About the Challenge

Corporate Pro Bono Challenge℠ and Clinic in a Box℠

© The Pro Bono Institute. Used with permission

About the Challenge

[Corporate Pro Bono Challenge℠]

In 2006, at the urging of chief legal officers, CPBO launched an initiative enabling legal departments to identify, benchmark, and communicate their support for pro bono service. The Corporate Pro Bono Challenge℠ is now the standard for in-house pro bono. It is a simple, voluntary statement of commitment to pro bono service by legal departments, their lawyers and staff.

Specifically, the CPBO Challenge℠ calls for chief legal officers to:

encourage and promote pro bono service by their legal department staff;
use their best efforts to encourage their staff, including at least one-half of their legal staff, to support and participate in pro bono service; and
encourage the outside law firms with whom they work to acknowledge publicly their support for pro bono by becoming Signatories to the Pro Bono Institute’sLaw Firm Pro Bono Challenge®.

All Challenge Signatory legal departments receive from CPBO, free of charge, information, guidance, and tailored support to strengthen existing pro bono programs or to start new ones.

© The Pro Bono Institute. Used with permission

List of Challenge Signatories

3M Company*†
Abbott Laboratories†
Accenture plc†
Adventist Health System†
Aetna Inc.*†
Agilent Technologies, Inc.*†
Alaska Airlines, Inc.
Allstate Insurance Company†
Altria Group, Inc.*†
American Airlines, Inc.†
American Electric Power Company, Inc.†
American International Group, Inc.*†
AOL Inc.†
Aon Corporation†
Arena Pharmaceuticals, Inc.†
Armstrong World Industries, Inc.†
ARS National Services, Inc.†
Association of Corporate Counsel†
AT&T Inc.†
Automated Financial Systems, Inc.*†
Bank of America Corporation*†
The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation
Best Buy Co., Inc.†
BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee, Inc.†
Boehringer Ingelheim Corporation†
Bristol-Myers Squibb Company†
CA, Inc.*†
Cardinal Health, Inc.*†
Caterpillar Inc.*†
CBRE Group, Inc.
CBS Corporation†
CIGNA Corporation†
Cisco Systems, Inc.
Citigroup Inc.*†

The Clorox Company*†
The Coca-Cola Company*†
Computer Sciences Corporation*†
ComputerSystemsCenter Incorporated (CSCI)†
Counsel on Call*†
Cox Communications, Inc.†
Deere & Company*†
Dell Inc.*†
Deloitte†
Discover Financial Services
Duke Energy Corporation†
DuPont
Exelon Corporation*†
Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac)
Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae)†
Federal Reserve Bank of New York†
The Finish Line, Inc.†
Fireman’s Fund Insurance Company*†
Fisher Healthcare*†
Ford Motor Company†
The Gap, Inc.†
General Electric Company*†
General Mills, Inc.
General Motors Company*†

Golden State Foods Corp.†
Hasbro, Inc.*†
Hewlett-Packard Company†
IKON Office Solutions, Inc.*†
Intel Corporation*†
International Paper Company†
J.C. Penney Company, Inc.*†
Johnson & Johnson†
Kaplan Higher Education†
LexisNexis Group†
LMI (Logistics Management Institute)*†
Marathon Oil Corporation†
Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc.*†
Mayo Clinic†
McDonald’s Corporation†
Medtronic, Inc.
Merck & Co., Inc.*†

MetLife, Inc.†
Microsoft Corporation*†
MillerCoors LLC†
National Life Insurance Company (National Life Group)†
Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company†
The New York Times Company†
Office Depot, Inc.†
The Pep Boys-Manny, Moe & Jack†
PepsiCo, Inc.*†
PETCO Animal Supplies, Inc.†
Pfizer Inc.*†
PPG Industries, Inc.*†
Rick Engineering Company*†
Royal Bank of Canada†
Sara Lee Corporation*†
Shell Oil Company*†
SIMNSA Co†
Starbucks Corporation*†
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc.†
Symantec Corporation†
SYNNEX Corporation†
Synopsys, Inc.†
Thomson Reuters Corporation†
TIAA-CREF†
The Toro Company*†
Tyson Foods, Inc.*†
United Continental Holdings, Inc.†
United Parcel Service, Inc.*†
United Technologies Corporation*†
UnitedHealth Group Incorporated†
U.S. Bancorp†
VanderbiltUniversity*†
Verizon Communications Inc.†
Vulcan Inc.*†
Walgreen Co.
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.†
The Washington Post Company*†
The Williams Companies, Inc.†

*Indicates Charter Signatory

†Indicates Challenge 100 Signatory

Clinic in a Box℠

Clinic in a Box℠ is an off-the-shelf model designed to create pro bono opportunities for legal departments and ACC Chapters. Developed by CPBO, these half-day legal audit clinics provide in-house counsel the opportunity to advise nonprofit organizations or small businesses while earning CLE credit. They are produced in collaboration with legal departments or ACC Chapters, major law firms, and local public interest organizations.

The goals of the Clinics are to:

introduce legal departments and ACC Chapters to a replicable pro bono delivery model;
encourage in-house attorneys to use their transactional legal skills to do pro bono work in their communities;
leave in-house counsel with tools they can use to continue to provide pro bono services on their own; and
foster closer ties among corporations, law firms, public interest groups, and their communities.

CPBO administers Clinic in a Box℠ and provides guidance, sample resources, and materials necessary to host these events.

Clinic Structure

Role of Legal Departments and ACC Chapters

Role of Law Firms

Role of Public Interest Organizations

To learn more or to host a Clinic for your ACC Chapter or legal department,contact CPBO.

Role of Law Firms

In addition to planning the Clinic in a Box℠ program with the other host organizations (CPBO, a legal department or ACC Chapter, and a public interest organization), the host law firm is responsible for the following tasks:

updating training material, including a CD of legal resources the in-house volunteers receive in advance of the Clinic and the legal audit form that the volunteers review with the clients during Session IIof the Clinic;
preparing and conducting an hour-and-a-half PowerPoint CLE training program during Session Iof the Clinic;
providing expert support and advice to the in-house volunteers during Session IIof the Clinic, as requested;
partnering with in-house volunteers after the Clinic, as desired; and
providing legal advice or helping to place clients after the Clinic, if needed.

CPBO administers the Clinic and provides law firms sample training materials and other resources to help this process run smoothly. Law firms may also secure the Clinic location, arrange for CLE, and provide onsite support during the Clinic.

For a more detailed outline of the role of law firms, contact CPBO.