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LAW OFFICE MANAGEMENT non-governmental agencies now put out calls for tenders for their pro bono work and the competition can be quite stiff, says Carron. One such tender awarded to her firm was from HelpAge International, a U.K.-based charity that was looking for a law firm to draft a legal framework for addressing the plight of elderly people falsely accused of witchcraft in various African coun- tries, where superstition can often lead to persecution, violent assault, and murder. Carron says Ogilvy Renault was well-positioned to take on the project because it encompassed both French- and English-speaking countries with civil law and common law regimes. Working for six months on the file, a team of two partners, two associates, and three articling students was able to create a framework that drew upon alternative dispute resolution process- es developed in Canadian aboriginal communities, thus providing a non- adversarial setting in which people in rural Africa could be persuaded, for example, that a contaminated well, rather than a witch's curse, was respon- sible for an outbreak of illness and that the solution would be medicine and better equipment for well digging rather than persecuting or ostracizing the alleged witch. McCarthy Tétrault LLP has a pro bono policy administered by a com- mittee of partners and associates from all offices across Canada. Everyone is encouraged to do 50 hours a year of pro bono work. For associates and law clerks, the time they put in is credited towards bonus targets, while for part- ners it is just taken into account as part of overall compensation, says Gordon Baird, chairman of the firm's national pro bono committee. As is the case with other large firms, the primary source of pro bono work is not-for-profit organ- izations that are working to provide assistance to the disadvantaged. While the firm also takes on some work dir- ectly from individuals, its other main sources are organizations such as PBLO or Pro Bono Students Canada. "They have assisted us in the one thing that we're not necessarily very good at, which is income screening or needs screening," says Baird. Baird says one rule that his commit- tee applies in determining what work to take on is that the firm will not assist people on a pro bono basis with fights for control of not-for-profit organiza- tions. "It's not a good use of our pro bono time." One challenge involved in managing pro bono work, Baird adds, is dealing with conflicts — not so much clear con- flicts which are dealt with through rou- tine processes — but situations "where there's a concern that we may create a potential business conflict down the road by taking on a position adversarial for someone we would like to be doing work for in the future. It's a question of trying to balance this with the desire to support a person needing assistance." Corporate clients can help make it THE FUTURE OF TRANSACTIONAL LEGAL PRACTICE A panel discussion to launch U of T Faculty of Law's Global Professional LL.M. in Business Law Speakers Michael Trebilcock Faculty of Law University of Toronto (Moderator) Carole Silver Center on the Global Legal Profession Indiana University DATE Tuesday, November 16, 2010 TIME Panel Discussion 5:00–6:30 p.m. Cocktail Reception 6:30–7:30 p.m. LOCATION U of T Faculty of Law 78 Queen's Park TO REGISTER There is no cost to attend, however, space is limited. To register, please visit www.law.utoronto.ca/forms/transactional.html 22 OC T O BER 2010 www. C ANADIAN Law ye rmag.com ntitled-1 1 9/17/10 8:43:19 AM exum_CL_Oct_10.indd 1 9/13/10 9:16:40 AM John Claydon Director of Professional Development Lex Mundi Norman Letalik Partner Borden Ladner Gervais LLP