Law for The Poor

2010] MANAGING PRO BONO
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she "wanted to do public interest law" but who got "side-tracked" by her
focus on "paying off loans." 383 After starting work, "I realized that I didn't
want to work for corporate clients but different constituencies. Instead of
just leaving-I love the attorneys here-I thought what if I did this
instead?" 384 When the summer was over, she "studied what the big east
coast firms were doing" and "put together a proposal to be pro bono
counsel." 385 Her timing was fortunate. The firm had recently lost a lawyer
who had been active in the pro bono program and was interested in
providing a more structured approach. It was the right fit for her: "I felt I
could help more people by staying here and doing public interest law
instead of going to a nonprofit because I would have more
resources - -"386
Another pattern was for associates who did not want to pursue
partnership to propose pro bono counsel positions as an alternative. One
lawyer who left the partnership track kept in touch with her former firm,
which
started pursuing me to come back. [The partner] said I could do whatever
I wanted to do. I said that I only wanted to do good in the world so the
partner told me to figure out how to do good here. I did some research,
saw other firms had this [counsel position], The American Lawyer had
this survey, and [the firm] had a tradition of pro bono service. I saw the
mismatch between number and commitment, so I put together a proposed
job description and they bought it. 38 7
Not every entrepreneurial lawyer came from inside the firm. One made
the transition after leaving a law school clinical teaching position and
contacting law firms for references. A firm that was considering creating a
position asked if she was interested. "I said this is what I'd like it to look
like. I spent four months designing the position" and was ultimately
hired. 388 Another counsel was an executive director at a large public
interest organization that had connections with a firm's managing partner
through its pro bono activities. When she decided she wanted to make the
switch to the firm, she "sent them this proposal that showed how it could
save them money. It didn't make sense to have a partner [managing the
program]. They saw it as a way to keep track in a more systematic
fashion--to ensure things didn't fall through the cracks." 389 It helped that
she "knew what it was like to be on the other side in terms of being a
provider. '390
383. Interview 18, supra note 182.
384. Id.
385. Id.
386. Id.
387. Interview 30, supra note 232.
388. Interview 27, supra note 81.
389. Interview 24, supra note 197.
390. Id.