A statement to sign for commitment to pro bono involvement by a legal department

Yesterday (See my post of Aug. 20, 2009: CPR statement.), I wrote that I suspected that general counsel have available to them to sign a statement in support of pro bono. That is indeed the case.

Esther Lardent, the long-time President & CEO of the Pro Bono Institute, promptly wrote to answer my speculation. “Corporate Pro Bono, a joint initiative of my organization, the Pro Bono Institute, and ACC, is working with hundreds of legal departments to create and enhance pro bono programs. We have established and registered the Corporate Pro Bono Challenge, which is a voluntary, aspirational, pro bono goal for legal departments. While the number of departments signed on is small relative to CPR’s statement, pro bono is a newer concept and the Challenge requires reporting and contains an ambitious metric – participation by at least half of the department’s legal staff.”

If readers would like to join or find out more information, please go to the website of the Institute (See my post of Aug. 24, 2008: pro bono programs of law departments with 12 references.).