Association of Corporate Counsel (www.acc.com)
Frederick J. Krebs, President of ACC
The Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC) serves the needs of in-house counsel worldwide, with more than 23,000 members in 81 countries, employed by more than 10,000 organizations. It promotes the interests of its members, contributing to their continuing education and providing a voice on issues of national importance.
One of the values ACC holds near and dear is giving back to the community. It has spearheaded efforts to encourage and assist in-house counsel to provide pro bono services. “The strengths and talents of in-house counsel are in demand by the less privileged in our society,” notes Frederick J. Krebs, president of ACC. “As a lawyer, especially being in-house, you don’t always have the opportunity to provide pro bono services. We did something about that.”
In 2000, ACC partnered with the Pro Bono Institute, a nonprofit organization that explores and identifies new approaches to providing legal services to the poor and disadvantaged, and formed Corporate Pro Bono (CPBO), a national pro bono project. CPBO was created to increase the amount of pro bono work in-house counsel perform and to improve the pro bono culture in corporate legal departments. “The joint venture has established new pro bono efforts and improved existing ones in legal departments throughout the country,” notes Krebs.
CPBO devised the Corporate Challenge, whereby in-house counsel sign a statement of commitment to perform pro bono services, encouraging their legal staff and outside counsel to participate. The Challenge Statement reads in part,
As Chief Legal Officers of major corporations, we recognize the critical importance of pro bono services as a cornerstone of our professional identity and accept the unique role that we can play in promoting pro bono in our legal departments. As corporate leaders, we understand that the legal and business interests of our clients are furthered when access to the legal system is readily available to resolve disputes.
Those who sign the challenge receive guidance and support to start or strengthen their pro bono efforts. As corporate legal departments have come to realize that they have a responsibility not only to their companies but also to their communities, CPBO has provided the resources to fulfill that responsibility.
In addition to sponsoring the challenge, CPBO holds an annual forum addressing in-house pro bono efforts. It is the only national gathering that addresses the issues in-house lawyers face when attempting to create and maintain pro bono programs. The forum features training programs, discussion groups and networking opportunities that provide the tools, ideas and skills necessary for successful pro bono efforts.
CPBO also has created Clinic in a Box, an on-site pro bono clinic for corporate legal departments. “We have sent facilitators to run clinics at the local ACC chapters, to assist their in-house members with their pro bono efforts,” notes Krebs. Participants receive continuing legal education (CLE) to help them understand the legal needs of prospective clients and how they can meet those needs. They are then introduced to clients. The program arms in-house attorneys with the knowledge they need to serve the less privileged and provides them a forum to find and interact with such clients.
ACC has also joined forces with Equal Justice Works to create the ACC Disaster Relief Fellowship Program in response to Hurricane Katrina. “We funded a public interest lawyer to work in the affected Gulf area to handle Katrina-related matters,” notes Krebs. “It was the first fellow sent to the region. The second fellow ACC funded is working in New Orleans to rebuild the New Orleans school system. As a result, a number of law firms and foundations have provided grants to Equal Justice Works to fund additional fellows.”
In addition, Krebs notes that ACC’s local and regional chapters are regularly engaged in giving back to the community. These chapters partner with local charitable and civic organizations to clean up beaches and parks, paint and repair schools, and build homes. They also hold fundraisers (outings, raffles and silent auctions) to pay for such things as college scholarships for high school students. “There is a whole range of programs that are implemented at the local level,” says Krebs.
Just as ACC is committed to giving back, it is also committed to diversity. It implemented the Legal Diversity Pipeline Project to encourage minority high school students to attend college and then law school. “What we are trying to do is increase the diversity of those in the pipeline coming into the profession,” says Krebs. The project equips in-house counsel to go to high schools and teach students what they can expect if they decide to go into the profession. The students engage in mock trials and mock negotiations, either at the school or at the law departments. These activities aim to give students a positive impression of the law and show them they have what it takes to go to law school. “It is never too early to encourage minority students to consider a career in the law,” Krebs notes.
When you think of ACC, you likely think of opportunities for in-house counsel to network, receive CLE and learn how to manage their law departments better. But ACC is much more. ACC plays an integral role in giving back to the community and encouraging and empowering its members to be good corporate citizens. ACC has helped countless in-house attorneys to exert a positive influence in their communities and to give a voice to those who desperately need one. DB
| Calendar of Upcoming ACC Events | ||
| September 15-17, 2008 ACC's Fall 2008 | October 19-22, 2008 ACC's 2008 Annual Meeting | |
Francisco Ramos Jr., Esq., is a freelance writer and partner at the Miami-based offices of Clarke Silvergate Campbell.
From the July/August 2008 issue of Diversity & The Bar®