How Attorneys Can Make the Best Use of Volunteer Time

SUMMARY

Changing social conditions are causing nonprofit groups to pursue attorneys more actively for assistance. Because attorneys tend to be joiners by nature, they can use their volunteer time to aid nonprofit groups while satisfying personal and professional goals. A common pitfall for aggressive attorneys is to take on too much responsibility and ultimately benefit no one.


This article discusses:

• How the wise and effective use of contributions of attorney time in non-legal capacities can fit into the total business development package
  
  
• A process for selecting the "right" group
  
  
• Valuable types of in-kind contributions that attorneys can provide

If a client-focused attorney or firm is looking to build goodwill among clients, a program of altruism can help accomplish this. Pro bono work is one method. Another is for the attorney to donate personal time to various charitable and civic improvement organizations. Virtually every attorney will engage in this practice to some degree during his or her career. Because of their background and training, attorneys are more sensitive to the political and social climate in which they operate. Therefore, they are more inclined to participate in community activities. Americans in general volunteer a lot. A Gallup survey, sponsored by the Independent Sector, found that 84 million Americans did volunteer work, totaling 8.4 billion hours. The survey revealed that 47 percent of American adults volunteered over a one-year period in a structured setting. Thirty-one percent of these volunteer on a regular, active basis.

The opportunities to volunteer work are vast. The pressure to do so is growing, caused by three trends: reduction of federal funding policies, reduction of government assistance programs, and increased expectations of the public for more services from voluntary organizations. In response to these trends, the agencies seek additional funding and increased volunteer time from private sources and individuals.

The nonprofit organizations can be expected to look toward attorneys more and more for assistance. Therefore, a planned program to respond to this demand is well advised.

Difference from pro bono work

Community volunteering is different from pro bono work. Pro bono is legal service provided by an attorney acting as an attorney. But there are many charitable activities wherein attorneys are acting as concerned citizens of the community who just happen to be an attorney. Examples are when attorneys serve on a local school board or help a needy group on a fund-raising drive or plan a long-range strategy to recruit new members.

The difference is that pro bono work requires attorney training and competence; other kinds of altruism do not, although the attorney's intelligence and discipline will no doubt be of value to the group in various ways.

The donation of time to carefully selected nonprofit groups has the advantage of enabling the attorney to meet a large number of people in exactly the desired client group. The attorney also has the opportunity to demonstrate positive attributes of leadership, hard work, and dedication. By using their time effectively, the attorney can quickly generate awareness of their general professional abilities. The attorney can demonstrate good character, insightful thinking, and effectiveness while working on group activities such as the annual fund-raising auction and year-end "thank you" banquet.

Sometimes the return on this kind of activity can be very quick. While it takes a long time to build relationships, the needs of charitable and nonprofit groups are often great and immediate. Therefore, the attorney can begin work immediately to demonstrate general skills.

The importance of establishing the credentials of the attorney in a non-legal context cannot be underrated. Research has shown again and again that personal knowledge or personal referral is the primary basis for the purchase of legal services by the public.
Therefore, getting to know people and establishing relationships builds credibility and trust that no amount of brochures or advertising can match. It is the greatest single activity for successful new business development. There is no experience like working shoulder to shoulder to build relationships!

Choosing the right group

To achieve maximum benefit for the client-focused attorney, the group chosen for services should be selected carefully. Its membership and activities must be of interest to the attorney. The group's goals and objectives must also be of interest and value to the attorney's clients or desired clients. In the case of groups joined for social reasons, they should be selected on the basis of the visibility and prestige associated with the group.

Other criteria to consider in choosing the right group is an established pattern of leadership succession (so that leadership roles become open and available to newcomers) and the quality of the board of directors. Is there frequent turnover? Or is the board relatively stable without being do-nothings?

There are some disadvantages of active volunteerism. It takes time, perhaps up to ten hours a month during business hours and untold evenings and weekend hours. Leadership in some groups requires even more time commitments. Another disadvantage is that if the group is popular and useful for attorneys, it may also be hard to "stand out" among several competitors.

Community involvement

While it may not be apparent that some types of civic activism or community involvement will help an attorney's professional career, experience has shown that involvement is usually worth the effort. There is no way that an attorney can be effective and obtain benefits from a group in which he or she has only passing interest. Therefore, it is an error to join a social and community-improvement organization (examples: Rotary, Lions, Downtown clubs, etc.) unless the person has interest in it. The important point is to recognize the possibility of business development through relationships established within the group.

Whether the group is a chamber of commerce or a neighborhood home owners association, the importance of getting involved is crucial. Many attorneys lend their names to letterhead as honorary board members or allow themselves to be elected or appointed to board positions or committee leadership, while they privately realize they cannot participate at a full level.

This can hurt the attorney in two ways: it implies that the individual does not live up to commitments or "keep his word." It also creates the impression that the attorney is spread too thin and is probably so busy that no new work could possibly be handled.

Therefore, no referrals are forthcoming.

So it is better to concentrate resources on only a few worthwhile charities and organizations and to maintain an active presence therein!

In-kind contributions

Realizing that time is the most important commodity possessed by an attorney, methods are sought to establish and maintain community involvement and support without the direct time commitment so often required. One method is through in-kind contributions, which are noncash methods of assistance but nevertheless deductible from taxes for the attorney.

Examples are:

• Making photocopies for the group.
• Allowing use of office machines and equipment.
• Allowing use of office telephones in the evening for telethons.
• Donating desks and other office furniture,
• Allowing use of certain staff for office services, such as secretarial or research.

In-kind contributions are worth full value to the using organizations because their only other options are to purchase the goods or services on the open market.