Strategies for Pro Bono and Public Service During the Recession
Is your firm laying off lawyers or deferring start dates for new hires? Are you one of those lawyers? Does your pro bono, legal services or public interest organization have opportunities for those lawyers, especially if their firms provide stipends, benefits and other support for them? The ABA Center for Pro Bono has resources to address your situation, your needs, your challenges and your opportunities.
Lawyers, Law Firms, Legal Services, Pro Bono and Public Interest Organizations – Opportunities and Issues
- Public Interest Perspectives: An Introductory Training for Private Attorneys in Public Interest Placements (Webinar)
The Association of Pro Bono Counsel (APBCO) and the Association for Legal Career Professionals (NALP) conducted this free national online training on September 9, 2009 for attorneys beginning volunteer public interest placements. The event was hosted by Baker & McKenzie. - Considerations for the Placement of Law Firm Attorneys into Public Interest Organizations (Association of Pro Bono Counsel APBCO)
- Law Firm Attorneys Displaced by the Economic Downturn: Best Practices and Guidance for Effective Pro Bono Engagement
(Pro Bono Institute www.probonoinst.org) - Law Firm Fellowship and Rotation Models (Public Interest Law Initiative PILI)
- Placing Deferred Associates
- PSLSawNet and its new "job type" - "Law Firm Associate Host"
- Structuring an Effective Associate Public Interest Placement Program: Tips from the Public Interest Community (NALP The Association for Legal Career Professionals and PSLawNet)
Pro Bono and Public Interest Organizations
- How Charities Cope With a Troubled Economy (The Chronicle of Philanthropy)
Strategies Being Used by Nonprofit Leaders To Cope with the Nation’s Economic Crisis
This report synthesizes data from surveys illustrating how nonprofits are coping with the impact of the economy and offers suggestions for cost-cutting measures and strategic steps nonprofits can take.
Volunteering
- Find a Pro Bono Volunteer Opportunity near you at the National Guide: www.volunteerforprobono.org
- Other Pro Bono Volunteer Opportunities
News
- The New York State Bar Association partners with the New York State Unified Court System to create an innovative Pro Bono Clerkship Program (September 2009)
- Gearing up for influx of associates by Maria Kantzavelos (Chicago Lawyer June 9, 2009)
- Pay Cut for Public Service: These associates see great gain in the trade-off by Kristin Choo (ABA Journal June 2009)
- New Pro Bono Initiative to help distressed lawyers in Georgia (April 22, 2009)
- Economy Prompts N.Y. Courts' New Program for Volunteer Attorneys (New York Law Journal, March 30, 2009)
- The Layoff List (AmericanLawyer.com, March 24, 2009)
- Law Firms Scramble to Place Deferred Associates in Volunteer Posts (The AM Law Daily, 3/19/2009)
- Associates Scrambling For Public Interest Jobs (Above the Law, 3/19/2009)
Resources
- ABA Bar Services
- ABA Career Counsel
- ABA Center for Pro Bono
- ABA Commission on Law and Aging
- ABA Commission on Lawyer Assistance Programs (COLAP)
- ABA Insurance offerings (age 50-65)
- ABA Second Season of Service
- The Legal Public Service Corps created by the Los Angeles County Bar Association and its Litigation Section, brings public entities and nonprofit organizations together with recent law school graduates and attorneys whose careers have been disrupted by the current economic conditions. The goal of the Corps is to promote public service through pro bono activities and externships.
- University of Houston Law Center New Graduates Assistance Program
ABA Recession Teleconferences Free to Members
The American Bar Association is offering a series of four teleconferences on recession-related topics that are free to ABA members. The programs feature practical tips and strategies for succeeding in today's career climate. Topics are:
Programs have been recorded and posted on our Web site. Additional program information and links to register can be found at www.abanet.org/cle/recoveryseries
Other Resources
PSLawNet http://www.pslawnet.org/
PSLawNet will be an important resource for public interest organizations as well as law firms and associates looking for placement opportunities. PSLSawNet has added a new "job type" to their search interface - "Law Firm Associate Host" - to specifically mark positions suitable for these kinds of placement. Searches may also be narrowed geographically and by practice area. (The search tool has just incorporated this new category; it will be more useful as pro bono organizations actually begin to use it to tag the positions they are posting.)
PSLawNet page for firms: http://www.pslawnet.org/lawfirms
PSLawNet page for public interest organizations: http://www.pslawnet.org/publicinterestorganizations
- Sample Letter of Agreement - Secondment of Deferred Law Grad
- Sample Letter of Agreement - Associate Out-placement Program
- Sample MOU - Severance from Law Firm Employment - One-year Public Interest Placement
Instructions for organizations wishing to upload a 'Law Firm Associate Host' record to PSLawNet
How-to guide for public interest organizations with Screen Shots
How-to guide for firms/associates with Screen Shots
The National Association for Law Placement, Inc. (NALP) jobs page http://www.nalp.org/jobs
Public Interest Law Jobs LawJobs.com at Law.com
