{"id":4260,"date":"2005-12-07T18:50:16","date_gmt":"2005-12-07T22:50:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.law.harvard.edu\/formerlyknownas\/2005\/12\/07\/pro-bono-meets-pro-humbug\/"},"modified":"2011-08-05T14:54:20","modified_gmt":"2011-08-05T18:54:20","slug":"pro-bono-meets-pro-humbug","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/2005\/12\/07\/pro-bono-meets-pro-humbug\/","title":{"rendered":"pro bono meets pro humbug"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Either my <\/FONT>permidementia<\/FONT><\/A> is really getting out of hand, or the <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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Summer 2005<\/A> edition of the Harvard Law Bulletin<\/EM> arrived really<\/FONT><\/DIV>
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late — because, I swear, it was stuffed in my mailbox today, along <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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with the December 2005<\/A> edition of Washington [DC] Lawyer<\/EM>. [update<\/EM>:<\/FONT><\/DIV>
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8 PM: sorting through the rest of my mail, I found an invitation to <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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a museum opening scheduled for Sept. 18, 2005, and an AARP <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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life insurance offer that needed a response by Oct. 4.  It seems <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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I’m not going crazy — the Summer edition of HLB<\/EM> really did arrive <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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today.]<\/FONT><\/DIV>
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<\/FONT> <\/DIV>
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I first looked through Washington Lawyer<\/EM>, and was pleased to <\/FONT>see <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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an extensive cover article on “Government Attorneys and Pro Bono<\/FONT><\/A>” <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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and also a column<\/A> by DC Bar President John C. Cruden on the topic. <\/FONT> <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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I <\/FONT>hope this coverage will encourage government managers and individual <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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staffers at all levels of government <\/FONT>to expand and encourage participation <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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in pro bono<\/EM> programs.  (My pro bono<\/EM> work almost three decades ago was <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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so satisfying that it got me to leave government and antitrust and focus <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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on mediation and children’s advocacy.)<\/FONT><\/DIV>
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<\/FONT> <\/DIV>
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Inspired by the Washington Lawyer<\/EM> pieces, I was discouraged by what   \"HLBgiving\"<\/FONT><\/DIV>
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I saw in the Alumni Letters section of the Harvard Law Bulletin<\/EM>.  In <\/FONT>response <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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to articles in the Spring 2005 HLB<\/EM>, and particularly its backcover, <\/FONT>there was <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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this Letter<\/A> from HLS student <\/FONT>Aaron S. <\/FONT>Kaufman (Class of 2006): <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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The Other Side Uncovered<\/STRONG> <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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I am somewhat upset about the back cover of the Spring 2005 <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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issue of the Harvard Law Bulletin, with the full-page photo of Suma <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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Nair and the quote, “I’m glad there is a pro bono requirement. It brought <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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me back to why I came here in the first place.”  <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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<\/FONT> <\/DIV>
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It misrepresents the views of most law students who very much resent <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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the law school telling us that we must work a certain number of hours <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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pro bono. Pro bono is supposed to be something that a lawyer wants to <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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do, not something that is imposed on us as a prerequisite to graduation. <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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While I doubt, for political reasons, that you’re going to put a full-page <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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picture of me on the back of the Bulletin saying, “I truly resent the pro <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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bono requirement,” I would appreciate if you make some sort of apology <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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or emphasize that Ms. Nair’s views are atypical. Or at the very least, <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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please present views on the other side of the issue.
<\/FONT><\/DIV>
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Aaron S. Kaufman ’06
Cambridge, Mass.<\/EM> <\/FONT><\/DIV><\/BLOCKQUOTE>
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\"HLBgiving\"  f\/k\/a<\/EM> covered the Giving Back edition of HLB<\/EM> here<\/A>, where we noted: <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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The latest edition of the Harvard Law Bulletin<\/FONT><\/A><\/EM> (Spring 2005) features a <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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cover that reads “Giving Back: Harvard Law School wants all lawyers <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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to get involved in <\/FONT>public service.”   I recommend “<\/FONT>Sowing the seeds<\/FONT><\/A> of <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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public service at HLS”, as well as “<\/FONT>Requirement connects<\/A> law students <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/DIV>
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to the practice of public service, which  describe <\/FONT><\/FONT>the HLS pro bono require-<\/FONT><\/DIV>
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ment, its purpose, and the flexible ways it can be fulfilled.  The <\/FONT>program, <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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which apparently helps attract some of the very best students, hopes to <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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make <\/FONT>even the most skeptical student see how fulfilling it can be to make <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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public service a part <\/FONT>of your life (by following your bliss).  There are some <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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good anecdotes.<\/FONT><\/DIV><\/BLOCKQUOTE>
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I hope the skeptical and “somewhat upset” Mr.Kaufman has mellowed on this <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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topic.  <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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<\/FONT> <\/DIV>
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<\/FONT> <\/DIV>
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<\/FONT> <\/DIV>
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small town news <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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just enough paper <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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to cover the wino <\/FONT><\/DIV><\/BLOCKQUOTE><\/BLOCKQUOTE><\/BLOCKQUOTE>
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<\/FONT> <\/DIV>
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<\/FONT> <\/DIV>
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<\/FONT> <\/DIV>
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<\/FONT> <\/DIV>
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<\/FONT> <\/DIV>
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city sunset <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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two men prowl the ruins <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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of a burned out house <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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<\/FONT> <\/DIV>
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\"scales<\/FONT><\/DIV><\/BLOCKQUOTE><\/BLOCKQUOTE><\/BLOCKQUOTE><\/BLOCKQUOTE><\/BLOCKQUOTE><\/BLOCKQUOTE>
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<\/FONT> <\/DIV>
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thunder <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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the migrant workers <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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never look up <\/FONT><\/DIV><\/BLOCKQUOTE><\/DIV><\/BLOCKQUOTE><\/BLOCKQUOTE><\/BLOCKQUOTE><\/BLOCKQUOTE><\/BLOCKQUOTE><\/FONT>
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<\/FONT> <\/DIV>
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<\/FONT> <\/DIV>
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laid off<\/FONT><\/DIV>
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she asks the mall santa to<\/FONT><\/DIV>
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bring dad a job<\/FONT><\/DIV>
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<\/FONT> <\/DIV>
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<\/FONT> <\/DIV>
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ed markowski<\/STRONG><\/FONT><\/A> <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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<\/FONT> <\/DIV>
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<\/FONT> <\/DIV><\/DIV><\/BLOCKQUOTE>
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p.s.  <\/EM><\/STRONG>Do you think it is deceptive for a solo practitioner to call<\/FONT><\/DIV>
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his or her law practice a “firm”?  How about calling it “The Law <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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Offices<\/EM> of . ..”?  See this article<\/A> in Washington Lawyer<\/EM>, and <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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this post at MyShingle<\/EM><\/FONT><\/A>, with comments.<\/FONT><\/DIV>
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<\/FONT> <\/DIV>
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<\/FONT> <\/DIV>
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<\/FONT> <\/DIV>
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the rookie cop rousts<\/FONT><\/DIV>
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an old hobo —<\/FONT><\/DIV>
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feeding plump pigeons<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/DIV>
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<\/FONT> <\/DIV>
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    dagosan<\/A><\/FONT><\/FONT><\/DIV><\/DIV>
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                                                                                                  \"coin<\/FONT><\/DIV>
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 <\/DIV><\/BLOCKQUOTE><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Either my permidementia is really getting out of hand, or the Summer 2005 edition of the Harvard Law Bulletin arrived really late — because, I swear, it was stuffed in my mailbox today, along with the December 2005 edition of Washington [DC] Lawyer. [update: 8 PM: sorting through the rest of my mail, I found […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":94,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[2926],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4260","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-pre-06-2006"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6kP1R-16I","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4260","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/94"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4260"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4260\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12883,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4260\/revisions\/12883"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4260"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4260"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4260"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}