Law for The Poor

2010] MANAGING PRO BONO
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enhance its training function, the associate program was being restructured
to run like a law school clinic, taught by pro bono counsel in conjunction
with another firm lawyer whose background was in clinical teaching. Firm
lawyers were selecting pro bono cases not only for their social impact but
also for their pedagogical value in enhancing the "skills we want
[associates] to get." ' 398 Examples were asylum, criminal, and social security
cases. These generally offered opportunities for "client contact,
interviewing, investigating, research, drafting briefs, and drafting affidavits.
We hope [lawyers] acquire interviewing, research and writing,
investigation, some possible negotiation, and softer skills like client
interviewing and developing a case strategy. This is in addition to helping
people who desperately need it." ' 39 9 Of particular value were cases that had
a "high likelihood of... going to trial. '400 In response to the downturn, the
same firm had also given one-year pro bono fellowships to a small number
of law school graduates with the goal of helping them find permanent
positions. "We encourage them to get a job. If they get one, they leave. In
the meantime, they are getting skills, which [they can] use to get a job. 40 1
Another firm described plans to launch a misdemeanor criminal program in
connection with the local public defender's office. The impetus was to
support criminal defense work while providing courtroom experiences for
its attorneys that did not take "a lot of time." 40 2
In less formal ways, other firms were using pro bono cases as training
vehicles. As one counsel described this objective, "We match [pro bono
cases] for three purposes: first, to provide as much free legal services as
possible; second, [to ensure] that lawyers' interests match; and third, to
match lawyers' professional development goals .... I want to maximize
interest in developing skills and align it with pro bono work. '403
The economic crisis had prompted a number of firms to forge closer links
between pro bono and training, which some counsel saw as a "long-term
positive impact. The synergies between pro bono and professional
development have been strengthened. The pressures from business clients
not to pay for first- and second-year associates may help in making pro
bono more attractive as a training vehicle." 404 One counsel predicted that
pro bono service would "grow to be more specifically tailored to individual
professional development needs" and others expressed a similar view about
the importance of pro bono for professional training. One firm facing
economic hardships sent a message to lawyers to "do something that will
develop their professional skills, not just wait for cases that respond to their
passions. To the extent [our pro bono program] can provide those career
398. Interview 21, supra note 154.
399. Id.
400. Id.
401. Id.
402. Interview 11, supra note 200.
403. Interview 22, supra note 163.
404. Interview 14, supra note 244.