The Corporate Counsel Pro Bono Initiative was launched as a joint effort by the TBA Access to Justice Committee, the TBA Corporate Counsel Section and the Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC) to help foster a coordinated approach to pro bono work and support for the access to justice community by corporate counsel in Tennessee.
Organized in 2006, the groupls held the First Annual Corporate Counsel Pro Bono Initiative Reception and Dinner June 12, 2007, in Nashville. The event was a spectacular success, raising much needed funds and providing representatives from access to justice organizations from around the state the opportunity to network with and to provide information to counsel about pro bono opportunities in their communities.
Grants available for pro bono projects
The TBA is pleased to announce that it is now accepting applications for 2007-2008 Corporate Counsel Pro Bono Initiative Grants. The awards will be funded by the money raised from the First Annual Corporate Counsel Pro Bono Initiative Reception and Dinner and will go to local access to justice organizations and partnerships with corporate legal departments and law firms to defer the costs of developing pro bono opportunities/projects specifically designed for corporate counsel. Find out more.
Why is this important?
More than one million Tennesseans have incomes below 125 percent of the federal poverty level, and a recent legal needs study reveals that these poorest Tennessee families are experiencing between one and three civil legal problem a year. Legal aid programs around the state are unable to meet this overwhelming need with limited staffs, and pro bono programs trying to fill the gap simply do not have enough resources or volunteer lawyers.
Tennessee's corporations and corporate counsel can help make a significant difference by attending the Initiative Reception and Dinner to learn about special pro bono opportunities for corporate counsel and to help raise money to facilitate the development of new and exciting pro bono projects for in-house corporate counsel and their outside counsel around the state.
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