<![CDATA[InSpirer Consulting - Blog]]>Thu, 27 Apr 2023 13:52:05 -0700Weebly<![CDATA[What Counts?]]>Mon, 17 Jun 2013 14:36:09 GMThttp://www.inspirerconsulting.com/blog/what-countsLast week I had the opportunity to attend a meeting with Dean Larry Raful, who is responsible for determining which pro bono projects count for the newly-enacted 50-hour pro bono requirement for bar admission in New York. I do not envy him. The question "what counts?" was a question constantly in the forefront of my mind while I was managing a law firm pro bono program. When I first started out, I developed a chart that listed three of the definitions I encountered the most often: the American Bar Association definition, the Volunteers of Legal Service definition, and the Pro Bono Institute's definition, each of which differed just slightly from the other. Over the years, the American Lawyer, which required law firms to report their pro bono hours, adopted the Pro Bono Institute definition. After that, I basically used that definition for any/all external reporting.

It is somewhat frustrating that the new New York requirement does not use the same definition (and neither does the new reporting requirement, but that's another story), and in fact, the boundaries of "what counts?" is still evolving. The good news is that Dean Raful is thinking about it, and has been quite open to suggestions from those of us who have been in the pro bono field grappling with definitions for years. Stay tuned!
]]><![CDATA[New Pro Bono Project Highlights]]>Tue, 04 Jun 2013 20:38:12 GMThttp://www.inspirerconsulting.com/blog/new-pro-bono-project-highlights
  • A group of San Francisco Bay Area law firms and legal services providers recently launched the Bay Area Rural Justice Collaborative, dedicated to expanding access to legal services in rural and/or isolated communities throughout the Bay Area. This project is the first of the Association of Pro Bono Counsel's (APBCo) IMPACT Projects to launch. The IMPACT Projects are being created in response to a meeting held in Washington, D.C., in 2012 by Vice President Joe Biden, APBCo board members (including me) and senior management of the board members' firms. Several of the New York projects will be launching this fall.
  • Several large law firms have filed the first human trafficking suits in federal court as part of a large pro bono effort in conjunction with the Southern Poverty Law Center. These suits are the first in a series of federal lawsuits to prosecute multiple human trafficking and racketeering allegations against a Gulf Coast marine services company and its network of recruiters and labor brokers.
]]><![CDATA[A Reaction To Mandatory Pro Bono Reporting In NY (and a reaction to that reaction)]]>Wed, 22 May 2013 14:40:55 GMThttp://www.inspirerconsulting.com/blog/a-reaction-to-mandatory-pro-bono-reporting-in-ny-and-a-reaction-to-that-reactionEarlier this month, New York enacted a rule requiring mandatory reporting of pro bono hours and donations to legal services organizations as part of the attorney registration process. On May 14th, the New York Law Journal published an article by attorney Vess Mitav titled "Pro Bono Mandate Misses the Mark." In his article, Mr. Mitav posits that the new rule "is unlikely to serve its intended purpose of increasing free legal services to those needing them, for the simple reason that most firms in New York are small operations or solo practitioners, who are already stretched to the limit and depend on clients to pay their bills to keep their doors open and the lights on."

I think Mr. Mitav has missed the mark.

In the seven states that have enacted similar rules, pro bono participation rates have increased. Reporting is a simple way to ensure, at the very least, that every two years, attorneys are at least thinking about pro bono, and this might in turn motivate them to do pro bono work. Clearly it seems to have worked elsewhere. It is also a way to capture key information about what pro bono work is currently being done that may not be reported elsewhere. I believe that the current reporting requirement only asks for number of hours and dollar amount. My suggestion to Judge Lippman is that it go into even more detail -- if not asking about particular organizations for whom pro bono work has been done, then at least asking about the subject areas in which the work has been done.  The community and courts can then use this data to be more strategic about developing new pro bono programs and redistributing pro bono resources to those who are being underserved.


]]><![CDATA[Pro Bono Reporting Now Required in New York]]>Wed, 01 May 2013 21:21:18 GMThttp://www.inspirerconsulting.com/blog/pro-bono-reporting-now-required-in-new-yorkBeginning today, New York lawyers must disclose on their biennial registration forms how many pro bono hours they provided and how much they made in financial donations to pro bono programs during the previous two years
This wonderful news arrived in my email inbox today from the New York Law Journal. What does this mean? While large law firms generally report their pro bono hours through their firms' reporting to the American Lawyer, Vault, the Pro Bono Institute and others, pro bono hours of New York attorneys in small to mid-sized firms, in-house legal departments, and solo practitioners might often be left unreported in any formal way if they are not captured by legal services providers. This new requirement will allow the courts to get a better sense of these hours and formulate meaningful access to justice programs accordingly.
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