Pro Bono: cultivating relationships with in-house lawyers improves practices' bottom line

Law firms can benefit financially from a long-term commitment to pro bono work by helping corporate legal departments demonstrate their interest in local community projects, the conference was told.


William Van Hoene, an in-house lawyer based in Chicago, said there were several methods of 'making it rain' through pro bono work. 'Gratitude from the in-house head of legal if you have assisted in getting them involved in a pro bono project that reflects well on the company as a whole', was the main tactic, explained Mr Van Hoene.


'It is a method of demonstrating skills to the in-house lawyers you want to impress, and it is a way of cultivating relationships with in-house lawyers.'


Lisa Wood, a partner at Boston-based Foley Hoag and president of the city's Volunteer Lawyers Project, agreed. She maintained there are many ways of demonstrating the importance of pro bono work to a law firm's bottom line.


'Having a reputation in the community for integrity helps with rain-making. Being seen as a servant to the public good is increasingly important to corporate clients', she said.


Ms Wood also cited the subtle point that if a law firm has a reputation for doing pro bono work, then it is seen as adding something more to the justice process than 'simply acting for large, fee-paying corporate clients. That helps to cut through the cynicism that exists in the wider public about the role of lawyers in society'.


However, Ester Lardent, president of the Washington DC-based Pro Bono Institute and a member of the ABA's pro bono committee, sounded a warning note to firms about using pro bono work as a misguided marketing tool. 'Unless your firm has an existing and robust pro bono ethos, it will be insulting to sell that angle to in-house teams. It will be nothing more than a crass come-on,' she said.


Ms Lardent acknowledged that there had been a 'sea change' over recent years in the attitude towards pro bono work at in-house legal departments. She attributed the change partially to the increasing movement in personnel from large law firms, where they undertook such work, to in-house legal departments. She added: 'There is now a new corporate "triple bottom line" - a sustainable environmental policy, good corporate citizenship, and profit.'


However, Ms Lardent cautioned that while a pro bono contribution is going to be 'an important part of the mix' when legal departments choose outside counsel, it will never be the main factor.