Background
Twelve
years ago, the Pro Bono Institute implemented the Law Firm Pro Bono
ChallengeSM,
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 ChallengeSM
is thus an important tool for corporate social responsibility and
good citizenship.
For
more information on the Corporate Pro Bono ChallengeSM,
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 ChallengeSM, 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 ChallengeSM.
To
Become a Corporate Pro Bono ChallengeSM
Signatory, click here.
List of Challenge Signatories
3M
Company* |
Abbott
Laboratories |
Accenture
Ltd |
Aetna
Inc.* |
Affiliated
Computer Services, Inc. |
AFS,
Inc.* |
Agilent
Technologies, Inc.* |
Altria
Group, Inc.* |
American
International Group, Inc.* |
Aon
Corporation |
Arena
Pharmaceuticals, Inc.* |
Armstrong
World Industries, Inc. |
Bank
of America Corporation* |
BellSouth
Corporation* |
Best
Buy Co., Inc.,* |
Boehringer
Ingelheim Corporation |
CA,
Inc.* |
Cardinal
Health, Inc.* |
Caterpillar
Inc.* |
CIGNA
Corporation |
Citigroup
Inc.* |
The
Clorox Company* |
The
Coca-Cola Company* |
Computer
Sciences Corporation* |
Coors
Brewing Company |
Counsel
on Call Inc* |
Deere
& Company* |
Dell
Inc.* |
Exelon
Corporation* |
Fannie
Mae |
Federal
Reserve Bank of New York |
Finish
Line, Inc. |
Fireman's
Fund Insurance Company* |
Fisher
Healthcare* |
General
Electric Company* |
General
Motors Corporation* |
Hasbro,
Inc.* |
Hewlett-Packard
Company |
IKON
Office Solutions, Inc.* |
Intel
Corporation* |
J.C.
Penney Corporation, Inc.* |
Johnson
& Johnson |
LexisNexis
Group |
LMI
(Logistics Management Institute)* |
Marsh
& McLennan Companies, Inc.* |
Mayo
Foundation for Medical Education and Research |
Merck
& Co., Inc.* |
MetLife,
Inc. |
Microsoft
Corporation* |
Nationwide
Mutual Insurance Company |
New
England Tech* |
Pep
Boys |
PepsiCo,
Inc.* |
Pfizer
Inc.* |
PPG
Industries, Inc.* |
Qwest
Communications International, Inc. |
Rick
Engineering Company* |
Sara
Lee Corporation* |
Schering-Plough
Corporation* |
Shell
Oil Company* |
SIMNSA
Co |
Starbucks
Corporation* |
Starwood
Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. |
TIAA-CREF
|
The
Toro Company* |
TXU
Corp.* |
Tyson
Foods, Inc.* |
United
Parcel Service, Inc.* |
United
Technologies Corporation* |
Vanderbilt
University * |
Vulcan
Inc.* |
The
Washington Post Company* |
The
Williams Companies, Inc. |
Wyeth
|
*
Indicates Charter Signatory
If
your legal department is interested in joining the Challenge, contact
us today!
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