Counsel, Pro Bono
Norton Rose Fulbright
Houston, TX 77010
Description
Job Description
We are a global law firm with a powerful strategic focus and real momentum. Our industry-focused strategy is seeing us take on pioneering work in places that others have yet to reach. Our shared values define our culture and our workplace. You will find us to be unusually collegial, team-oriented, and ready to innovate. We work seamlessly across practices, offices and around the world. This elimination of boundaries has allowed us to evolve into a law firm that works as hard for its culture as it does for its clients.
Under the direction of the Pro Bono Partner and firm leadership, the Pro Bono Counsel (PBC) supports and manages the firm’s engagement in pro bono work. This role involves driving and overseeing the administration of pro bono matters, fostering relationships with legal services organizations, sourcing pro bono opportunities, and ensuring compliance with the firm’s pro bono policies. The ideal candidate will have a strong legal background, excellent relationship-building skills, and a personal commitment to pro bono legal services for communities in need.
The Pro Bono Counsel will not maintain a docket of personal cases. The role of the PBC is to build and administer the firm’s program, not to personally provide the representation. This is not to say the PBC cannot assist firm attorneys with their cases. However, the primary handling attorney should always be a firm attorney, not the PBC.
This position is ideally based in one of our Texas offices (Austin, Dallas, Houston, or San Antonio) but can reside in any of our US offices. The individual is expected to physically work in the office per the firm’s policy, currently four days a week.
Responsibilities include but are not limited to:
- Lead the administrative management of the pro bono program, including placement of pro bono matters, reporting on engagements, and generating enthusiasm for pro bono work.
- Consult on and provide direct supervision for designated pro bono matters, identifying and addressing potential risk management issues.
- Plan and lead quarterly pro bono committee meetings, including scheduling meetings, creating and distributing agendas for the meetings, creating quarterly reports on firm performance during the last quarter and YTD, and highlighting new, significant pro bono matters opened during the last quarter.
- Plan annual pro bono week events (late October) and nominate attorneys and teams for pro bono recognition.
- Conduct regular audits to ensure active pro bono matters comply with the firm’s pro bono policies.
- Develop and maintain strong relationships with local and national legal services organizations for referral of pro bono matters.
- Evaluate pro bono opportunities, analyzing eligibility, business issues, ethical concerns, and suitability.
- Manage pro bono collaborations with commercial clients, fostering networking and business development opportunities for firm attorneys.
- Manage large-scale pro bono projects and identify opportunities in areas of developing need based on current events and emerging legal issues.
- Participate in conferences and panels to represent the firm’s pro bono program externally and promote it internally.
- Maintain a presence in the law firm pro bono community, cultivating strong relationships with pro bono leaders at peer firms.
- Communicate with firm attorneys to identify specific pro bono interests and connect them with appropriate opportunities.
- Conduct analyses of the firm’s current pro bono efforts based on attorney feedback and other factors, monitoring and evaluating policies and procedures on an ongoing basis.
- Promote the firm’s pro bono accomplishments by drafting and reviewing communications, award nominations, and other firm communications, often in collaboration with the Marketing team.
- Prepare and manage annual budget for the pro bono program.
- Manage firm responses to surveys or RFPs concerning the pro bono program.
- Perform additional duties and responsibilities as assigned.
Qualifications:
- JD required
- Minimum of five years of relevant legal experience required. Familiarity with working at, or with, large private law firms and expertise in pro bono legal practices required
- Demonstrated proficiency with MS Office suite, especially with Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint, and Adobe. Strong general technology skills and the proven ability to learn new concepts and applications quickly
- Exceptional communication and organizational skills, strong attention to detail, excellent relationship-building skills, ability to collaborate with a team of highly skilled professionals in situations requiring diplomacy and confidentiality, and skilled in managing both strategic initiatives and tasks requiring attention to detail
- Professionalism, personal integrity and high degree of confidentiality
- Project management skills
- Comfortable working under time pressures and constraints
- Ability to travel and work late hours to meet deadlines
Norton Rose Fulbright US LLP is committed to providing employees with a comprehensive and competitive benefits package that supports you, your health, and your family. Benefit packages include access to three medical plans, dental, vision, life, and disability insurance. Employees can also access pre-tax benefits such as health savings and flexible spending accounts. Norton Rose Fulbright helps provide financial security by allowing employees to participate in a 401(k) savings plan and profit-sharing plans if eligible. Full- time employees are eligible to access fertility benefits designed to support fertility and family-forming journeys.
In addition to the Firm’s health and welfare benefits above, we offer a competitive paid time off plan, which provides a minimum of 20 days off based on your role and tenure with the firm. The firm offers a generous paid parental leave benefit allowing parents to take a minimum of 14 weeks of paid leave to bond with your newborn, or adopted child(ren). Employees are also entitled to 11 Firm holidays.
Norton Rose Fulbright US LLP is an Equal Opportunity Employer and complies with all applicable federal laws and their implementing regulations that require the collection and recording of certain data and information. The information we receive will not be used to make any decision regarding employment and will be kept separate from your application. Similarly, self-identification information is kept confidential and used only in accordance with applicable federal laws and regulations. Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability or protected veteran status. Norton Rose Fulbright is committed to providing reasonable accommodation as an Equal Opportunity Employer to applicants with disabilities. If you require assistance or accommodation to complete your application, please contact
us.hr@nortonrosefulbright.com
. Please provide your contact information and a description of your accessibility issue. We will make a determination on your request for reasonable accommodation on a case-by-case basis.
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