Panelist, "How to Build Social Impact Into Your Pro Bono Program's DNA," Pro Bono Institute (PBI) Annual Conference

More is expected of pro bono programs in 2021 than ever before. The combination of a global pandemic and year of racial reckoning have necessitated that pro bono programs help solve pressing social challenges, engage in structural movement of the status quo, expand reach into environmental and sustainability work, mobilize resources in the diversity, equity and inclusion space, and be present beyond the access to justice system (which, of course, remains crucial).

This session explored ways pro bono programs at law firms and at in-house legal departments can build a collaborative social impact component into their pro bono program’s DNA. Subject matter experts, including DWT associate Walker Stanovsky and DWT Chief Pro Bono and Social Impact Officer Joanna Plichta Boisen, guided attendees through ways in which they can use their skills as professionals to affect and tackle systemic issues that influence their companies, clients, and communities at large.