Recruitment
Recruitment of pro bono program volunteers can take many forms. As programs undertake their recruitment efforts it is essential that they create strategies that will maximize the program's objectives. Part of that planning includes selecting the correct approach for the targeted audience and identifying the local bar or judicial leaders who will assist with the recruitment effort.
Past National Celebrations of Pro Bono demonstrated the creativity that pro bono program uses in implementing recruitment activities. Examples include:
Appeal Letters
Event Title: VLP Letter from Alabama Bar President
Sponsoring Organization: Alabama Bar President
Location: Montgomery, Alabama
Contact Information: Linda Lund, linda.lund@alabar.org
Collaborations
Event Title: Pro Bono in the Cloud - Launch of the Virtual Bay Area Pro Bono Fair (www.probono.net/bayarea)
Sponsoring Organizations: Bay Area Legal Services Nonprofits, CYLA, ACC - SFBA
Location: San Francisco, CA
Contact information: Megan Colla, mcolla@sfbar.org
Event Title: Pro Bono Road Shows
Sponsoring Organizations: Philadelphia Bar Association, Delivery of Legal Services Committee
Location: Philadelphia, PA
Contact Information: Jodi Schatz, jschatz@advokid.org
2009 Events
Event Title: Protection From Abuse Observation Day
Sponsoring Organization: Inc.; Delaware Family Court; Delaware Volunteer Legal Services
Location: Wilmington, Delaware
Contact Information: Tom McDonough, tmcdonough@dvls.org
Event Title: Meet Jacksonville Area Legal Aid/Meet the Judges: Open House and Judicial Reception
Sponsoring Organization: Jacksonville Area Legal Aid
Location: Jacksonville, Florida
Contact Information: Kathy Para, kathy.para@jaxlegalaid.org
Event Title: Pro Bono and Community Service Fair
Sponsoring Organization: Kirkland and Ellis LLP; The Chicago Bar Association Young Lawyers Section; Chicago Bar Foundation
Location: Chicago, Illinois
Contact Information: Jenni Bertolino, jertolino@chicagobar.org
Meal Events
Event Title: Transactional Pro Bono Opportunities Luncheon
Sponsoring Organizations: Pro Bono Project of Silicon Valley, Community Legal Services in East Palo Alto, Public Advocates
Location: Mountain View, CA
Contact Information: Julie Park: jjpark@fenwick.com
Event Title: Pro Bono Awareness Lunches
Sponsoring Organization: Greenberg Traurig LLP
Location: Held in ten locations including: Washington, District of Columbia, Philadelphia, Denver, Florham Park, New York, Chicago, Miami, Boston, Houston, Atlanta
Contact Information: Caline Pinto, pintoc@gtlaw.com
2009 Events
Event Title: Marquette University Law School Pro Bono Luncheon
Sponsoring Organization: Coalition for Access to Legal Resources; Marquette University Law School
Location: Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Contact Information: Adie Olson, adrienne.olson@marquette.edu
Event Title: Networking Reception and Panel Discussion Focusing on Pro Bono/Public Interest Opportunities in the Paralegal Field
Sponsoring Organization: Burlington County College; Peirce College
Location: Mount Laurel, New Jersey
Contact Information: Edwin B. Miller, emiller@peirce.edu
Fairs and Open Houses
Event Title: The University of Akron School of Law Public Interest Law Day
Sponsoring Organization: The University of Akron School of Law Career Planning Office
Location: Akron, OH
Contact Information: Barbara Weinzierl, bcw@uakron.edu
Event Title: National Pro Bono Celebration Week Virtual Open House
Sponsoring Organization: Pro Bono Net
Location: Internet, NY
Contact Information: Tony Lu, tlu@probono.net
2009 Events
Event Title: Pro Bono Recruitment Fair
Sponsoring Organization: Legal Aid Center of Southern Nevada Pro Bono Project
Location: Las Vegas, Nevada
Contact Information: Kimberly Abbott, kabbott@lacsn.org
Event Title: Herd About Pro Bono at the University of Buffalo Law School
Sponsoring Organization: Buffalo Public Interest Law Project ; University of Buffalo Law School Career Services Office; University of Buffalo Law School Student Services Office
Location: Buffalo, New York
Contact Information: Heather Strachan, law-careers@buffalo.edu
Event Title: Westchester Pro Bono Day: Pro Bono Expo
Sponsoring Organization: Legal Services of the Hudson Valley; The Public Interest Law Center at Pace Law School; Westchester Women's Bar Association
Location: White Plains, New York
Contact Information: Jennifer Friedman, jfriedman2@law.pace.edu
Unique Events
Event Title: Annual Pro Bono Professor Brown Bag
Sponsoring Organizations: S.J. Quinney College of Law
Location: Salt Lake City, UT
Event Title: Campbell Law School's Golden Gavel Search Trivia
Sponsoring Organizations: Pro Bono Publico Student Organization and Director of Pro Bono Opportunities
Location: Raleigh, NC
Event Title: Eighteenth Judicial Circuit Table Tents ask "Have you done your pro bono today?"
Sponsoring Organizations: Eighteenth Judicial Circuit Courts, Shelby County Bar Association, Alabama State Bar Pro Bono Week Task Force
Location: Columbiana, AL
Contact Information: Linda Lund, vlp2@alabar.org
2009 events
Event Title: Each One, Reach One
Sponsoring Organization: Mississippi Volunteer Lawyers Project
Location: Jackson, MS
Contact information: La'VerneEdney,ledney@mymvlp.net
Event Title: Pro Bono Idol Contest
Sponsoring Organization: Volunteer Legal Services Project of Monroe County (NY); Monroe County Bar Association
Location: Rochester, New York
Contact Information: Sheila Gaddis, sgaddis@wnylc.com
Event Title: Video Email from Alabama Bar President
Sponsoring Organization: Alabama State Bar
Location: Montgomery, Alabama
Contact Information: Linda Lund, linda.lund@alabar.org
Event Title: National Pro Bono Week Kickoff Breakfast & Ribbon Campaign
Sponsoring Organization: University of Florida Levin College of Law
Location: Gainesville, Florida
Contact Information: Kristen Bryant, bryantk@law.ufl.edu
Event Title: Great Mississippi Road Trip
(Dinner followed by a deluxe bus trip highlighting the work of the Mississippi Center for Justice)
Sponsoring Organization: Mississippi Center for Justice
Location: Starting in Jackson, Mississippi
Contact Information: Martha Bergmark, mbergmark@mscenterforjustice.org
VIPEvents
Event Title: Lunch With the Chief Justice
(The Chief Justice 'raffled herself off" to have lunch with students willing to commit to doing pro bono work.)
Sponsoring Organization: Chief Justice Sue Bell Cobb
Location: Montgomery, Alabama
Contact Information: Linda Lund, linda.lund@alabar.org