News & Developments
SEC Wins Federal Agency Pro Bono Leadership Award
OCTOBER 24 – The U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission will receive the first-ever Federal Agency Pro Bono Leadership Award, awarded by the Interagency Pro Bono Working Group.
The Pro Bono Guru
OCTOBER 23 – A conversation with Esther Lardent, head of the Pro Bono Institute, on the Corporate Pro Bono Challenge launched last November.
Law Students Group Grades Law Firms on Diversity, Pro Bono
OCTOBER 19 – Building a Better Profession, a group founded by students at Stanford Law School, recently issued “report cards” and rankings for large law firms on their commitment to diversity and to pro bono.
AmLaw Publishes 2007 “A List”
JULY 1 – The American Lawyer issued its fifth annual ranking of the nation's law firms "that are best at balancing a thriving business with their obligations to the profession."
Pro bono starts at the top
JULY 1 – A look at the methodology behind the American Lawyer pro bono rankings and how much impact the attitude of firm's management can have on its pro bono profile.
LEGO’s General Counsel Takes Time to Help Children
MAY 30 – LEGO makes kids happy, but GC Peter Arakas goes one step further with his pro bono work.
Justice Department Seeks to Tighten Restrictions on Lawyers for Detainees
APRIL 26 – The DOJ recently filed a request with the D.C. Circuit to limit the amount of access lawyers of Guantanamo detainees are permitted to have to their clients and evidence in their cases.
Federal Judge Awards Million Dollar Fees to Lawyers in New York Pro Bono Case
MAY 15 – Judge Gerard Lynch of the Southern District of New York recently awarded nearly $1 million in attorneys’ fees to Skadden Arps lawyers who represented workers at a Chinatown restaurant in their suit against their employer for withholding tips. The amount of fees exceeded the amount of damages.
Congressional Legislation Would Ease Student Loan Repayments for Public Sector Lawyers
Pending Senate and House bills would assist public sector attorneys who handle criminal work in repaying their student loans.
New Study Delves into Motives, Forces Driving Lawyers’ Involvement in Pro Bono Work
A new study by University of Buffalo sociologist Robert Granfield finds that whether lawyers take on pro bono work is most heavily influenced by incentives and pressures built into the institutions where they work.
“American Lawyer” Reevaluates Definition of Pro Bono
The American Lawyer explores the gray areas of what constitutes pro bono work by law firms, and invites further comment and discussion as it works to clarify its definition of pro bono.
Supreme Court Decides Fees Issue of High Interest to Public Interest Lawyers
The U.S. Supreme Court recently denied a claim for attorney’s fees in Sole v. Wyner, a First Amendment case in which the plaintiff won a preliminary injunction but ultimately lost on the merits. Public interest attorneys and legal organizations had feared the impact of the Court’s decision on the recoverability of fees in civil rights cases, which are frequently represented on a contingency basis, but the narrowness of the Court's opinion appeared to minimize any precedential effect.
