Pro Bono Models and Partnerships — A Practical Guide to What Works is a practical resource for legal professionals and legal assistance series looking to start or develop pro bono partnerships. However, different readers will use it differently — for example, a sole practitioner in the early stages of developing a pro bono practice will face different circumstances to those of a mid-size firm pro bono coordinator. For this reason, Chapter 2 (Who will find this book useful?) should be the first port of call, as it suggests navigational pathways for different types of readers.
Part 2 Themes arising from consultations (Chapters 3-7) gives an overview of the findings of the research and consultations. Given the finding in this book that relationships are key to the success of any pro bono program or project, it is hoped that promoting a better understanding of stakeholders’ motivations for doing pro bono legal work will assist potential partners to develop and maintain effective working relationships.
Part 3 Understanding your potential partner (Chapters 8-18) focuses on Tips for planning and maintaining pro bono relationships (Chapter 8) and potential partners that might work together to deliver pro bono legal services or projects: namely, Pro bono referral schemes and organisations (Chapter 9), Large law and mid-sized law firms (Chapter 10), Small law firms and sole practitioners (Chapter 11), Community legal centres (Chapter 12), Not-for-profit organisations (Chapter 13), Barristers (Chapter 14), In-house/corporate lawyers (Chapter 15), Government lawyers (Chapter 16), Individual volunteers (Chapter 17) and Law students (Chapter 18).
Part 4 Models of pro bono legal assistance (Chapters 19-31) contains information on the models most commonly used to deliver pro bono legal assistance. Most of the chapters contain:
- a short description of what the model involves
- a quick summary which provides information ‘at a glance’ about the benefits, challenges and features of effective projects using that model
- a full discussion of the benefits, challenges and features of effective projects using that model, supported with direct quotes from people who have experience with the use of that model, and
- case studies that bring each model to life with real life experiences of the lessons learned.
All quotes have been de-identified unless the speaker has explicitly provided their permission to be quoted. These quotes represent a broad range of views from stakeholders with different perspectives that come from their varied experiences of pro bono partnerships and models. While not everyone will agree with all of the views expressed, and they may not apply to every partnership or project, the Centre believes that promoting a greater understanding of different perspectives will assist in the development of strong and effective working relationships, which are the key to what works in pro bono.
The included models are:
- Case referral (Chapter 19)
- Clinics (Chapter 20)
- Outreach (Chapter 21)
- Secondments (Chapter 22)
- Fellowships (Chapter 23)
- Co-counselling (Chapter 24)
- ‘Secondary consults’ or ‘phone a friend’ assistance (Chapter 25)
- Telephone, video conferencing, online and mobile technology (Chapter 26)
- Law reform (Chapter 27)
- Assistance to non-legal not-for-profit organisations and charities (Chapter 28)
- Community legal education (Chapter 29)
- Non-legal assistance (Chapter 30)
- International pro bono (Chapter 31).
Some models represent types of legal work (eg law reform) and others represent methods of pro bono service delivery (eg clinics). Thus the models are not mutually exclusive. They can overlap, and many effective pro bono projects and programs involve elements of more than one model. The book examines each model separately as a way of presenting the wealth of practical information received in an accessible form, and in order to provide a framework for discussing particular aspects of pro bono work.