OPIA Blog

Last year, over 100 attorneys from Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe contributed 3,617 pro bono hours to building a microfinance network in Latin America. The result was an $8.5 million dollar microcredit investment fund that would open entrepreneurial doors for millions of low-income people through tiny loans.

Private law firms are increasing their pro bono commitments to the microfinance industry, the banking sector for the world’s poor. In response to the recent jump in food prices and contracting credit, firms are stepping up and offering their finance expertise for the social good. Mary Rose Brusewitz, a global finance partner at Orrick, explains the motivation for such public interest work in this way: “Young lawyers are simply not planning on just working and earning money. They want to be inspired.”

To read the full article in New York Lawyer, click here.

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The World Justice Project recently unveiled the Rule of Law Index, a new initiative that will examine and assess the rule of law in over 100 nations. While it is still in its prototype stages, the initiative could potentially be used as a tool to increase government accountability and renew commitments to the basic principles of law and human rights worldwide. The index does not rank countries on a scale, but instead offers profiles that measure a country’s performance based on a variety of indicators, including corruption, access to services, and respect for property rights.

William Neukom, a founder of the World Justice Project, describes the project as a way to constructively engage with rogue nations “in a relentless and long-term way.” The project is a step towards increasing robust legal protections and fair enforcement around the world. To read more on the Index, click here.

As a second year law student, Abbe Smith took on a particularly tough case her first day at NYU’s prison law clinic back in 1980. Patsy Kelly Jarrett was facing a life sentence for a 1973 robbery and murder. She was convicted on the strength of a single shaky eyewitness who placed her in the vicinity of the killing of a 17-year-old gas station attendant.

Despite this dubious evidence, Kelly was convicted, and because she refused to plea bargain and admit guilt for a crime of which she was innocent, served 28 years in prison. Abbe Smith continued fighting for Kelly throughout these nearly three decades, filing continuous appeals and clemency petitions. It was not until the case was featured in a 2004 PBS documentary and garnered media attention that Kelly’s parole petition was finally granted. Even after practicing law for 25 years, teaching at Harvard’s criminal defense clinic, and directing Georgetown’s criminal justice clinic, Abbe Smith counts this case – her first as a criminal defense lawyer - as her life’s work. To read her essay, published in the Washington Post and adapted from her forthcoming book Case of a Lifetime, click here.

As a recent College graduate remarked in the New York Times, “We came to Harvard as freshmen to change the world, and we’re leaving to become investment bankers - why is this?” His question addresses the growing trend in which students from top schools are being funneled into high-paying corporate jobs and away from other fields, especially public service.

In response to students’ increasingly myopic focus on financial security, schools are starting to place a greater emphasis on alternate career paths. Some, including Harvard, have started to expand their public service fellowships and internships. In her address to seniors during commencement week, Dean Faust urged students to look for measures of success beyond financial compensation. This same call to public service has been echoed by Barack Obama, who warned Wellesley graduates last month that the pursuit of narrow self-interest betrays a “poverty of ambition.”

Even so, the appeal of Wall Street salaries and prestige remains strong, and applying to corporate jobs is still the automatic option for many students. They continue struggling to balance real-world concerns with high-minded ideals. To read more, click here.