Law for The Poor

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[Vol. 78
development experiences, it's a way to move our substantive goals
along." 40 5 Another firm described using the training dimension of pro bono
to prevent criticism from practice leaders of associates "padding" pro bono
hours: "Since pro bono is supposed to be combination of training and
[service], if someone has to do research on federal jurisdiction in a pro bono
case, that is a legitimate way of learning. '40 6
The incentive to mesh pro bono work with training goals was particularly
noticeable in firms that had taken associates off of lockstep compensation
tracks. In the new model, pay reflects the acquisition of core competencies
that can be achieved through pro bono cases. The result, as one counsel
described it, was that "I get someone saying, 'I was told in my review
before I can move up a tier I need to do X. Do you have a pro bono case
where I can do X?' I find a pro bono case for them to get X." '4 0 7
Yet the use of pro bono to provide basic skills training is not without
costs. Particularly if firms rely on understaffed nonprofit organizations to
shoulder much of the training burden, the resource tradeoffs could affect the
provision of important services. A number of public interest leaders in
Rhode's 2008 study raised this concern. While they were willing to provide
volunteers with the necessary background in substantive law, they could not
afford to
40
"'train a junior associate in how to take a deposition.'
8
Putting
lawyers on the front lines of legal services provision without adequate
training-either in substantive legal issues or "cultural competence" in
dealing with clients from diverse backgrounds 4 9 -- can have negative
consequences for the very groups that firms are attempting to serve.
2. Pro Bono and Rainmaking
A less prominent, although still significant objective, of some firms was
to use pro bono activity to attract fee-generating work. On a small scale,
firms collaborated with commercial clients in volunteer programs that were
aligned with corporate charitable programs in order to reinforce client
relationships. One counsel described the creation of a program providing
free wills for first responders in emergencies that she developed partly to
foster relationships with corporate clients who wanted to directly participate
in pro bono projects. "I've pushed [the program] because it is ... a good
405. Interview 10, supra note 216.
406. Interview 11, supra note 200.
407. Interview 21, supra note 154.
408. Rhode, supra note 45, at 2072 (quoting Mitch Kamin, Director of Bet Tzedek).
409. For the importance of cultural competence training, see Susan Bryant, The Five
Habits: Building Cross-Cultural Competence in Lawyers, 8 CLINICAL L. REv. 33 (2001);
Nelson P. Miller, Beyond Bias-Cultural Competence as a Lawyer Skill, 87 MICH. B.J. 38
(2008); Nelson P. Miller et al., Equality as Talisman: Getting Beyond Bias to Cultural
Competence as a Professional Skill, 25 T.M. COOLEY L. REv. 99 (2008); Deborah L. Rhode,
Legal Ethics in Legal Education, 16 CLINICAL L. REv. 43 (2009); Mayia Thao & Mona
Tawatao, Developing Cultural Competence in Legal Services Practice, 38 CLEARINGHOUSE
REv. 244 (2004).