CBA Record September-October 2026

THE YOUNG LAWYERS SECTION

Pro Bono as a Leadership Accelerator By Tiffany E. Alberty

W hen attorneys think about pro bono work, they often think about giving back through individual acts of service. While that is undoubtedly important, I have found that my pro bono work has also taught me how to be a leader, a mentor, and an advocate for professional growth. Over the past eight years, I have practiced in a variety of pro bono matters—from volunteering at expungement clinics to helping people resolve minor municipal citations. Those expe riences were rewarding, but my litigation skills were not truly tested in a pro bono setting until I joined Duane Morris. The firm entrusted me with representing an extremely vulnerable client population: survivors of domestic violence in international child abduction cases brought under the Hague Convention. Although I lacked experience litigating Hague Convention cases, I had a strong litigation foundation built through years of courtroom and deposition practice, including handling Colorado’s expedited “rocket docket.” Under Colorado Rule of Civil Procedure 16.1, cases routinely proceed from filing to trial in approximately three months. Handling accelerated time lines taught me that success in fast-moving litigation depends on quickly developing strategy, building the right team, and entrusting others with meaningful responsibility. Those same skills proved invaluable in Hague Convention lit igation. Cases brought under the Hague Convention often move from filing to trial in under 60 days, yet require extensive motion practice, written discovery, depositions, expert witnesses, and comprehensive pretrial preparation. Meeting these deadlines is impossible without collaboration. Although I often rely on the guidance of experienced partners in these matters, I learned that successful outcomes require that junior attorneys take ownership of significant portions of a case. Empowering young attorneys has become one of the most rewarding aspects of my pro bono practice. Throughout the lifecycle of a case, I assign junior associates substantive work. I mentor them through unfamiliar stages of litigation and help them develop courtroom confidence early in their careers. Just as achieving favorable results in pro bono matters is rewarding, so too is watching a junior associate conduct opening arguments, argue motions in limine , present expert witnesses at trial, or pre pare critical portions of a case for hearing. The many challenges of representing international survi vors of domestic violence include navigating language barriers, addressing the emotional realities of revictimization, overcom ing limitations on international discovery and subpoena powers, and litigating under extraordinarily compressed deadlines. These challenges demand thoughtful leadership, clear communication, and unwavering teamwork. Every case reinforces that every

litigation team member must meaningfully contribute as they focus on the client’s safety and the Hague Convention’s objec tives of keeping the survivors in the United States. The impact of these opportunities extends far beyond my own professional development. Our teams have achieved life-changing outcomes for families facing extraordinarily difficult circumstances. In one matter before the Northern District of New York, our team successfully obtained dismissal of a Hague Convention peti tion, allowing a mother and son who had been falsely imprisoned and deprived of their passports in Greece to remain safely in the United States and obtain medical treatment and education. In another case, after a trial before the Western District of Wisconsin, we prevailed on behalf of a mother and her two daughters, enabling them to remain in the United States after they had endured years of domestic abuse in Norway. Following trial, the case proceeded to an appeal before the Seventh Circuit. There, our team briefed and argued complex issues involving foreign custody law, the Hague Convention’s grave-risk defense, and constitutional questions concerning the rights of U.S. citi zen children under the Fourteenth Amendment. As a younger attorney, I never imagined that pro bono work would lead to trial victories in federal court, appellate advocacy before the Seventh Circuit, or the opportunity to help shape Hague Convention precedent in cases with such profound con sequences for survivors and minor children. Now, I consider those experiences as defining moments in my career. Just as important, these experiences have allowed me to grow as a leader within Duane Morris. I am privileged to mentor younger attorneys and serve as one of the firm’s pro bono chair representatives. Through these roles, I help foster a culture that views meaningful pro bono service as a professional responsibil ity and as a growth opportunity for attorneys at every level to develop as passionate advocates and thoughtful leaders. Pro bono service changes lives. It changes the lives of our clients but also has the power to transform us as practitioners: It pushes us beyond our comfort zones, accelerates our professional growth, and provides opportunities to lead even if we feel like we may not be ready. Above all, the skills I have developed through pro bono have made me a better attorney, mentor, and advocate—for my colleagues, my firm, and most importantly, my clients.

Licensed in several jurisdictions, including Illinois, Tiffany E. Alberty is a senior associate at Duane Morris and serves as the Women’s Impact Network for Success Associate Liaison and Co-Chair of the firm’s Chicago Pro Bono Practice.

36 September/October 2026