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Large Law Firm Pro Bono Award Recipients

"With all of the demands on lawyers’ time, it is easy to find reasons not to do pro bono work such as, “I am too busy,” or “I don't know enough about that area of the law.”  I have no easy responses to these reasons, but I do have several observations. In many instances, the lawyers in our firm who do the most pro bono work are the lawyers who otherwise are the busiest. If they can do it, so can you. Two lawyers in our firm realized that their expertise –corporate law – did not seem to easily lend itself to pro bono work. Instead of making an excuse, they helped create a new pro bono program for small businesses called NC LEAP. If they can do it, so can you. I have heard lawyers in our firm give many reasons why their pro bono experiences were rewarding. The reasons have ranged from the lofty, "I got to help someone who otherwise would not have been helped," to the practical, "I got to manage an entire case on my own and got wonderful experience I otherwise would not have gotten," to the unexpected, "It made me appreciate my regular work and my regular clients."  But I have never heard anyone say they regretted making pro bono work a priority. If they can do it, so can you."

-Elizabeth V. LaFollette
Brooks, Pierce, McLendon, Humphrey & Leonard, LLP, 2008 recipient