Judge David Tatel and lawyers from the U.S. Justice Department and major law firms are among the members of a new task force dedicated to expanding pro bono work.
The task force is a project of the Legal Services Corp., the federally funded nonprofit that is the largest source of funding for civil legal aid. Republicans in Congress have warned the organization that it faces potentially deep budget cuts, and they’ve pushed it to find new ways to help the poor with problems like home foreclosures and domestic violence cases.
Lee Miller, DLA Piper’s joint chief executive officer, is among the more than 40 task force members LSC named today. DLA Piper will also provide the group with administrative support, including from the firm’s full-time pro bono partner, Elizabeth Dewey.
Others serving include Tatel, a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, and former U.S. attorney general Richard Thornburgh, now of counsel at K&L Gates. Mark Childress, the senior counselor for access to justice at the Justice Department, and his deputy, Lynn Overmann, are both on the task force.
From private practice, members include YUM! Brands Inc. general counsel Christian Campbell; Latham & Watkins partner Charles Crompton; Sidley Austin partner Ronald Flagg; McDonald’s Corp. general counsel Gloria Santona; and Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom partner Cliff Sloan. The task force has a wide array of members from local legal services organizations and state judiciaries.
The full list is available here.
Sidley Austin partner John Levi, who is chairman of the LSC board of directors, called the members “a very distinguished group” in a statement. “Although pro bono involvement has grown at LSC programs, we must do more to help ensure access to justice and the orderly functioning of the civil justice system,” Levi said.
The co-chairs of the task force, announced previously, are Harvard Law School Dean Martha Minow and Harry Korrell III, a partner at Davis Wright Tremaine.
Updated at 5:12 p.m.
With the recession and an oversupply of lawyers, it seems that many private practice attorneys are struggling to find clients for their firms. It's the big firms that are picking up the slack on the pro bono front because there's enough resources to do so. With government funding for legal services being slashed, it remains to be seen whether pro bono will be enough. One suspects that competition between attorneys driving down pricing for legal services and the ability of the Internet to help people find affordable lawyers are trends that may help.
Posted by: Pat Henry | September 28, 2011 at 11:52 PM
I've been aware for a few years that big law firms do pro bono work -- indeed, have an associate or partner who heads a pro bono unit -- but know that at least one of those firms conscientiously keeps it quiet.
Can news of this task force mean that pro bono units (and their specialties) will be on some accessible list for plaintiffs?
If not, how do potential plaintiffs find or get referred to these lawyers?
I hope the task force works this out. Without a meaningful referral process, these altruistic high-powered volunteers will be useless.
Posted by: Naomi Fein | August 02, 2011 at 05:35 PM
Pro bono work may make a firm (or an attorney) look good, but these days I think too many are worried about finding billable hours.
Posted by: Joe | August 01, 2011 at 08:31 PM