CBA Record September-October 2024

THE YOUNG LAWYERS SECTION

Practical Tips to Integrate Pro Bono Service Throughout Your Legal Career Kenneth A. Matuszewski, YLS Chair

CBA YOUNG LAWYERS SECTION

Chair Kenneth Matuszewski Rozier Hardt McDonough First Vice-Chair Gavin Phelps Phelps LLC

back but also to build confidence in your own legal skills. If you do not have such resources, reflect on your values and iden tify the causes and issues most important to you. There will likely be a specific legal aid organization or nonprofit focusing on this issue within the Chicagoland area. If you do not know which organiza tion focuses on your issue of interest, visit the Chicago Bar Foundation’s website and research the grantee organizations it sup ports at chicagobarfoundation.org/grants. Scrolling down to the “Organizational Support Grantees Supported by the CBF” page and clicking on the image associated with each of the 29 grantee organizations will take you to that specific organization’s website. There, you can learn about the services each organization provides and how attorneys can get involved. Third, once you know which organiza tion you’d like to support, you can donate or volunteer. Donation can be accom plished in a variety of ways. The first is the most traditional: If work and life circum stances prevent you from providing direct service, and your finances allow it, then donate money. Financial contributions are always appreciated and ensure contin ued support for people doing the work at the ground level. You can also donate your time, in a variety of ways. For example, you can take on pro bono matters directly. Impor tantly, some legal aid organizations, such as Legal Aid Chicago , cover all volunteers under their legal malpractice insurance, which gives unemployed and working attorneys without malpractice insurance the opportunity to take on pro bono cases. Further, many legal aid organiza tions provide opportunities that differ in scope. For example, you may be able to volunteer solely for a single day through a

Second Vice-Chair Aleksandra Petrovic Damisch & Damisch Ltd. Member Service Manager Stephanie Moon Armstrong Teasdale LLP Public Service Manager Jacob Berger Tabet DiVito & Rothstein Project Officer Deepa Singh U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Project Officer Pam Sran Fox Rothschild LLP Secretary/Treasurer Andre A. Hunter, Jr. Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani Co-Editors in Chief YLS Journal Nikki Marcotte Kirkland & Ellis LLP Joanna Kopczyk Attorney at Law Vice Chair of YLS Journal Katherine Hanson Chicago-Kent College of Law Co-Editors in Chief @theBar Blog Teresa Dettloff Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office

M y legal career has always included a strong focus on my service journey. I firmly believe that each person’s words and actions matter; they create a ripple effect that helps make change. I now want to provide a framework that attorneys of all ages can use to figure out how they can best serve their communities. The first step, in the words of Arthur Ashe, is to “Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.” In other words, you must know yourself and your circumstances. This means taking stock of your workload, legal practice setting, personal life, wellness, and family cir cumstances. Your practice setting (such as government or in-house) may make it dif ficult to take on pro bono clients, or your bandwidth may be limited in other ways. Understanding your ability and capacity to take on this important work is critical to enhancing the public good most effectively. Second, understand which organiza tions and causes you want to support. For attorneys in certain firms and companies, this step can be easy, since there may be preferred pro bono providers. Working with these providers under the mentor ship and guidance of existing employer resources is a great way not only to give

Hannah Werner J.D. Candidate, Chicago- Kent College of Law DEI Officer Bianca Ciarroni Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP

32 September/October 2024