How law firms can do good while doing well (and the answer is not pro bono).(Professional Challenges in Large Firm Practices)

From: Fordham Urban Law Journal | Date: November 1, 2005| Author: | Copyright information

I was speaking with a transactional lawyer whom I hadn't seen in many years. He spoke with passion about his work. He was making good money. He was working on important deals. He took pride that when he worked on a deal, all the parties understood what the deal was about, and the deals were basically fair. Then he started to apologize. He started to apologize for not doing good in his career as a lawyer. In law school, he had done some public interest work, and he never followed up on it; then, as a lawyer, he didn't do a lot of pro bono.

So why did this lawyer feel the need ...

Related newspaper, magazine, and trade journal articles from HighBeam Research

(Including press releases, facts, information, and biographies)

Pro bono, pro business
; ...reason to do business with a law firm. Pro bono, legal counsel is paying off for Blank...representation, says Kathy Ochroch, associate and pro bono, director for Blank Rome. "As attorneys...others. There is such a great need for pro bono services and, as lawyers, we have a unique...
The Meaning of Pro Bono: Institutional Variations in Professional Obligations among Lawyers
; Recent data on lawyer participation in pro bono have suggested that such work flows from the...workplace characteristics of those who provide pro bono service. This finding would imply that pro bono emerges not merely from individual personality...
Law firms find new ways to help needy, for free: Because many firms have more nontrial lawyers, it's harder to meet pro bono targets. So some are giving time to specific groups, like foster kids.(USA)
; ...traditional models, they focused the firm's pro bono efforts on a single program, JUSTice FOR...children languishing in foster homes. The pro bono participation rate spiked to 92 percent...The long-standing legal tradition of pro bono - or free legal service to those without...
THE PRO BONO DILEMMA BOSTON'S LAWYERS PRIDE THEMSELVES ON THE WORK THEY DO FOR FREE. IT'S A WAY FOR THEM TO GIVE BACK, AND IT'S A MAJOR RECRUITING TOOL. BUT AS TOP FIRMS CAST AN INCREASINGLY CRITICAL EYE ON THE LINE BETWEEN PUBLIC SERVICE AND PROFIT, SOME FEAR GOOD WILL COULD END UP LOST IN THE BALANCE.
; ...Boston's other largest law firms, balancing pro bono legal services with money-making work...lawyer who approaches 150 hours a year of pro bono work to meet with a supervisor to discuss...guideline, which will create a uniform pro bono policy following a merger, is a management...
Pro Bono Is No Pro Forma Matter for District's Hogan & Hartson
; ...at Hogan & Hartson to figure out where pro bono ranks at D.C.'s second-largest law firm...interested in participating in one or more pro bono projects in the near future?" it asks...unusual, 21-year-old program that gives pro bono the same status as the firm's other practice...
A practitioner's reflections: the ongoing relevance of the pro bono response to 9/11.
; INTRODUCTION The pro bono response to the horrendous events of 9/11...plus the spillover effects of 9/11-related pro bono efforts, all have great significance to efforts to increase regular pro bono activities. I. GREATLY INCREASED INVOLVEMENT...
Access to Justice in the New Millennium Achieving the Promise of Pro Bono
; ...following article is adapted from The Politics of Pro Bono. 52 UCLA LAWREVIEW 1 (2004). Pro bono legal services have been profoundly transformed...twenty-five years. For most of American legal history, pro bono was provided informally, frequently by solo...
Providing pro bono services remain priority.(Ohio law firms, law schools)(Brief Article)
; ...the responsibility to provide quality pro bono services to clients in need rests squarely...ever adjusted its attitude or approach to pro bono work based on general economic conditions...American Bar Association's committee on pro bono and public service in Chicago, said Ohio...
'pro bono' worth it, but portect yourself.
; 'Pro bono' work can be a worthwhile and cost-effective...seeking opportunities for self-promotion, pro bono work is a great idea as long as you protect...the legal field. I am currently doing 'pro bono' work for a local bar association. In exchange...
Pro Bono Publico: Voluntary service and mandatory reporting
; ...Model Rule 6.1 encourages lawyers to provide pro bono publico service. The American Bar Association...the Rule to encourage lawyers to provide pro bono service. The Rule is not mandatory; making pro bono service mandatory engenders heated controversy...