Pro Bono Outside Big Law
A Gateway to Pro Bono for Solo, Small and Medium Sized Law Firm Attorneys: Pro Bono Practitioners "Outside Big Law"
This page is designed as a collection of useful resources, advice and helpful links for attorneys who work outside of "Big Law" with an interest in pro bono.
The site is part of an ongoing initiative, and a collaborative effort of the New York City Bar Association's Pro Bono Outside Big Law Subcommittee of the Committee on Pro Bono and Legal Services and Pro Bono Net.
WHAT'S ON THIS PAGE?
- Pro Bono Resources: Spotlight on Barriers & Strategies
- Identifying the Right Pro Bono Opportunity
- Finding the Time
- Accessing Resources and Training Support
- Identifying the right level of Expertise, Supervision & Mentoring
- Developing a pro bono culture
- Program Materials - I Don't Have a Pro Bono Co-ordinator, How Can I Do Pro Bono?
- Outside Big Law Volunteer Spotlight - Noam Biale
- Frequently Asked Questions (e.g. malpractice insurance, conflicts, CLE credit)
- About this Initiative
What does "Outside Big Law" mean? This term is intended to include small and medium sized law firm practitioners, solo practitioners and other attorneys who may have not the benefit of a full-time pro bono coordinator, but are interested in pro bono.
Feedback is welcome! We are interested in hearing your feedback about how we can help improve this site. Additionally, expressions of interest in getting involved in this initiative are most welcome and can be made here.
QUICK LINKS:
- NY Volunteer Opportunities List for Attorneys Outside Big Law (*NYC Pro Bono Center members only (free))
- Pro Bono Opportunities Guide and the NY Training Calendar
- Outside Big Law Volunteer Spotlight - John Ogden
- About the NYC Bar Association Pro Bono & Legal Services Committee
A Spotlight on Barriers & Strategies: Identifying Helpful Resources to Get Started
The following spotlights key resources, based on our experience with actual and perceived barriers to engaging in pro bono that attorneys "Outside Big Law".
Identifying the Right Pro Bono Opportunity |
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Identifying and accessing appropriate pro bono opportunities can be a first obstacle for any interested volunteer. Helping attorneys find pro bono opportunities is the goal of Pro Bono Net's Pro Bono Opportunities Guide. This is an online interactive guide, which you can use to search across filters like area of law, client community served, to find listings about pro bono opportunities available in New York, as well as nationally. You can now search Pro Bono Net's Pro Bono Opportunities Guide by the search filter, "small and medium law firm attorneys". Each listing includes information about the organization, the type of opportunity, volunteer contact information, as well as other helpful information such as whether training is provided & whether malpractice insurance is offered. The results from this NYC Bar Association's search include the opportunities in the NY Opportunities list, an outreach effort conducted by Pro Bono Net and the Subcommittee on Pro Bono Outside Big Law. These organizations have specifically indicated an interest and capacity to work with lawyers from small and medium-sized law firms, and ongoing outreach is currently underway! TIP! If you're not sure what you're interested in just yet, browse through volunteer profiles, to get a sense of the types of pro bono opportunities out there, or read our interview with John Ogden, a small firm practitioner, and co-chair of the Outside Big Law Subcommittee. |
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Finding the TIME: Limited Scope Opportunities and Pro Bono Outside Business Hours |
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Time is often one of the most precious resources of any legal organization, large or small. Put simply, small firms often have less aggregate time available for pro bono.
DID YOU KNOW? That you can earn CLE credit for doing pro bono work in New York? Learn More |
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Finding the Resources and Training Support That I Need |
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Small firms have fewer available attorneys and support staff to perform pro bono. Additionally, there may be less access to research tools. Some pro bono providers are not set up to work with attorneys having fewer resources than big law firms.
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The "right" EXPERTISE for pro bono: Supervision and Mentoring
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Attorneys in large organizations can often call on colleagues within their firm or department if an element of their pro bono assignment is outside their experience, e.g. tax. Additionally, large legal organizations either independently or with a pro bono service provider can offer the in-house training needed to undertake certain types of assignments. Generally small firms do not have such an option.
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There is no pro bono culture at my office! |
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Pro bono work can be done in a variety of law offices and organizations. If there is no pro bono culture in your office, that could be due simply to no one having raised the topic, which could be due to misperceptions about what it takes to do pro bono. For example: Myth: “Pro bono is for big law firms only.” Pro bono is for all lawyers, regardless of the size of their law office, and regardless of a full-time pro bono coordinator in the office. There are many resources available to lawyers who have an interest in doing pro bono. Click here for a list of legal service providers that work with small law firms and solo practitioners. Myth: “My office has no relationships with legal services providers who place pro bono matters.” Most legal services organizations that place pro bono matters with small and mid-sized firms and solo practitioners are eager to work with new pro bono lawyers. Click here to explore how to search for those organizations in your area. Myth: “My firm doesn't provide malpractice insurance to cover me on pro bono matters.” Many legal services providers that place pro bono matters with law offices have their own malpractice insurance that will cover you. Check with the non-profit organization that does the kind of work you’re interested in to confirm, but don’t rule out pro bono work on this basis alone. Myth: “I don’t have any experience in practice areas available as pro bono, so I can’t do it.” Many legal services providers that place pro bono matters with lawyers provide trainings, guides, and ongoing mentoring of the matters they place with pro bono lawyers. When in doubt, inquire into the kind of mentoring and supervision provided by a legal services organization that has available pro bono matters in your area. A lawyer can provide adequate representation in a new field through research and study of that area of law. Competent representation can also be provided through the association of a lawyer of established competence in that area of law. Because many legal services providers that work with smaller law firms provide training and supervision, you will likely have all of the support you need to ethically and competently represent a client pro bono. While pro bono is currently a very established element of the culture at many large law firms, that was not always the case. Every firm is different, but creating a pro bono culture began with attorneys with an interest in pro bono. Given the significant pro bono resources available in many cities, why not let the pro bono culture in your office begin with you? |
I Don't Have a Pro Bono Co-ordinator in My Office, How Can I do Pro Bono? (CLE Overview)
This program was held on Tuesday, June 23, 2015, sponsored by the Committee on Pro Bono and Legal Services (Chair, Brenna DeVaney) and the Encouraging Pro Bono Outside Big Law Sub-Committee (Co-Chairs Rachael N. Clark and Gina Del Chiaro)
Introduction: Debra L. Raskin, President, New York City Bar Association; Partner, Vladeck, Waldman, Elias & Engelhard, P.C.
Panelists:
- Yacine Barry-Wun, Special Counsel for Housing Court Initiatives, New York State Courts Access to Justice Program;
- Russ Bleemer, Program Coordinator, Monday Night Law Program, City Bar Justice Center;
- K. Scott Kohanowski, Director, LGBT Advocacy Project, City Bar Justice Center; Staff Attorney, Foreclosure Project, City Bar Justice Center;
- Mark O'Brien, Co-Founder and Executive Director, Pro Bono Net; and
- Sarah Diane McShea, Law Offices of Sarah Diane McShea.
Moderator: John Ogden, Of Counsel, Falcon & Singer P.C.
Trying to do pro bono work without the resources and support available to attorneys in Big Law can be daunting. This panel will identify "how-tos" and best practices for attorneys seeking to perform pro bono services without in-house assistance, and provide a chance to network with people who are doing it. A tutorial on Pro Bono Net and how to utilize its online resources will also be given.
The full set of CLE materials from this event is available in the NYC Pro Bono Center library. You will need to join the NYC Pro Bono Center (it is free to join) to gain access to these materials, as well as a host of other helpful training materials resources, news and calendar events, including subscription to the monthly pro bono e-newsletter. The NYC Pro Bono Center is co-ordinated by the Legal Aid Society, Pro Bono Net and the City Bar Justice Center.
Outside Big Law Volunteer Spotlight - Noam Biale
As this month's Volunteer Spotlight, we are featuring an associate and Pro Bono Coordinator at Sher Tremonte LLP, Noam Biale. Although it is a small firm, Noam and the attorneys at Sher Tremonte have a sizeable and varied pro bono docket, including working with with non profit partners to protect refugees and immigrants. In this piece, Noam shares some insight and advice for small firm/solo attorneys or any attorney looking to get involved with pro bono work. Find out more
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