Thursday, July 30, 2009

Evaluating a Large Firm's Commitment to Pro Bono

Deciding which firms to apply to during OCI can be a difficult process. One factor you may want to consider is the firm's commitment to providing pro bono legal services. Two resources may be of assistance to you in assessment:
The Pro Bono Institute's Law Firm Pro Bono Challenge lists large firms (over 50 attorneys) that devote three or five percent of their billable hours or 60 or 100 hours per attorney annually to the provision of pro bono legal services to individuals and organizations in need. Signatories to challenge can be found here.
If you are researching law firms (particularly if you are looking outside the Seattle area), the Stanford law student-driven nonprofit to assess hours, committment to pro bono and diversity, and layoff information is Building a Better Legal Profession.