro bono service. 

In the September 2007 issue of InsideCounsel magazine, Brad Smith, Senior Vice President, General Counsel, and Corporate Secretary of Microsoft Corporation, as well as a Co-Chair of the Corporate Pro Bono Advisory Board, wrote an editorial urging the in-house legal community to change the way they look at pro bono. 

Over 120 leaders from in-house legal departments and major law firms gathered on November 6, 2007, for the first-ever Pro Bono Leadership Convocation, sponsored by the Pro Bono Institute and the Association for Corporate Counsel (ACC). Held at the offices of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meager & Flom, LLP in New York City, the Pro Bono Leadership Convocation brought together representatives of in-house legal departments and major law firms to focus on ensuring that the growing levels of pro bono service at law firms and legal departments more effectively address the need for legal assistance and effectuate systemic changes in our justice system.

On October 29, 2007, Corporate Pro Bono (CPBO), a national partnership project of the Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC) and the Pro Bono Institute, hosted its tenth annual Onsite Pro Bono Clinic in conjunction with the 2007 ACC Annual Meeting in Chicago – the largest annual meeting in ACC history.  Co-sponsored by ACC’s Chicago Chapter, Holland & Knight LLP, and the Community Economic Development Law Project (CEDLP), the Clinic attracted 36 volunteer corporate attorneys and was extremely successful in helping to resolve the legal issues of fourteen Chicago area nonprofit organizations.

On November 12th, 2007, Intel Corporation and Hewlett-Packard Company, in association with Corporate Pro Bono (CPBO), hosted a Summit on Pro Bono Participation for corporate legal departments in the Bay Area.  The Summit attracted over twenty in-house representatives from more than thirteen legal departments, and achieved its goals of promoting awareness of pro bono efforts in the Bay Area, highlighting the feasibility of pro bono work at departments, and identifying opportunities for collaboration among Bay Area corporate legal departments.

The Pro Bono Institute’s 2007 Annual Gala “Partnering for Justice” was a great event at which to catch up with law firm and corporate legal department leaders. Held at New York City’s Gotham Hall on November 6, the event brought together more than 475 guests to celebrate partnerships to expand and enhance pro bono service between and among corporate legal departments, major law firms, and public interest groups.

Esther Lardent is busier than she’s been in years — and she couldn’t be happier. She’s discovered a whole new crop of attorneys interested in doing pro bono work: in-house lawyers.

On October 29, 2007, Corporate Pro Bono (CPBO), a national partnership project of the Association of Corporate Counsel and the Pro Bono Institute, hosted its tenth annual Onsite Pro Bono Clinic in conjunction with the ACC Annual Meeting in Chicago. Co-sponsored by ACC’s Chicago Chapter, Holland & Knight LLP, and the Community Economic Development Law Project (CEDLP), the Clinic attracted 36 volunteer corporate attorneys and was extremely successful in helping to resolve the legal issues of fourteen Chicago area nonprofit organizations.

PHILADELPHIA (November 13, 2007) – Attorneys and staff from PECO, Exelon, ACE Group of Insurance Companies, Pep Boys, Aetna, Merck, Wachovia, Blue Cross, and Reliable Companies with the Homeless Advocacy Project (HAP), an organization dedicated to meeting the legal and advocacy needs of Philadelphia’s homeless community, held a recent birth certificate clinic that helped over 130 adults and children apply for their birth certificates free of charge.

On September 20, 2007, American International Group, Inc. (AIG) held its first global legal compliance and regulatory conference in Greenwich, Connecticut under the leadership of Anastasia Kelly, the company’s new Executive Vice President, General Counsel, and Senior Regulatory and Compliance Officer.  The conference included a thought-provoking and well-attended plenary panel on pro bono service.