BRINGING PRO BONO IN-HOUSE

10 July 2015
Rosanna Butters

Despite the range of pro bono opportunities in Latin America, many legal departments are put off by the
complications and challenges that such projects can encounter. Yet those who decide to get involved in
charitable projects will find clearing houses and law firms more than willing to help them find the most
interesting and fulfilling project.

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While corporate social responsibility programmes, particularly among multinationals operating in Latin America,
have motivated many companies to take on charity work, Enrique Felices, president of Alianza Pro Bono in Peru,
says not all companies see it as a matter that warrants in-house lawyers time. Many dont see devoting work
from their legal departments as part of that notion, he says.
Yet when they do charity work, in-house counsel are more than just an extra pair of hands. Jaime Trujillo, former
member of the board of directors at Fundacin Pro Bono Colombia, says they should realise that their core
competencies can be extremely useful in helping their employers implement social responsibility programmes.
What is more, pro bono activities benefit legal departments by raising the companys profile, appealing to
clients, facilitating networking and recruitment, and exposing employees to new types of challenging work.
While these business reasons may appeal to in-house lawyers, its not so clear that they appeal to in-house
legal departments, says Trujillo.
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Those who do not take part in pro bono work can even put extra strain on those that do. Cristina Carbonell
Parada, in-house counsel at Toyotas Venezuelan subsidiary CA Cars and managing director at clearing house
ProVene, explains that the countrys economic difficulties mean counsel prioritise their paying clients, leaving
the lawyers at the clearing house to take on the extra work.
Yet there are many interesting, easy and inexpensive ways for lawyers to get involved in pro bono work, and
clearing houses are working hard to channel in-house lawyers unique skillset towards those who can benefit
from it the most.
The perfect fit
There is usually some way in-house teams can pitch in, even if its just helping with the technical aspects or
logistics of a project. At the end of the day there is no project that in-house counsel cant work on, says
Fernando Eyzaguirre, counsel at JP Morgan Chases Chilean office.
For Ana Paula Barros, legal and tax affairs director at motor company Fords Brazilian arm, the ideal type of
charity work for in-house counsel is consulting, as we can quickly resolve legal questions posed by disadvantaged
individuals and give them direct legal guidance to pursue their rightsin labour, civil, criminal and retirement
questions.
Felices has found in-house counsel to be well-suited to working with local communities and has helped them
take part in educational projects. In-house counsel can relate to that kind of work more naturally and easily, as
they do it with their companies, he says.
Juan Bellocq, legal officer at TrustLaw, a pro bono service created by Thomson Reuters Foundation, meanwhile
found that the geographical spread of in-house legal teams makes them ideal candidates for cross-border
research.
Bellocq explains that pro bono research projects can also be more flexible, as lawyers are free to choose which
part of the project they want to work on, according to the number of counsel available and structure of their
department.
Internal organisation
Taking part in charity work should be the choice of individual lawyers, but as with any successful venture, pro
bono programmes need clear leadership and planning from the legal department.
Legal departments usually align pro bono policies and practices with global strategies, so a higher level of
coordination is necessary, explains Alejandro Rubilar, general counsel at JP Morgans Chilean office.
While general counsel will not necessarily lead the project, they should approve the appointment of a pro bono
coordinator and give those involved in the project their full support: This makes the in-house department staff
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feel more comfortable that they are fulfilling their professional responsibility when dedicating company time
and resources to pro bono projects, explains Maria Delfina Balestra, executive director at The Pro Bono and
Public Interest Commission of the City of Buenos Aires Bar Association.
When coordinating pro bono programmes across several countries, counsel should try to ensure that their
objectives can be carried out in all jurisdictions where the company operates. Often the pro bono programme
is established in the US and when it is applied to the Argentinean legal framework it is not the same, so riskaverse lawyers are reluctant to implement it, says Bellocq.
Although the generally small size of in-house teams could limit their capacity to take on big pro bono projects
themselves, external counsel are usually more than willing to lend a hand. This not only allows the firms and
companies to strengthen their existing relationships, but can create a perfect skills match. Bellocq describes a
TrustLaw project where pharmaceuticals company Merck and Baker & McKenzie teamed up to help mHealth,
a mobile healthcare services provider, improve its global policies and doctor-patient relationships. The lawyers
at Merck have the expertise in data protection while the firms have the research teams and capacity to draft,
he explains.
Making the business case
It is often up to legal departments to manage their own charity work, yet strategic or budgetary concerns
can discourage companies from getting behind pro bono programmes, meaning that lawyers need to show
executives what the company stands to gain from their projects.
Sebastian Raggio, a member of The Pro Bono and Public Interest Commission of the City of Buenos Aires
Bar Association, says that while small companies can be held back by their small budget, local subsidiaries and
branches of international companies can also be prevented from doing charity work by the parent company.
Even when local lawyers could be proactive, they will need to have clear policies and practices set out by their
superiors, he says.
Among the main deterrents for companies are the regulatory pitfalls surrounding pro bono projects, but, rather
than being put off by the complications, lawyers can make fixing such problems part of their charitable work.
Miguel Maldonado, director of Mexican clearing house Red Pro Bono, says that in Mexico, burdensome
regulations are making it hard for non-governmental organisations to operate. NGOs now need to apply for
a special code to file for tax reductions, while NGOs specialising in particular areas, such as the environment,
need approval from the relevant authority. [Counsel can] promote the creation of local NGOs by helping
them with the legal and corporate affairs that can be very challenging when starting social projects, suggests
Maldonado.
Potential conflicts of interest can also deter companies, and Tefilo Rosario Martnez, president of Fundacin
Pro Bono in the Dominican Republic, estimates that a quarter of all cases taken on by his organisation risk
conflicts. To prevent this, his clearing house performs due diligence on all cases before they are allocated, taking
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special care with those involving the state or rival companies. While clearing houses often do this research,
Balestra says that the amount of time and resources spent on due diligence can be reduced if companies have
clear pro bono policies and guidelines.
Carbonells team at ProVene are trying to highlight the business appeal of charity work by getting in-house
lawyers to work with communities where their company had not previously advertised or sold their products.
Using the knowledge and contacts that ProVene already has, companies are often able to find and get direct
access to potential clients, she says.
Bringing the company on board can drastically improve the legal departments ability to do charity work, as they
are able to cut down the required paperwork and authorise lawyers to use company time and resources in the
projects. Pro bono work should be regarded as part of the lawyers normal activity and not as something that
should be carried out in their free time, says Raggio.
Raising awareness
Having overcome the practical obstacles to charitable projects, counsel say the next step in successful pro bono
work is to cooperate with clearing houses and law firms to further promote the culture in the region.
In Mexico, Maldonado says that a change in the concept of pro bono itself is needed: Pro bono in Mexico is
confused with favours to family and friends, or with corporate social responsibility, and its certainly not the
priority. However, he says that this is changing as more lawyers across the country take on charitable projects.
Legal teams can do their bit to raise awareness both inside and outside the company: Eyzaguirre says that pro
bono work at law firms is more visible and recognised than it is in companies, so JP Morgan now sends its
employees regular updates on the banks pro bono activities.
Ford, meanwhile, is expanding its promotion of pro bono outside of the company, as lawyers at the companys
Mexican branch have created clinics to raise awareness of pro bono opportunities at local universities and
law schools.
For Trujillo, the earlier the pro bono culture is instilled in young lawyers the better: [In Colombian society]
we have forgotten that, by nature, a lawyer is supposed to advocate for those who most need it. We need to
engage law students early on, and law schools, to change this view.
As lawyers enter the corporate world, Trujillo says companies should incorporate pro bono activities into
counsels professional development, by seeing it as a positive asset when considering promotions or hires.
A system that includes in-house counsel is far more desirable, richer and more effective than one that doesnt,
adds Felices.

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