The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), boasting over 10,000 attorneys nationwide and self-described as “the world’s largest law office”, has recently announced a momentous partnership with Paladin. Paladin, a leading justice tech company, provides a pro bono platform that helps to facilitate volunteer work for lawyers.
The partnership aims to launch the DOJ Pro Bono Portal, which will give DOJ attorneys a platform to search for and sign up for local pro bono opportunities deemed suitable for federal employees. Via this Portal, not only it becomes simpler for lawyers to volunteer for individual matters or clinics but bridges are built with legal services organizations and the DOJ’s Office for Access to Justice for a relatively quicker enrollment.
Interestingly, the Paladin platform offers real-time data on volunteers’ interests and pro bono engagements. This useful feature, in theory, would help shape and refine the future of the DOJ’s Pro Bono Program.
The official Pro Bono Program of the DOJ was launched back in 1996 and it also coordinates the federal government’s pro bono program which extends to over 50 federal agencies. However, it is noteworthy that the DOJ-Paladin partnership is intended to address DOJ attorneys only and not every federal attorney. According to Kristen Sonday, Paladin’s co-founder and CEO, the implementation of this partnership will be phased and released state-by-state.
As a segue into Paladin’s associated entities, the tech company works with a network of over 250 legal services organizations, law firms, Fortune 500 companies, and bar associations. The goal being, to help organizations find and manage pro bono opportunities more efficiently.
Sonday, the CEO, has publicly attributed much of the strides made in the federal government pro bono program to the leadership of Laura Klein, manager of the DOJ’s Pro Bono Program, and Lara Eilhardt, pro bono counsel in the DOJ’s Office for Access to Justice.