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.

On September 18, 2007, Philadelphia LawWorks, a project of the Philadelphia Volunteers for the Indigent Program, hosted its fourth annual Corporate Pro Bono Day. Co-sponsored by the Association of Corporate Counsel’s Delaware Valley (DELVACCA) Chapter, Ballard Spahr Andrews & Ingersoll, LLP, and Corporate Pro Bono (CPBO), a national partnership project of the Association of Corporate Counsel and the Pro Bono Institute, Corporate Pro Bono Day provided in-house counsel the opportunity to provide valuable legal assistance to small businesses in need. Based on CPBO’s Clinic in a Box℠ model, Corporate Pro Bono Day attracted approximately 26 corporate volunteer attorneys and 22 small businesses. The volunteer participants represented a number of corporate law departments, including Exelon Business Services, GlaxoSmithKline, Pep Boys, and Comcast.

Please welcome the six newest Corporate Challenge℠ Signatories: Abbott, Armstrong World Industries, Inc., Aon Corporation, Johnson & Johnson, Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, and Pep Boys.  The legal departments of these companies have become the latest corporate legal departments to sign onto the Corporate Challenge℠, which is designed to empower corporate legal departments to identify, benchmark, and communicate their commitment to pro bono service.

The Pro Bono Institute would like to thank the amazing number of law firms and corporate legal departments who have stepped forward to volunteer to provide pro bono legal services to veterans as part of a national project administered by the National Veterans Legal Services Project, the American Legion, and other veterans groups.  The details regarding the infrastructure of the volunteer representation project are being finalized and will be disseminated later this month.

Please welcome the two newest Corporate Pro Bono Challenge℠ Signatories: PETCO Animal Supplies, Inc. and ARS National Services, Inc. The legal departments of these companies have become the latest corporate legal departments to sign onto the Corporate Pro Bono Challenge℠, developed by Corporate Pro Bono (CPBO), a joint initiative of the Association of Corporate Counsel and the Pro Bono Institute. The Corporate Challenge℠ is designed to empower corporate legal departments to identify, benchmark, and communicate their commitment to pro bono service. As part of the Corporate Challenge℠, Chief Legal Officers encourage and promote pro bono service by their legal department staff and use their best efforts to encourage at least one-half of their legal staff to support and participate in pro bono service. In addition, Chief Legal Officers encourage outside law firms with whom they work to acknowledge publicly their support for pro bono by becoming signatories to the Pro Bono Institute’s Law Firm Pro Bono Challenge®. To view the full text of the Corporate Challenge℠ or to find the complete list of Corporate Challenge℠ Signatories, visit www.cpbo.org.

On August 24, 2007, Corporate Pro Bono (CPBO), a national partnership project of the Association of Corporate Counsel and the Pro Bono Institute, hosted its second Onsite Pro Bono Clinic – also known as Clinic in a BoxSM – in Denver, Colorado.  Co-sponsored by the Colorado Chapter of the Association of Corporate Counsel, Hogan & Hartson LLP, the Community Resource Center, and the Colorado Lawyers Committee, the Clinic attracted twenty-six volunteer attorneys, and it was extremely successful in helping to resolve the legal issues of fourteen Denver area nonprofit organizations.