Chicago, IL—The Association of Pro Bono Counsel (APBCo) recently attended a forum with US Vice President Joe Biden, White House staff and the law firm pro bono community to discuss efforts to increase access to justice around the nation. Dentons, represented by Global Chairman Joe Andrew and Pro Bono partner Ben Weinberg, provided the Vice President with a progress report on several ongoing programs launched under APBCo's unique IMPACT (Involving More Pro Bono Attorneys in our Communities Together) project.

IMPACT aims to develop innovative approaches to deliver pro bono services to the underserved through the coordinated efforts of multiple firms. The program organizes public-private partnerships to provide legal counsel to low-income communities, following a precedent set by an earlier Dentons pro bono project. The idea for IMPACT stems from a previous meeting with the Vice President, who in September 2012 had challenged APBCo to launch a long-term program that would expand national pro bono efforts through strategic collaborations. At that time, the Vice President had asked for a model example of how law firms worked together to improve pro bono legal representation. One of the best examples was Chicago's Domestic Violence Division Pro Bono Project, co-founded by Dentons in January 2011.

Forged through a collaboration between the Firm, the Domestic Violence Legal Clinic (DVLC), the Cook County Circuit court and four other major law firms, the Domestic Violence Division Pro Bono Project provides victims of violence with the legal representation they need to successfully secure orders of protection against their abusers. In just three years, the project has logged over 12,000 pro bono hours by more than 500 volunteer lawyers from member firms and the legal departments of major companies. As a result, victims represented by a DVLC project attorney have nearly double the success rate of obtaining a plenary order of protection than other litigants in the system.

"Through collaboration between law firms and multiple stakeholders, we are able to maximize the impact of our pro bono work and better the outcomes for low-income clients in a markedly more efficient way than any one firm or organization trying to do it alone," said Ben Weinberg, a founding member of the Domestic Violence Division Pro Bono Project and a member of APBCo's Board of Directors.

Under the IMPACT project, APBCo's member firms launched innovative initiatives in eight major US cities, each tailored to the needs of each firm's home communities and created in cooperation with local legal aid agencies. In New York, Dentons helped host a small business legal academy in Harlem to promote economy redevelopment through out the city, and is assisting with the creation of clinics targeted towards aiding homeless youth. The Firm is also involved in APBCo's Chicago program, a series of clinics designed to help individuals who are hampered by past criminal records secure certificates of good conduct or health care waivers to overcome employment barriers.

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