Background

Twelve years ago, the Pro Bono Institute implemented the Law Firm Pro Bono Challenge^SM, which dramatically altered the pro bono culture within law firms, and resulted in over 23 million hours of pro bono legal assistance to those most in need.

In 2006, at the urging of many Chief Legal Officers, the Pro Bono Institute and the Association of Corporate Counsel, through their joint project Corporate Pro Bono (CPBO), developed the Corporate Challenge to empower corporate legal departments to identify, benchmark, and communicate their commitment to pro bono service.

The Challenge is a simple, voluntary statement of commitment to pro bono service by legal departments, their lawyers and staff. All Challenge Signatory legal departments receive information, guidance and tailored support, free of charge, from Corporate Pro Bono to strengthen their existing pro bono programs or start new ones.

For corporations and their legal departments, moving beyond compliance with operational, ethical and legal standards to focus on improving the economic and social climate of communities and a broad range of stakeholders is not only the right thing to do, but also promotes trust and enhances the companies' business goals. The Corporate Pro Bono Challenge^SM

is thus an important tool for corporate social responsibility and good citizenship.

For more information on the Corporate Pro Bono Challenge^SM, click here.

The Challenge Statement

As Chief Legal Officers of major corporations, we recognize the critical importance of pro bono service as a cornerstone of our professional identity and accept the unique role that we can play in promoting pro bono in our legal departments. As corporate leaders, we understand that the legal and business interests of our clients are furthered when access to the legal system is readily available to resolve disputes.

In recognition of our commitment and as signatories to this Corporate Pro Bono Challenge^SM, we will encourage and promote pro bono service by our legal department staff and use our best efforts to encourage our staffs, including at least one-half of our legal staff, to support and participate, as appropriate, in pro bono service.

To underscore the importance of promoting pro bono service, we will encourage the outside law firms with whom we work to acknowledge publicly their support for pro bono by becoming signatories to the Pro Bono Institute's Law Firm Pro Bono Challenge^SM.

To Become a Corporate Pro Bono Challenge^SM Signatory, click here.

                                                         List of Challenge Signatories                                     

If your legal department is interested in joining the Challenge, contact us today!