For Immediate Release

   
KIRKLAND & ELLIS SELECTS PRO BONO MANAGER SOFTWARE FOR FIRMWIDE MANAGEMENT AND REPORTING  

 
NEW YORK (December 15, 2008) – Pro Bono Net, a leader in innovative programs that increase access to justice, today announced that Kirkland & Ellis LLP has selected Pro Bono Net’s Pro Bono Manager for management and reporting related to pro bono efforts by its 1,500 attorneys firm wide.  For more information on Pro Bono Manager, visit www.probono.net/probonomanager.

Kirkland joins a growing roster of law firms utilizing Pro Bono Manager, including Ballard Spahr Andrews & Ingersoll, LLP; Debevoise & Plimpton; Herrington & Sutcliffe; Linklaters; Manatt, Phelps & Phillips; Orrick and Weil, Gotshal & Manges.

“Pro Bono Manager is a valuable tool that will enable us to continue to expand overall program participation and to raise awareness of the many community and public service contributions of Kirkland’s attorneys,” said Thomas Gottschalk, of counsel and chair of the firmwide pro bono committee at Kirkland. 

Kirkland has a well-supported pro bono program and its lawyers are encouraged to contribute their professional services to those who cannot afford legal representation. Kirkland lawyers can pursue pro bono matters dealing with the issues most important to them, such as immigration, homelessness, poverty, constitutional rights and family law. As part of the Firm's commitment to provide these services, time worked on pro bono matters is valued and evaluated the same as billable work.

Pro Bono Manager, developed with support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, helps law firms increase pro bono participation, manage pro bono caseloads more efficiently and raise internal and external awareness of pro bono efforts.  The Web-based software integrates data from existing time and billing and personnel systems, and offers customizable tools for case management and detailed reporting.   Pro Bono Manager also leverages Pro Bono Net’s nationwide network of public interest legal groups to provide access to practice materials, volunteer opportunities, training events and relevant news.

The software is built on Microsoft’s SharePoint 2007 and SQL Reporting Services, and was developed in partnership with XMLaw.  For additional product information, contact Adam Licht at (212) 760-2554 x486 or alicht@probono.net.

Kirkland & Ellis LLP is a 1,500-attorney law firm representing global clients in complex litigation, dispute resolution and arbitration, corporate and tax, restructuring, and intellectual property and technology matters. The Firm has offices in Chicago, Hong Kong, London, Los Angeles, Munich, New York, Palo Alto, San Francisco and Washington, D.C.

Pro Bono Net is a nonprofit organization dedicated to increasing access to justice through increased volunteer lawyer participation and innovative use of technology. Founded in 1998, Pro Bono Net has created a powerful network of nonprofit legal aid providers, courts and bar associations across the United States and Canada. This network uses two Web-based platforms—www.probono.net and www.lawhelp.org to recruit and manage volunteers, and to provide legal information and tools for low-income communities and the organizations that serve them.  The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation described Pro Bono Net as “a model for other nonprofits that are looking to create innovative, technology-based delivery systems that are sustainable over the long term.” For more information, visit www.probono.net.

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