Four Ways to Drive Pro Bono Engagement in 2022

With summer finally here, the Paladin team met with Pro Bono leaders from around the world to discuss the state of pro bono in the first half of 2022. Similar to last year, law firms and corporate legal departments are busier than ever. At the same time, crises continue to plague our country and our world, making access to justice even more essential. In a time when pro bono teams face unprecedented challenges, these leaders highlighted the following practices as vital for driving engagement in 2022:

1. Understand Attorney Interests: Lawyers want to get involved in work they find interesting, accessible, but most importantly, meaningful. Understanding your lawyers’ interests is key to ensuring they have access to opportunities they’re passionate about. Remote and hybrid environments can make it challenging to meet with lawyers one-on-one, so tools like the Paladin preferences feature provide pro bono counsel with insights into the subjects and causes that are of interest to their lawyers.
2. A “Thank You” Goes a Long Way: Attorneys are working harder today than ever before. From personalized thank-you notes, to pro bono recognition ceremonies, to providing swag, showing appreciation and gratitude goes a long way in motivating attorneys to take on pro bono and keeps them coming back for more projects. Recognizing your pro bono champions also inspires colleagues and junior lawyers to get involved.
3. Harness the Power of Social Media: Utilize the magic of storytelling. Create attorney spotlights highlighting a specific lawyer and their amazing pro bono contributions. Post to LinkedIn, firm websites, Instagram and newsletters to celebrate these stories. This not only makes the lawyer feel appreciated, but also allows your clients to see the amazing work your firm is doing to give back!
4. All Leaders Can (and Should) Champion Pro Bono: To cultivate a strong pro bono culture, pro bono engagement should be encouraged by more than just the pro bono team. Provide practice group leaders, office managing partners, affinity groups, pro bono committee members and office liaisons with the materials and resources needed to champion pro bono. Beyond leading by example through their own pro bono engagement, this can also take the form of hosting lunch and learns, CLE-eligible trainings, in-house clinics, days of service, and more. How will you champion pro bono in 2022 and beyond?

Paladin is proud to support our community of amazing pro bono leaders in their commitment to increasing access to justice. For more information about driving pro bono engagement at your organization, please visit us at joinpaladin.com or contact support@joinpaladin.com.