| Summary |
This article discusses the unique offering by the Kilpatrick Townsend law firm of providing full-time pro bono legal services with full pay. Kilpatrick Townsend is the first and only law firm to offer full-time, full-pay pro bono legal services. This ground breaking initiative was established to increase access to justice for all people. The firm has provided pro bono legal services since its establishment in 1860, but the full-time, full-pay initiative is a more recent endeavor, launched in 2017.
Kilpatrick Townsend believes that providing full-time, full-pay legal services can help reduce income inequality and social injustice. The firm's initiatives tackle a variety of legal needs and issues, including those for low-income, underserved, and vulnerable individuals. The projects are chosen based on their potential to address systemic injustice and/or to serve individuals and communities who are underrepresented in the legal system.
Kilpatrick Townsend considers pro bono service to be an obligation and a privilege, and they have created a supportive and collaborative environment in which employees can serve their local communities. Employees who commit to full-time pro bono careers receive the same benefits and salary as their peers who are in traditional roles.
In addition to providing pro bono legal work, the firm is committed to engaging in public outreach and involvement with the community to increase awareness of the need for legal assistance for those who cannot afford it.
Kilpatrick Townsend is proud to be the first and only law firm offering full-time, full-pay pro bono legal services. This innovative program serves to provide access to justice for all people and increase diversity in the legal profession. Through their commitment to providing quality legal services, Kilpatrick Townsend hopes to create a more equitable and just society.
| Questions Answered In This Article |
What is Pro Bono Work?
Pro bono work is a type of legal service that attorneys provide to clients free of charge in order to serve the public good. The term comes from Latin, meaning "for the public good." In the United States, most states and the federal government have adopted ethics rules that require lawyers to provide some pro bono services. The American Bar Association (ABA) has established recommendations for the minimum amount of pro bono work required of attorneys, and most law firms have adopted them. Pro bono services are typically provided to those with limited access to legal resources, including low-income individuals, families, and nonprofits, who may not otherwise be able to afford legal help.Full-Time Pro Bono Program
A law firm in the United States has recently announced the creation of a full-time pro bono program. The program will allow attorneys to work full-time on pro bono cases, thus allowing more free legal assistance to those in need. Attorneys working in the program will receive a full-time salary, benefits, and other resources to help them serve the public in their pro bono cases. This program is the first of its kind in the United States and is expected to draw widespread attention and recognition.Types of Cases Covered
The pro bono program will provide legal assistance on a variety of legal matters, including civil rights, immigration, domestic violence, housing, employment, and public benefits. All cases covered by the program will be high-impact and will have a long-term effect on the individuals and communities they serve.Benefits of the Program
The full-time pro bono program will benefit both attorneys and those in need of pro bono legal services. For attorneys, the program offers a unique opportunity to serve the public good on a full-time basis. For those in need of legal assistance, the full-time program will provide access to free legal services that can make a real difference in their lives. This program is an invaluable resource for those unable to afford standard legal fees.Closing Thoughts
The novel full-time pro bono program is a much-needed expansion of access to legal help for those without the means to pay for it. The program provides much-needed services to those in need while also providing attorneys the opportunity to engage in meaningful and impactful pro bono work. This groundbreaking program is a positive step forward in making legal help available to all who need it.Most major law firms trumpet their commitment to pro bono work, but the Holland & Knight LLP national firm has literally put its money where its mouth is. Participants in the firm's Chesterfield Smith Fellowship Program do nothing but pro bono work for their first two years with the firm - but receive full salary and partnership track credit for the entire time.
Holland & Knight, a 1,200-attorney firm, has had a Community Service Team program for pro bono work since 1990. In 1999, the firm conceived the idea of the Smith Fellowships, named for former firm president Chesterfield Smith. Selected law students spend the summer following their second year with the firm - half of the summer working with public interest advocacy groups and half doing billable work for the firm. Those who perform as expected are invited to join the firm as full-fledged Smith Fellows after graduation - unless they are chosen for a federal clerkship - and spend the next two years working strictly on pro bono cases.
The first class of Smith Fellows consists of five first year associates and three who will join the firm upon graduation from law school or, in several cases, completion of federal clerkships. And what a class it is - one Rhodes Scholar, one former U.S. Supreme Court law clerk, and all eight are graduates of Harvard, Yale, NYU or Georgetown law schools. Gretchen Rohr, the Rhodes Scholar in the group, worked with the NAACP Legal Defense Fund in New York after graduating from Oxford University's School of Jurisprudence and completing her first year at Georgetown Law School. While there, she worked with Laura Fernandez, a graduate of Harvard University, a 2002 Yale Law School grad, and one of Holland & Knight's first Smith Fellowship recipients.
"An attorney working with us told me Laura had a great fellowship, but hadn't told anyone about it," Rohr said. When Fernandez told her the details, Rohr wasted no time calling Stephen Hanlon, the firm's Community Services Team director, in the Washington, D.C. office, to apply. After spending the summer of 2002 in the firm's Atlanta office working primarily on capital punishment cases with the Southern Center for Human Rights, Rohr returned to the Atlanta office to begin her two-year Smith Fellowship as an H&K associate after graduation and the Bar exam this summer.
The program represents a significant financial commitment on the firm's behalf. Hanlon did not put an exact dollar figure on it, but since all Smith Fellows earn a full associate salary, the outlay figures to be over $2 million for the eight two-year fellowships in salary, not to mention support service costs.
On the other hand, the program has rewards for the firm over and above the satisfaction of providing pro bono service to under-served clients. First and foremost, it has opened up new recruiting channels for some of the country's top student talent.
"We have not always been a national firm," Hanlon said. "We are now, although we're sort of the new kid on the block, and this is our way of introducing ourselves. We're now able to attract students from the top of the class at Harvard, Yale and NYU, and for the first time we recruited directly from the U.S. Supreme Court."
Holland & Knight has traditionally been among the nation's leaders in pro bono service commitment, at 50 hours per lawyer per year, or 60,000 hours firm-wide. Told of the H&K program, Equal Justice Works (formerly NAPIL) head David Stern said, "That's absolutely typical of Holland & Knight." Lynn Schultz-Writsel, the organization's communications director, said, "That's not only financial, but a significant investment in kind on their part. We certainly applaud that commitment."
Although the full salary allows students to pursue their pro bono interests without worrying about how they will repay law school loans, Rohr says there is more to the program's allure.
"I really don't think any of us are in it because this is great pay," Rohr said. "H&K spends a lot of time ensuring that the people in the program are really devoted to the mission of the program."
This story appeared in the January 2003 edition of The National Jurist, nationaljurist.com.
