DOING GOOD WHILE DOING WELL: A Road Map to Success with Pro Bono

Transcription

1 DOING GOOD WHILE DOING WELL: A Road Map to Success with Pro Bono

2 There has to be a need met by someone, and in many respects, it s going to come back to pro bono lawyers and volunteers to do that. Those are the thoughts of Steve Marchese, pro bono director at the Minnesota State Bar Association. The former business litigator, now volunteer legal services advocate, worries about the sheer volume of people who can qualify for legal aid and the funding that hasn t been restored since before the recession. Due to years of uncertain economic times, the number of people who currently need pro bono assistance is soaring. The poverty rate is higher now than it was in 2007 and 2008, said Marchese. It might be down from where it was at its peak, but it s not down so much that the need isn t constant. Statistics show at least 40 percent of low and moderate-income households nationwide experience a legal problem each year. i At the same time the collective civil legal aid efforts meet only about 20 percent of the legal needs of low-income people. ii The time is now to make a difference and put your skills to use while also reaping the benefits that coincide with pro bono efforts. The trick is finding that time and making it sustainable for years to come. This playbook will highlight the professional and emotional factors associated with pro bono work, along with offering a guide on how to build a viable philanthropic program at your firm. Low to moderate-income households that experience a legal problem each year 40% Source: 2014 Probono.net survey Percentage of low-income people receiving legal aid each year Pro Bono Work Nourishes the Soul As long as the practice of law has been around, attorneys have been helping others. Legal services are valuable in our culture, but that value oftentimes makes them inaccessible to the underprivileged or to the organizations that may need them the most. The American Bar Association states that lawyers should aspire to render, without fee, at least 50 hours of pro bono legal services per year, with an emphasis that these services be provided to people of limited means or nonprofit organizations that serve the poor. 20% Source: 2013 American Bar Association Survey Helping others both nourishes the soul and works toward the common good. For some attorneys their motivating factor might be paying it forward in terms of education. For others it s shedding light on veterans issues or even representing the wrongly accused. Reaching out to those in need through pro i 2014 Probono.net survey ii 2013 American Bar Association Survey

3 bono work can rebalance your work life, regenerate your spirit and help you gain a greater sense of connectedness with the law. Far too often the attorney reputation gets maligned from being called ambulance chasers to being characterized as unemotional legal robots. But contrary to popular belief, many attorneys actually cite the ability to make a positive change in society as the reason they attended law school in the first place. According to a recent Super Lawyers survey, 46 percent stated working in a challenging field as the number-one reason they started practicing law. iii Coming in second was helping others, at 30 percent. iii Pro bono work addresses both of these ideas, often expanding an attorney s professional experience through volunteering for causes they feel passionate about. Pro bono involvement is also a great way to showcase your firm s expertise while providing a useful service to the people who really need it. The idea of giving back can enhance firm morale and loyalty and can factor into better employee retention rates. Challenging field To help others Other Pay Tradition Prestige Reasons for pursuing a law degree Source: 2017 Super Lawyers Legal Market Trends Survey 46% 30% 10% 7% 5% 3% Good for Your Community and Your Skill Set In addition to delivering societal and altruistic benefits, pro bono work can also further your career and lead to added revenue for your firm. According to the 2017 Super Lawyers Legal Trends Survey, 40 percent of lawyers who participate in pro bono can trace back new business opportunities to their involvement in such efforts. iii Further, the professional contacts that pro bono attorneys develop through exposure to the courts and public service agencies can lead to more client referrals and an enhanced reputation. Pro bono work diversifies any lawyer s professional experience. Because volunteer services are in high demand, young attorneys can practice at a more advanced level. For more-seasoned lawyers, pro bono projects often require that attorneys work outside their normal practice area and take on issues and roles that they normally wouldn t. Assisting pro bono clients may broaden lawyers communication and interpersonal skills beyond those required to deal with their typical clients. Consider taking the following four steps to set the foundation for a sustainable pro bono program at your firm. iii 2017 Super Lawyers Legal Market Trends Survey

4 1. Make Pro Bono Part of Your Firm s DNA Right out of the gate when starting a pro bono program, the most critical action a firm can take is to make it extremely clear they want their attorneys to participate. In addition to creating a groundswell of support for pro bono, it s vital to be upfront about the time commitment necessary from each attorney. However, there s little need for concern the attorneys at your firm are probably already interested. In a recent Super Lawyers survey, 90 percent of attorneys described pro bono efforts as very important or somewhat important. iii You never want ongoing pro bono work to start feeling like a burden, so if keeping your attorneys engaged in your program is important to your firm, it may be worth rewarding them during attorney performance conversations and bonus evaluations. Allowing your firm s attorneys to log pro bono hours toward their billable-hour goal, instead of off-book, can positively reinforce cooperation. Additionally, it s crucial to make sure all the resources you would dedicate to servicing a paying client are also available to your attorneys pro bono efforts. This means granting them access to everything from secretarial support to electronic research services to form generator tools. When the time comes to prepare a strategy, spend ample time getting buy-in from leadership within the firm. One firm may want to appoint a staff attorney to facilitate the locating and vetting process of pro bono opportunities. Another firm may take things in a different direction and leave it up to the individual attorney, case by case, to locate the opportunities most appealing to them. In the pursuit of helping others, both routes offer significant advantages. Percentage of attorneys who say pro bono is very important 90% Source: 2017 Super Lawyers Legal Market Trends Survey 2. Recognize Attorney Participation Acknowledging co-workers who add value to the firm when taking on pro bono cases can sustain existing participation and ignite others to join the program. You can even have fun with it. Consider an annual celebration or award for pro bono work within your firm. And show off a little by sharing your firm s efforts on social media. Not only does this humanize your firm, but it helps distinguish you from the one down the street. Engaged employees are also happier, healthier and perform at a higher level. UnitedHealth Group s 2013 Health and Volunteering Study indicates that People who volunteer report that they feel better emotionally, mentally and physically, iv and research from the University of Georgia Terry College of Business shows that employee volunteering is linked to greater workplace productivity and satisfaction. v iii 2017 Super Lawyers Legal Market Trends Survey iv UnitedHealth Group s 2013 Health and Volunteering Study v Research from the University of Georgia Terry College of Business published in the Academy Of Management Journal

5 When employees perform well and contribute to business goals, this gives leadership more reason to recognize those employees efforts. According to the Millennial Impact Report, More than half of respondents said having their passions and talents recognized and addressed is their top reason for remaining at their current company. vi When companies recognize employees for good work, it reinforces that behavior and sets the foundation for a pattern of positive performance in the future. 3. Build in the Initiative as an Expense It s no secret that there s a cost burden associated with this kind of helping others, so know that going in. Building in pro bono hours as an expense will allow your firm to cover the lost revenue in a structured environment. Thus, each year you can determine whether to increase or decrease opportunities based upon the financial health of the firm. Expensing separates the emotion from the practical side of needing to ensure your firm s continued existence, but it also memorializes the commitment to public service and provides a framework for attorneys to know they can give back without it impacting the top-line expected revenues. DID YOU KNOW? One of the 12 criteria for which Super Lawyers selectees are considered is their pro bono efforts and community service. The best way to get noticed by our research staff is to nominate your peers. Visit today. Beware of several in-house logistical issues when establishing your pro bono program. First, ensure your billing system separates pro bono hours from billable hours by assigning them distinct, trackable codes. In addition, put a process in place for handling cases involving pro bono efforts from the minute such a call comes in. Creating a policy that communicates to employees the unique nature by which your firm screens and chooses volunteer legal cases will help keep all those participating on the same page. Lawrence McDonough, pro bono counsel at the law firm Dorsey, understands the pitfalls of missing or disorganized systems to successful pro bono work. The last thing you want to have happen is to get your attorneys engaged in this volunteer work and then have to abruptly shut it down, said McDonough. Being extremely visible to the leadership of the firm with the cost and time associated with these efforts makes for a long-lasting commitment. 4. Find Common Cause With the massive need for pro bono work and the countless causes and organizations to support, selecting the right attorneys for these cases can be vi 2014 Millennial Impact Report

6 daunting. It s wise to spend some time early on talking to your best candidates and gauging their interest. Asking them What issues do you feel most passionate about? or What topics get you really geared up in the morning or keep you up at night? will lead to a solid foundation of ideas. According to Marchese, selecting one common cause that all attorneys at your firm can commit to is a good place to start. With the inherent need for this type of work, I at times see endeavors sort of self-destruct, because firms try to help too many, he said. When starting out I think it s prudent to select one effort or organization to build a sense of commonality within the firm. Furthermore, when a group of lawyers work together on mutually rewarding material, there s plenty of knowledge sharing and collaboration that benefits the firm in the future. Oftentimes first-and second-year associates, as well as summer associates, can team up with senior attorneys who they otherwise might not work with. You can also purposefully staff files this way to promote mentoring and collegiality and to allow newer attorneys to develop their client relations, file management and oral advocacy skills with guidance and input from more experienced attorneys. By trade, lawyers have a unique set of skills and knowledge that can be used to expand access to justice for those who might not otherwise have it. Steve Marchese Pro Bono Director Minnesota State Bar Association The Time Is Now It s clear there s a national movement toward providing some type of assistance to all who come into the legal system. Both legal-aid services and the court system rely on volunteer lawyers to help meet the needs of underprivileged clients. At first the thought of carving out additional resources dedicated to volunteer legal work may seem daunting. However, putting a plan in place built on the motivations of your firm s attorneys will not only help those who need it most but allow you to be part of the solution.

7 One Attorney s Pro Bono Story Helping Female Veterans Two years ago, when Air Force veteran Michelle Redd was released from jail after serving time for credit card fraud, she was, in her own words, a hot mess. Then she met attorney Nicole Heffel, who had recently started a program at the San Diego County Jail to assist female veterans. Their first meeting was brief. Michelle came into class waiting for me to lay into her like a drill instructor from Full Metal Jacket, Heffel says. But I told her I don t have the right to do that. That had a profound effect on Redd. She agreed to meet with Heffel each Friday for two hours. During those sessions Heffel mentored her; she helped Redd confront difficult family issues and apply to college. Nicole Heffel Estate Planning Heffel Law Firm La Jolla, California Nicole s class literally saved my life, says Redd, who s been in recovery for more than a year and is now studying for her B.A. in psychology at San Diego City College. Redd is one of many veterans Heffel has helped. A navy vet herself, Heffel served in military law enforcement for five years before getting her J.D. at the Thomas Jefferson School of Law in San Diego. Not long after, she watched a longtime friend and fellow vet become homeless and mired in legal problems. Realizing there were many other vets in the same situation, Heffel, whose practice focuses on estate planning and personal finance, vowed to help. Working with the American Combat Veterans of War, she donated more than 1,500 hours of legal assistance, and was awarded the California State Bar President s Pro Bono Award in 2015 for her efforts. Excerpt comes from the story Vetting, written by Andrew Engelson in the 2017 San Diego Super Lawyers Magazine.

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