Talk Justice, an LSC Podcast: The Benefits of Professionalizing Pro Bono

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WASHINGTON-Experts discuss the professionalization of pro bono legal services on the latest episode of LSC's "Talk Justice" podcast, released today. Host Lee Rawles is joined by Sandhya Kidd, program counsel for pro bono innovation at LSC, and Kathryn Eidmann, president and CEO of Public Counsel, a nonprofit public interest law firm founded on a pro bono service model.

Pro bono work is often thought of as a side project that lawyers perform. The American Bar Association encourages every lawyer to devote at least 50 hours to pro bono every year. But legal aid organizations that can rely on full-time staff have increased opportunities to expand services and provide more intensive client service through pro bono. A growing number of people and firms are making pro bono their full-time occupations and bringing professionalism to this area of legal practice.

Eidmann explains that Public Counsel started in 1970 as the pro bono arm of the Beverly Hills Bar Association. The organization has grown and currently employs 170 full-time staff, including 80 attorneys-some of whom spend 100% of their time on direct client services, while others also do impact litigation and policy advocacy. Public Counsel is funded by private donations and government grants, and has built a strong network of private law firm supporters in southern California.

"A critical part of our work is really engaging the pro bono bar to create partnerships between the nonprofit legal services world and the private bar," says Eidmann.

Kidd says legal services organizations funded by LSC are increasingly creating internal structures to manage pro bono services.

"They were always doing pro bono, but now what we're seeing is more [of a] focus on pro bono as a service delivery model, and because of that, there is a need for staff-full-time staff with a specific skillset that is required to administer and practice pro bono," says Kidd. "So, when we're talking about professionalization, in my mind what I'm talking about is seeing a trend towards more legal aids that are hiring full-time staff that are committed to pro bono-directors of pro bono, managing attorneys of pro bono-along with supporting staff on that, which allows a more focused approach to pro bono."

Having this dedicated staff helps the organization to properly balance their needs, the needs of the client and those of the private partner or volunteer, Kidd explains. Eidmann agrees that she has seen a similar trend and that it extends beyond legal aid.

"I think that that is a trend both at legal service organizations, nonprofits, as well as at law firms themselves in terms of having pro bono coordinators or pro bono partners or pro bono attorneys on staff that are really rooted in the community and can create those connections between the nonprofit organizations and the attorneys at their firm," Eidmann says.

Discussing successful service models for pro bono work, Kidd provides insights to what "client-centered" services really look like in the context of pro bono. She says that work with clear beneficial client outcomes is in turn motivating to volunteers. Eidmann describes how private firms can successfully engage in pro bono by choosing a specific case type-she gives the example of unlawful detainer cases-and forming a team who can all be trained to contribute on these cases throughout the year, which allows them to step in for each other to manage the workload.

The group also touches on roles for non-attorneys in pro bono. Eidmann says that integrating social workers who can focus on clients' mental health and other non-legal needs can be very helpful to pro bono attorneys. Kidd explains how Michigan Advocacy Project is using legal navigators to assist clients receiving pro bono expungement services.

"I am very excited about the role of non-attorneys in pro bono. I think it is a huge untapped resource," Kidd says. "If we think about all the different things that happen in the course of a pro bono experience and who is the best person to do that job-it's not always an attorney, and so involving non-attorneys is, I think, really critical to making sure we stay super client-centered."

Talk Justice episodes are available onlineand on Spotify, YouTube, Apple and other popular podcast apps. The podcast is sponsored by LSC's Leaders Council.