Pro Bono Counsel

Under the direction of the Pro Bono Partner and firm leadership, the Pro Bono Counsel (PBC) supports and manages the firm’s engagement in pro bono work. This role involves driving and overseeing the administration of pro bono matters, fostering relationships with legal services organizations, sourcing pro bono opportunities, and ensuring compliance with the firm’s pro bono policies. The ideal candidate will have a strong legal background, excellent relationship-building skills, and a personal commitment to pro bono legal services for communities in need. 

The Pro Bono Counsel will not maintain a docket of personal cases. The role of the PBC is to build and administer the firm’s program, not to personally provide the representation. This is not to say the PBC cannot assist firm attorneys with their cases. However, the primary handling attorney should always be a firm attorney, not the PBC. 

This position is ideally based in one of our Texas offices (Austin, Dallas, Houston, or San Antonio) but can reside in any of our US offices.  The individual is expected to physically work in the office per the firm’s policy, currently four days a week. 

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the administrative management of the pro bono program, including placement of pro bono matters, reporting on engagements, and generating enthusiasm for pro bono work. 

• Consult on and provide direct supervision for designated pro bono matters, identifying and addressing potential risk management issues. 

• Plan and lead quarterly pro bono committee meetings, including scheduling meetings, creating and distributing agendas for the meetings, creating quarterly reports on firm performance during the last quarter and YTD, and highlighting new, significant pro bono matters opened during the last quarter.   

• Plan annual pro bono week events (late October) and nominate attorneys and teams for pro bono recognition. 

• Conduct regular audits to ensure active pro bono matters comply with the firm’s pro bono policies. 

• Develop and maintain strong relationships with local and national legal services organizations for referral of pro bono matters. 

• Evaluate pro bono opportunities, analyzing eligibility, business issues, ethical concerns, and suitability. 

• Manage pro bono collaborations with commercial clients, fostering networking and business development opportunities for firm attorneys. 

• Manage large-scale pro bono projects and identify opportunities in areas of developing need based on current events and emerging legal issues. 

• Participate in conferences and panels to represent the firm’s pro bono program externally and promote it internally. 

• Maintain a presence in the law firm pro bono community, cultivating strong relationships with pro bono leaders at peer firms. 

• Communicate with firm attorneys to identify specific pro bono interests and connect them with appropriate opportunities. 

• Conduct analyses of the firm’s current pro bono efforts based on attorney feedback and other factors, monitoring and evaluating policies and procedures on an ongoing basis. 

• Promote the firm’s pro bono accomplishments by drafting and reviewing communications, award nominations, and other firm communications, often in collaboration with the Marketing team. 

• Prepare and manage annual budget for the pro bono program. 

• Manage firm responses to surveys or RFPs concerning the pro bono program. 

• Perform additional duties and responsibilities as assigned. 

The Successful Candidate

• JD required 

• Minimum of five years of relevant legal experience required. Familiarity with working at, or with, large private law firms and expertise in pro bono legal practices required

• Demonstrated proficiency with MS Office suite, especially with Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint, and Adobe. Strong general technology skills and the proven ability to learn new concepts and applications quickly

• Exceptional communication and organizational skills, strong attention to detail, excellent relationship-building skills, ability to collaborate with a team of highly skilled professionals in situations requiring diplomacy and confidentiality, and skilled in managing both strategic initiatives and tasks requiring attention to detail

• Professionalism, personal integrity and high degree of confidentiality

• Project management skills

• Comfortable working under time pressures and constraints

• Ability to travel and work late hours to meet deadlines