My Shingle

Community Involvement As A Marketing Tool

Carolyn Elefant — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 13:39:30 +0000

The following is a guest post by Noble McIntyre of McIntyre Law in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

Let’s be honest. That title sounds cynical at best, opportunistic at worst. But hear me out. Getting involved with your community can be one of the best ways to market your firm, not just because of the business you’ll gain from it, but precisely because it means becoming an active member of your community. Marketing is usually very one-sided. It’s a billboard, or an ad, or a Web site that allows for limited interaction, if any. Community involvement puts you in a much better position to get to know your potential clients, and to let them get to know you. Here’s how you can make it work to everyone’s advantage.

Support a Local Charity

Anyone can write a check and call it supporting the community. Charity and volunteer organizations undoubtedly need money to do the things they do, and if your firm can contribute, that’s great, especially during times when your caseload may prohibit actual participation. But if it’s all you do, you’ll eventually come off as remote, uninterested, and yes, uninvolved. To really make a difference, and gain some exposure for your firm, you need to get your hands dirty.

Find an organization that supports a cause close to your heart. If it’s too difficult to narrow it down, and you don’t want to spread yourself too thin, ask your employees to vote on what cause they’d like to contribute their time to. To make it fair, decide to support one organization per month, or per six months, whatever works for your firm. Designate a day, even if it’s a weekend day, to go out and help, whether it’s collecting clothing or canned goods, distributing school supplies, or cleaning up a local park. Where does the marketing come in? Before you even begin, the first thing to do is buy your firm matching shirts—polo or tees—with your company’s logo embroidered or printed on them. You can also do this with hats, especially if you’re all going to be outdoors on a sunny day. Not only will this display team unity, it will get your name out there while you’re doing good.

Enlist Help

The sad reality is, we can all only do so much. We all have our own families to care for, bills to pay, needs to fulfill. It’s wonderful when we can share what we have, but there are limits to what we can do. This applies not only to money, but to time and personnel, too. My firm is fairly small, and as dedicated as my employees are to helping the community, we can only take on so much, which also means we can’t help everyone in need, and that can be frustrating at times.

In November 2010, we teamed up with a local organization, Angel Food Ministries, to provide Thanksgiving dinner to a few hundred families in Oklahoma City who would otherwise not be able to enjoy a holiday meal. At first, a few hundred sounds like a lot, but when you consider that nearly 20 percent of our city’s population lives in poverty, it’s just not enough. We took things a step further, and shared our plans with the Oklahoma Association for Justice. They joined the Community Project, and we ended up being able to provide food for about 4,200 people. The event grew so large so quickly, that a local news station showed up to cover it. We were able to share our story with the community, which we hope not only encouraged others to step up, but got our name out there as being a law firm dedicated to helping others.

Make Helping a Habit

While it’s true we all only have so much money, time, and energy to give, it’s still not an excuse for making nothing more than a token effort to get involved with the community. Nothing will show your true colors faster than participating in one event, and then never showing your face in the community again. People remember those who help—and they also remember those who only do so once for their own personal gain.

Get together with your partners and employees, and come up with a schedule for helping throughout the year. Choose one big event you want to participate in—for us, it was Thanksgiving—and then a few other, smaller events. Whether it’s once a month or once a quarter, the fact that you’re making a regular effort to help those less fortunate members of your community on a regular basis will go a long way toward building good will and faith in your company, and your staff.

Every time a potential client walks through our doors, we want them to feel that we’re offering them the best service and an equal amount of attention as we offer every other client, no matter who they are, or how much money they have. Being present in our community, making our names known, and garnering attention for charity and volunteer projects does benefit us. But it also benefits our future clients because once they’ve seen us in action, they know they’ll be getting the best service we can provide.

Noble McIntyre is the senior partner and owner of McIntyre Law, an Oklahoma personal injury law firm.

An Open Thank You to Maryland Court of Appeals Chief Judge Bell

Carolyn Elefant — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 03:53:51 +0000

It came in the mail, sometime in July 2008; an innocuous slim envelope bearing the return address of Maryland’s highest court buried in a heaping pile of junk. I’d just paid my bar dues for the year and satisfied my pro bono and IOLTA reporting requirements, so I nearly tossed the letter, expecting that it was merely a confirmation of compliance.

But as a lawyer, I don’t mess around with correspondence from the court. So I opened the envelope instead and unfolded the letter inside, printed on letterhead from the Honorable Judge Bell, the chief judge of the Maryland Court of Appeals. Three years later, I don’t remember the exact wording, but essentially the letter described the impact of the foreclosure crisis in Maryland and implored all lawyers, in the spirit of pro bono and professional obligation, to participate in the newly formed Maryland Foreclosure Prevention Project.

That summer, my practice was chugging along just fine, but I felt restless. With the exception of one or two appellate matters, I hadn’t spent any time in either the court room or deposition room in nearly two years, instead, biding my time with complicated energy regulatory policy white papers that tied my brain in knots but bored and frustrated me to tears. So even though up until then, I hadn’t given a second thought to foreclosure victims — whom I assumed were either greedy or irresponsible slackers who’d bit off more than mortgage than they could chew and deserved what they got — Judge Bell’s letter gnawed at my conscience by reminding me of my professional responsibility to ensure access to law.

And so, I registered for a day long course on Foreclosure Prevention, agreeing to take on two pro bono clients as the price of admission. After the training, several months passed before I got the call from the program matching me to a client. When he came to my office I was inclined to turn down the case – he was already in default and received a notice of foreclosure. The case could be docketed any day, in which case foreclosure would have been a matter of time. But the client was compelling – he’d failed into default because of temporary job loss and didn’t have the money to pay the six months of arrears to become current. And so, I told him we’d have to act fast and I filled out a loan modification form from my training packet and faxed it over to the bank.

That was in July 2009, and by August my client was placed in a trial program. I assumed that he’d transition into a permanent modification within two months and that would be the end of the matter, but in fact, it was just the beginning. Over the next 22 months, I would submit more than 60 updates to the loan application because the bank claimed certain paperwork was never received, and log hours and hours of time on hold and on the line with nameless loan officers (one, who in a moment of frustration, I called an instrument of evil) who gave conflicting information about the status of my client’s case and the documents needed to advance to the next level. Not only that, but I warded off a wage garnishment action filed against my client by a creditor who hadn’t been repaid because the “debt settlement company” to which my client had paid thousands of dollars to resolve his claims took his money and never paid creditors. (I found so many errors in the paperwork that I convinced the creditor’s collection attorneys that I’d win attorneys fees if we went to court, so they dismissed the case and cut a deal to allow my client to pay a fraction of the judgment against him, over a period of several years. I secured a dismissal of a collection action against my client’s tenant (who couldn’t have paid rent without it, which would have jeopardized my client’s trial payments). There, I called the Maryland Board of Consumer Affairs, and based on an opinion that the company was an unlawful debt collection company moved to dismiss. The opponent never showed up in court, and the judge was going to dismiss without prejudice but I made my arguments to ensure dismissal with prejudice. I researched Section 1983 claims for due process violations and abuse of federal HAMP funds by the bank and claims for lack of standing and broken chain of title when the loan was securitized, and wrote lengthy letters every few months threatening to sue on those grounds. I invested in books and online products and becomes a regular reader of foreclosure blogs to help me learn new strategies, I nagged listserves and the Foreclosure Project staffers with questions about what to do and I played stupid with opposing counsel so that they’d feel sorry for me and cut me a break (which often worked).

When you handle a case for a client, it changes your perspective. Whereas I once resented those homeowners who I viewed as living high on the hog in fancy houses they couldn’t afford, that really didn’t matter. My client didn’t fall into that category but even if he had, I was obliged to represent him with zeal. Because a client had entrusted his future in me, I simply could not allow him lose his house on my watch. And I didn’t. After 22 long months, I secured for my client a long term low interest loan that enables him to remain in his house and cuts his monthly payments by half for the next 20 years. After hearing the outcome of so many loan modification cases, I realize that he was lucky. Yet I also felt like my frenetic efforts made a difference.

But here’s the real point. Throughout the whole crazy process, again and again I was reminded of our power as lawyers. With a little bit of research, a lot of persistence and the ability announce myself as a lawyer, I could persuade a multi-million dollar corporation back down. Just by showing up in court, I could force a judge to change his mind and make a collection action go away for good. I could take the burden of losing a house and scary legal paperwork off of my client’s shoulders so that he could sleep easier just one more night.

Today we lawyers, particularly solos, are repeatedly told that to survive, we’ve got to operate as businessmen, administrators and marketers. Or that non-lawyer providers like Legal Zoom will replace us, that law can be reduced to filling out forms. I’ll grant that many of these cautionary warnings are true — to a point. But what my pro bono case reinforced more than ever is that there’s a human element to lawyering that a machine can’t replace, and there’s a unique power and respect that our status as lawyers still confers. This I had forgotten.

When Judge Bell sent that letter to the Maryland Bar three years ago, he intended to save homeowners at risk of foreclosure. But in so doing, he also saved me from the tsunami of cynicism that engulfs lawyers today. Thank you Judge Bell for writing that letter and lighting the first candle that reignited my passion for a profession though imperfect for sure, grants us lawyers the awesome privilege to change lives. Even change the world.

Guest Post, New York Bankruptcy Lawyer Jay Fleischman

Carolyn Elefant — Thu, 28 Oct 2010 13:17:36 +0000

Editor’s Note: In honor of National Pro Bono Week, I’m pleased to host a guest post from Jay Fleischman, a New York bankruptcy lawyer and owner of Legal Practice Pro, on why pro bono service represents a win-win for solos and the legal profession.

If you’re a solo then you’re likely stretched pretty thin already. Between working on existing matters, search for new ones, and maintaining the office there’s not a ton of time left over to take on many pro bono matters. But what if taking such matters actually resulted in a healthier bottom line for your firm?

There are millions of people out there with real legal needs but without the means to pay for competent legal counsel. The ever-contracting economy has decimated the job market, the housing sector, and a host of related industries. That means there are fewer people with the financial resources to pay for help, yet more people than ever who need reliable assistance.

Legal services organizations, meanwhile, are struggling with their own budgetary concerns. Never flush with cash, these agencies are seeing their funding slashed as government pulls back and grants dry up.

You went to law school, so you’ve got the skills needed to help out. But reality also needs to play a role in your decision to take on pro bono work; after all, if you can’t pay your own bills then you’re not going to be much good to anyone.

Luckily, pro bono work can be an excellent way to market your law firm and generate profit.

Gather Testimonials

Some states don’t permit the use of testimonials, but many allow the practice. When you do good work for a pro bono client you should ask for a testimonial to use in your own marketing efforts. When potential clients see testimonials from other people attesting to your skills and remarkable service, they’re more likely to make the decision to hire you as well.

Don’t believe me? Yelp, Amazon and many other sites allow customers to add their ratings and comments. The more positive feedback that a product receives, the more likely other people are to purchase it as well. This element of social proof is extremely powerful, and shouldn’t be overlooked in your law firm marketing efforts.

Actively Seek Referrals

A happy client is a happy client, regardless of whether they’ve paid you a fee or are pro bono. Just because one particular client didn’t have the financial wherewithal to pay a fee doesn’t mean that they don’t associate with others who may be in a position to pay you for your services.

You need to actively seek those referrals, however. Pro bono clients in particular may think that you’re handling their matter but are otherwise too busy to accept new business. Remember, if you don’t ask for the client then you don’t get the client.

It’s important that you are clear with your pro bono clients that they should not be referring to you other people who are not in a position to pay a legal fee. This is a difficult situation, but I’ve found that it’s easily handled by being up front. A great way to approach your client is by saying something along the lines of, “I’d really appreciate it if you’d pass my name and number along to your friends and relatives who may need my help because more paying clients allows me to devote more of my time to pro bono efforts such as yours. Of course, if any of them need pro bono help you need to make sure they contact [name of referring organization]; they do all of the pro bono screening, and anyone who calls me directly gets charged my normal fees.”

Pro Bono Organizations Refer Paying Clients, Too

Not everyone who contacts a pro bono organization is going to qualify for their help. Always remember that your willingness to help out legal services agencies will generate significant goodwill. When a potential paying client calls, you’re going to be first on the list of lawyers to whom they are going to send business.

Keep In Contact

Your pro bono clients may be experiencing a bump in the road financially, but they won’t always be down-and-out. Keep in touch via newsletters, updates, and emails. Send a birthday card or holiday greeting. By remaining in the client’s life, you’ll maximize your chances of getting a paying matter in the door later on.

Let Your Commitment Shine Through

Lawyers have a terrible public image, don’t we? We’re seen as money-grubbing drains on society, throwing around our weight and bullying the little guy in our relentless pursuit of our client’s interests. When you take on pro bono matters you’re standing up for those who are less fortunate financially, and less empowered to stand up for their own legal rights.

Take the time to alert your local news organizations about your commitment to the community and the rights of those who need you most. With so much bad news out there, the press is often hungry for a positive human interest story. You’ll not only gain more exposure for your good work but will also be able to cultivate valuable public relations contacts.

Do Your Best – For The Right Reason

In spite of the fact that pro bono presents incredible opportunities to market your law firm, bear in mind that you should always approach pro bono for what it is – a chance to use your skills to help people selflessly. Our country is in turmoil, and honest people need help now more than ever before. The time you spend to help one person or family is small in relation to the scope of your career.

Jay S. Fleischman is a bankruptcy lawyer in New York and teaches other lawyers how to market a
law firm.

Veterans’ Issues As A Practice Area

Carolyn Elefant — Tue, 26 May 2009 09:21:43 +0000

A few years back, I highlighted a small firm specializing in veterans’ issues. Now, four years later demand for legal services for veterans remains high. Fortunately, for solos considering veterans rights and benefits as a practice area, there are multiple opportunities for first rate, hands on training.

Today, the Maryland Daily Record discusses the HPRP Veterans’ Benefits Project, which launched last year. The program trains lawyers in the benefits process, and in turn the lawyers agree to help at least one veteran with the claims process. Forty-four lawyers have taken part in training sessions since the program began with thirty clients obtaining assistance. And if appellate work, rather than benefits applications is your thing, you can volunteer for the National Veterans’ Legal Services Program in Washington D.C. where you’ll receive training and have an opportunity to brief and argue a case before the Veterans’ Court of Appeals.

As a solo, you’re probably thinking that this pro bono all sounds great for laid off biglaw associates with generous severance packages but that it’s not much value for lawyers who need to earn a living. That’s where your’e wrong. First, handling a case pro bono is small compensation for the kinds of training that these pro bono programs provide – training that is transferable to a for-fee practice. After all, these pro bono programs barely scratch the surface of demand, and turn away dozens of veterans who could become paying clients. And if you don’t think veterans’ practice can be profitable, why not consider reducing overhead through the kind of virtual practice described here at VLOTech which focuses on needs of the military overseas. Since veterans’ issues general involve federal law, you’re not limited to a regional practice and can draw clients from all over the country.

Second, even if you take on a pro bono case, you never know where it could lead. Years back, I represented a homeless man pro bono in a lawsuit against a hotel for ejecting him from the cafe, even though he was dressed nicely and had money to pay. I won the man a modest settlement which he used as a down payment on an apartment. He found a job at the Better Business Bureau and referred me several paying matters, including one the produced a high five figure jury verdict (triple the settlement initially offered). In short, don’t discount the ability of pro bono clients to refer paying cases.

Pro bono cases give you a chance to get out and work with other lawyers and lose the isolation that you can feel as a solo. And they give you a chance to sample a new practice area without commitment. If you don’t enjoy veterans’ work or find it too complicated, just finish up your pro bono work and move on to another practice area.

So why not think about serving those who’ve served?

Free Foreclosure Training for Maryland Attorneys/Why Pro Bono Is A Win-Win

Carolyn Elefant — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 20:39:10 +0000

UPDATE: The relatively new blog, Nextlex notes these FREE PLI webinar resources on foreclosure law and predatory lending.

In both my book and on this blog, I’ve written that pro bono training programs offer one of the cheapest and most effective ways to get up to speed on matters that you might handle in your law firm – such as probate, divorce, public benefits, bankruptcy or wage and hour law. Most pro bono trainings are staffed by top local experts, who are often willing to provide follow up guidance if you later need assistance on the topic. And once you’ve handled one pro bono matter, you can truthfully tell clients that you have actual experience with a particular kind of case.

So I was excited to see that the Maryland Bar is offering pro bono training
on one of today’s hottest practice areas: foreclosure. In fact, the Chief Judge of the Maryland Court of Appeals is calling on local attorneys to take on a foreclosure matter pro bono. But once you’ve done that, there’s no reason that you couldn’t handle these cases for a fee. I’ve signed up for the course, not because I have any interest in starting a foreclosure practice, but because I can do my civic duty as an attorney and learn something completely new at the same time. If you’re licensed in Maryland, I hope that you’ll join me in this unique chance to do well by doing good.

Do Something You Stink At…And Become A Better Lawyer

Carolyn Elefant — Sun, 13 May 2007 06:53:45 +0000

Yesterday, I spent a beautiful Saturday outdoors, helping to build a house with Habitat for Humanity as part of an Energy Bar Association pro bono service project. I have to admit that I didn’t seek this project out: my decision to participate was a spur of the moment response to an email that came through my inbox, and was motivated not by true benevolence, but rather, by a realization that I haven’t attended many energy networking events in a while and this presented a convenient opportunity. While I can’t say that I made many business connections yesterday (it’s hard to talk shop when you’re trying not to hammer your finger, plus, energy lawyers only comprised about a third of the partipants), nonetheless, I came back with something better – a little bit of color on my pallid lawyer’s complexion, a few good lessons learned, and a lot of satisfaction, as I’ll describe.

In the past, I’ve done my share of pro bono for indigent clients, primarily throught the Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless, representing them in public benefits cases, eviction hearings (I kept two families in their homes), discrimination actions. I even helped crack a scam by a vocational school that would sign up homeless people for the program and student loans. The school would take the money and either fail to follow through on the training promised, and wouldn’t let people rescind after one or two classes, leaving the homeless people with insurmountable credit problems and the school owner with a fancy lamborghini (it’s funny the things you remember…). At the same time, I’d always ruled out other service projects, like serving food in soup kitchens or cleaning up a dirty river constituted true pro bono because they didn’t make use of my legal skills. After my experience yesterday, I still believe that my time spent on pro bono is most valuable when I provide legal services, because that’s where my competency lies – but just because I’m best at providing legally related pro bono, doesn’t mean that I need to limit my service to law projects only.

Of course, this doesn’t hold true for all lawyers. As I saw yesterday, some lawyers have skills, like house building, that extend beyond the law. I am not one of them. As a general matter, I’m not much of a crafty person, and not surprisingly, I was fairly inept at yesterday’s task – building the frame for a house. I bent nails, broke them trying to remove them, misaligned the pieces of the frame and didn’t even know the proper terminology for the various components. And needless to say, I was slower than everyone, embarrassed and frustrated trying to get my nails into the board while the others on the team stood around waiting. Fortunately, the Habitat people were incredibly patient, waiting quietly as I finished my tasks, and encouraging me along.

On the way home, I got to thinking that the way that I felt on that construction site must be how many of our clients feel in the litigation process. Like me, our clients our competent people in their own right, thrown into a world which is foreign to them and which they don’t comprehend. Just as I didn’t undertand the importance of a perfectly aligned triple board, and grew impatient about having to always stop and even it out, most of our clients don’t understand why they need to respond to an interrogatory in a certain way, or answer a depo question or not talk to so-and-so or why the process takes so long. So these clients call or email to ask questions or complain…sometimes a lot. And though we often mock these clients, or grow impatient with them, we sometimes forget to consider that perhaps, they’re just struggling to grasp a process that’s second nature to us lawyers.

After yesterday, I realized that most legal procedures can make even the most capable of our clients feel stupid, just like building a house made me – a lawyer with 19 years of experience – feel like an utter clod. We should remember that the next time we get impatient. And every so often, we should go out and do something publicly at which we’re completely inept, be it constructing a house or swimming laps or taking a knitting class – to remind ourselves of how our clients feel, and to figure out ways that we can help them through.

No related posts.

How Doing Good Can Help You Do Well

Carolyn Elefant — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 11:20:40 +0000

Many solos who’d like to perform more pro bono work can’t do so for lack of time. So why not multi-task, and make pro bono work part of your marketing activities portfolio? Consider the example of lawyers profiled in this article, Creating a nonprofit helps others – and doesn’t hurt business either (ABA Journal, April 2007), such as Anthony Hayes who created the non-profit organization Wills for Heroes (which provides no-cost estate planning documents for police, firefighters and emergency workers) or Wynnia Kerr who set up an animal adoption shelter in Seattle. In setting up these organizations, Hayes and Kerr simply wanted to help their respective communities, but their groups have expanded beyond their wildest dreams. And through their role as founders, Hayes and Kerr have gained positive visibility and developed contacts with other lawyers who have participated in their organizations. And eventually, these connections and publicity can potentially lead to referrals or generate clients.

Neither Hayes nor Kerr started their groups with any intention of building business. But to my mind, there’s nothing wrong with using pro bono for part of marketing, so long as you’re clear about your intentions. In fact, as I see it, many blogs, particularly those that are consumer-oriented, are pro bono, or at least public spirited in nature, in that they help educate the public about legal issues. And focusing on pro bono activities for marketing is also a great tool for lawyers who uncomfortable in traditional networking settings, like happy hours or cocktail parties, which some lawyers find intimidating or demoralizing. So the next time you’re feeling guilty that building a practice hasn’t left you time for pro bono or community service, instead of griping, figure out a way to help a worthy cause that’s important to you and just go do it. You may just find, that by design, or accident or karma, that your good work for others will yield rewards for you.

Attention: RFP FOR PRO BONO SERVICE BY SMALL LAW FIRM. Honestly, do you think a large firm would respond?

Carolyn Elefant — Sat, 24 Feb 2007 13:40:25 +0000

Imagine that your law firm issues the following Request for Proposals:

Busy solo practitioner seeking large firm to partner on pro bono matters for small, walk in clients with no funds to retain an attorney at full rates. Firm must turn these clients down in the absence of pro bono support. Matters include messy family law and custody battles, eviction proceedings, Fair Debt Collection Act matters, bankruptcy and lawsuits against small business without insurance coverage. Benefits include court time before sometimes unqualified, nasty judges, (as opposed to civilized federal practice) and learning to prioritize issues, cut corners due to cost constraints and practice law at less than your full ability due to lack of resources.

Now honestly, do you think you’d receive even a single response? Yet when large corporation Intel posted an RFP for lawyers to partner on pro bono firms, biglaw came running, according to this article, Intel Recruits Firms for Pro Bono Partnering. But don’t think for even a second that the firms had thoughts of winning a plum client through working side by side with Intel lawyers on pro bono matters:

Similarly,
Nixon Peabody pro bono partner Stacey Slater said her firm was
motivated by the opportunity to do a good deed, not the chance of
winning a new client. "That’s not at all why we’re doing this," she
said. "This partnership will help increase pro bono on both ends."

Do these people even believe what they are saying?

To the Bars: Don’t Make Me Part of Your PR Scam With Mandatory Pro Bono Reporting

Carolyn Elefant — Wed, 21 Jun 2006 09:31:52 +0000

Evan Schaeffer posts here that the Illinois Bar is the latest bar to implement a mandatory pro bono reporting requirement whereby lawyers must report pro bono activity annually to the bar. According to Schaeffer, “the Illinois Supreme Court hopes that the new reporting requirement will
serve as a reminder that pro-bono work is important. In addition, it
will allow information to be gathered about lawyers’ efforts overall.”

On the surface, mandatory pro bono reporting seems innocuous enough. Lawyers aren’t forced to perform pro bono and it’s not really all that time consuming to fill out a form once a year and send it in to the bar. In fact, over at Legal Ethics Forum, Don Burnett analyzes mandatory pro bono reporting requiremens, concluding that those who oppose them are “really disputing the core message of ABA Model Rule 6.1.” (providing that lawyers should aspire to 50 hours of pro bono annually).

Even though I agree that lawyers have a professional obligation to perform pro bono because the requirements would disproportionately penalize solos. Most pro bono requirements do not recognize that the work that many solos perform day to day is pro bono. But at the same time, biglaw firms would be free to characterize as pro bono work at the rate of $400 an hour, marketing efforts and even a loss on attorneys fees representing high profile defendants. (under this last definition, given the firm’s potential loss in connection with representing Jeff Skilling, O’Melveny, Meyers would win a pro bono award!).

And that’s what I despise about mandatory pro bono reporting. Lawyers send in hours for any kind of pro bono work, whether it’s really pro bono or not. The bars collectsthese numbers and then uses them to give themselves a huge public pat on the back (hey, look at how much pro bono are lawyers are doing) – similar to what the ABA did last summer. Yet as I described in my ABA post, for all the millions of hours of pro bono that lawyers allegedly perform, we’ve still not made a dent in providing lower and middle income people in this country with meaningful and affordable access to law.
Mandatory pro bono reporting forces me to participate in this massive PR sham, it takes the pro bono hours that I report and uses them to make the bar look good, when frankly, when it comes to providing the poor with access to law, we still have a long, long way to go.

Please Don’t Call This Pro Bono

Carolyn Elefant — Sun, 30 Apr 2006 15:48:39 +0000

Why is it that when small firm attorneys represent court appointed indigents at rates equivalent to one third of market that the work is not classified as “pro bono,” but when a large firm takes a bath on fees for representing the former governor of Illinois, an ABA committee chair recognizes that as pro bono? Why is it that when a solo lawyer runs a blog on some aspect of legal practice that provides first rate substantive information at no cost (as in here or here or here to name a few of dozens of examples) it’s called marketing, but when a large firm provides substantive information at no cost, it’s deemed pro bono?

You might ask, “what’s in a name?” and why it matters whether we classify some free work as pro bono or not. Well, here’s why it’s so significant. Every so often, various state bar associations float the idea of mandatory pro bono requirements. Like many solos, I’m opposed to this requirement because I believe that it’s more of a burden for solos to meet than our biglaw counterparts. But even more, I’m concerned that large firms will be able to meet pro bono requirements by classifying as pro bono efforts such as free representation of well known politicians or work on cutting edge issues for high profile non-profits. This would mean that large firms could meet pro bono obligations by handling matters that they’d handle anyway for publicity or marketing purposes, while solos who are frequently stiffed by poor clients or accept cases at low costs would be required to take on even more non-fee matters to meet pro bono requirements.

We live in a country where the legal needs of the poor and lower middle class still go unmet. Representing a famous politician or doing work for free to gain entre into a new market don’t address those needs that many solos help to meet every day of their practices.