The most widely read magazine for Canadian lawyers
Issue link: https://digital.canadianlawyermag.com/i/50837
LAW OFFICE MANAGEMENT Managing pro bono T Many lawyers are doing volunteer or non-billable work but it needs to be tracked and managed so it doesn't overwhelm. BY KEV IN MARRON here's no point in dropping in to David Milosevic's Toronto law office on Thursday mornings. That's the time he strictly reserves for working at Pro Bono Law Ontario's Law Help centre. Pro bono work is important to him — as it is for an ever-increasing number of lawyers and law firms today — and, as a sole practitioner, he is well aware of the need to manage it well in order to keep it on his schedule and still earn a living. "It's very easy for my life to be swamped by considerations of billing and running an office, and then any involvement in the commun- ity becomes a distant memory, so I said I'm going to be strict and reserve one morning a week for pro bono work," says Milosevic. By working out of the help centre, where he advises self-represented liti- gants, Milosevic says he can draw a clear line between his pro bono work and his private practice, so that he never takes pro bono files into his office, thus avoid- ing the danger that they will eat into his billable hours. While it requires self-discipline and commitment, it is relatively easy for Milosevic to set those limits. Working through an outside agency such as PBLO relieves him of the burden of additional office work and solves the thorny issue of vetting clients to deter- mine whether they genuinely need pro bono legal help. For most law firms the task of man- aging volunteer or non-billable work is a little more complicated. For large firms, it usually involves having a detailed pro bono policy and a committee to oversee all of it. "We manage pro bono the same way we manage paying client files. If you don't, it's no longer pro bono, it's char- ity," says Christine Carron, a Montreal- based senior partner at Ogilvy Renault LLP. "A file comes into the office like any other file. We do a conflict search, look at the areas of expertise that are required, and we staff it accordingly. Pro bono hours are treated as billable and chargeable internally. They are budget- ed for annually within our own budget. Evaluation of those hours is blind to the source of the work." In fact, the level of sophistication and professionalism that can be involved is underlined by the fact that many www. C ANADIAN Law ye rmag.com OC T O BER 2010 21 JASON SCHNEIDER