ABA Section of Business Law

Editor's note: This is the first installment in a regular BLT department on pro bono. Most installments will highlight individual program success stories.


At a time when surveys show that 80 percent of the legal needs of the poor are unmet and it appears that lawyer participation in pro bono may be declining, our Section has a commitment that is robust and growing. The distinctive aspect of the Section's pro bono program is that it seeks to encourage business lawyers to use their business law skills in public service. That is not meant to undercut participation by all lawyers in traditional, litigation-oriented, legal aid and bar-sponsored pro bono programs. It is meant to give those business lawyers who would prefer to use their business law skills a vehicle for making real differences in their communities.

The Section launched its pro bono program, A Business Commitment (ABC), on May 1, 1993. ABC's mission is to increase participation by business lawyers in the lives and livelihoods of poor people and their communities and to foster a greater familiarity among the poor with the commitment and skills of the private bar. The first co- chairs of ABC were Jack Martin, then general counsel at Ford Motor Co., and Maury Poscover, later chair of the Section. Recently, the Section recommitted to pro bono when it adopted specific pro bono goals within its long range plan, "Advance II."

Initially the Section, working with staff assistance provided by the National Legal Aid and Indigent Defender Association, undertook to match projects needing assistance with lawyers volunteering through the Section. These individual matches have continued, but ABC's emphasis has changed from providing matches to encouraging the development of, and supporting, local business law programs in making matches.

The first major effort of this type was assisting in the formation of two business law pro bono programs, one in Washington, D.C., and the other in Georgia, with the assistance of the Ford Foundation. Those programs were then evaluated, and the Section produced a book on how to start a business law pro bono program featuring these programs, as well as programs in Detroit and St. Louis. "The ABC Manual: Starting and Operating a Business Law Pro Bono Project," is available online at http://www.abanet.org/buslaw/probono/directory/support.

The manual is updated quarterly. The number of programs described in it have doubled since the booklet was first prepared. The development of these programs is detailed in a law review article, "Fulfilling the Promise of Business Law Pro Bono," in the Spring 2002 issue of the William Mitchell Law Review.

The ABC project director is Guy Lescault, who is affiliated with the Georgia Legal Services Program (glescault@glsp.org). The chair of the Pro Bono Committee is Kathleen Hopkins of Seattle. The Section maintains a list serve with 187 members who are actively involved in these programs.

The Section presents its National Public Service Awards to an individual and a law firm or separate law office at each Spring Meeting. These awards have helped show a broader audience the truly outstanding legal services being provided by business lawyers.

Bankruptcy lawyers started specialized bankruptcy pro bono programs as early as 1992, and published a book on how to start a pro bono program in 1994. In 1996, the Section's Business Bankruptcy Committee started its own Pro Bono Service subcommittee to foster these programs and the provision of bankruptcy-oriented pro bono services. The Business Bankruptcy Committee supports a Web site and a list serve. In recent years, the Section has been the central player in developing and assisting these bankruptcy pro bono programs.

In a period of softening support for pro bono generally, the Section's activities and its impact continue to grow.