Corporate Counsel Volunteers

The Corporate Counsel Committee of the ATJ Commission hosted its first Pro Bono Summit in Houston on May 12. Designed for corporate legal departments, the program explained the need for pro bono involvement, ways to develop support and projects, and opportunities for volunteers.

Over 40 attorneys participated in the half-day event held at the Continental Airlines Training Center. Jennifer Vogel, Senior Vice President and General Counsel of Continental Airlines, welcomed participants enthusiastically. A member of the Corporate Counsel Committee, she shared how she has been inspired to set up a pro bono program within her legal department.

ATJ Commission Chair Jim Sales gave participants an overview of legal services to the poor in Texas, including shrinking resources, increasing poverty population, and the pressing legal issues which low income clients face daily.

To personalize the program, attorneys spoke of their pro bono experiences. Harlan Martens, ExxonMobil, offered various reasons for a corporate legal department to engage in volunteer legal work. He described how pro bono cases offer attorneys solid experience in honing legal skills, exercising corporate citizenship, building teamwork, and recruiting new attorneys.

Carol Helliker, CenterPoint Energy, also reflected on valuable aspects of pro bono work for legal departments. She added humorously, "You would rather have your lawyers give legal advice than build houses" as their volunteer work.

Client representatives from two local non-profit organizations explained how pro bono attorneys helped them. Dress Up Houston and Solid Rock Corporation each received corporate and transactional legal advice during expansion and program development phases – legal help that their organizations would have struggled to finance. Texas C-Bar facilitated the participation of the pro bono volunteers for them.

Thomas Brandt, Shell Oil Company, outlined the professional and ethical responsibilities for attorneys to engage in pro bono work. Peggy Montgomery (ExxonMobil), Donna Katos (Continental Airlines), Paula Narcisse (ConocoPhillips), and Stewart Gagnon (Fulbright & Jaworski), shared their experiences in a panel discussion. They suggested policies, procedures, and partnerships that corporate legal departments can adopt to establish and maintain successful pro bono programs.

Organized by the Recruiting Subcommittee of the Corporate Counsel Committee, the summit concluded with a pro bono fair. Participants met representatives from various programs in the Houston area that provide pro bono legal services to the poor.

The Corporate Counsel Committee plans to host similar summits in additional locations during the next year.