THE LAWYERS WEEKLY
December 24, 2010 | 21
BUSINESS
CAREERS
When Mathieu Bouchard was
recently faced with a pro bono
client who was anxious about an
impending court hearing, the
Montreal lawyer resorted to a
technique he successfully used in
the past, and drew a sketch of the
courtroom, illustrating where the
judge, court officials and the parties would sit, and explained in
plain language what to expect.
“We may laugh but for some-
one who has never been to court
it’s impressive and it can be very
intimidating,” remarked Bou-
chard, a partner with Irving
Mitchell Kalichman, at a plain
language conference held in
downtown Montreal that
explored ways to effectively
manage pro bono legal work.
“But if we can give them an idea
as to what will take place before
they set foot in court it can make
a difference.”
Dealing with pro bono clients,
most of whom have never been
involved with the justice system
and likely never will be again, can
be challenging, a minefield
replete with potential misconcep-
tions, possible misunderstand-
ings, and false expectations.
But some potential pitfalls can
be avoided, by giving pro bono
files the same attention as work
that pays coupled with equal
doses of patience, creativity and
flexibility. Large law firms like
Ogilvy Renault LLP have
developed formalized pro bono
policies, overseen by a committee,
to help manage services provided
to the disadvantaged and organizations with limited means. Pro
bono hours are considered billable, are charged internally, and
are taken into account in the law
firm’s annual budget, explained
Christine Carron, a senior partner
at Ogilvy Renault in Montreal.
The pro bono committee
reviews applications, conducts
conflict of interest assessments as
it does for any new work that
might come its way, and assesses
who within the firm has the
expertise to take on the mandate.
That information is then passed
on to the head of the legal department who in turn assigns the pro
bono case, added Carron, who
IMAGES BY ISTOCKPHOTO.COM, ILLUSTRATION BY VANESSA KING
Lawyers dealing with pro bono clients must be patient, and may even have to explain what a courtroom looks like.
worked on a pro bono project, for
U.K.-based charity HelpAge
International, that issued legal
recommendations to help elderly
people accused of witchcraft in
various African countries.
“This is not a case of asking a
lawyer if they want to take on the
pro bono file,” said Carron, who
noted that the first thing the pro
bono committee did was to define
pro bono since pro bono means
different things to different
people. “They are assigned just as
they are with paying clients. We
don’t ask a young lawyer or an
associate if they want to take on a
mandate for the Royal Bank, and
nor do we do ask if they want to
take on a pro bono file. The results
that the lawyer must obtain are
the same as any other file.”
To obtain “results,” lawyers
must gain a firm idea of the
client’s problem, goals and
expectations — something not
nearly as simple as it may seem.
While pro bono experts suggest
that clients should be able in
the initial interview to recount
their story in their words, law-
yers should nevertheless gently
keep their client focused on the
legal issues.
“Often pro bono clients do not
want the same thing as commer-
cial clients,” noted Bouchard, who
practices public law, commercial
litigation and class actions. “It’s
important to know what they
want to determine if it’s possible
to obtain it—is it realistic? Sec-
ondly, is it worth changing their
views or if they don’t want to
change their views, how can we
help them give what it is they
want (taking into account that it)
may not necessarily be the most
logical (solution).”
Communication, then, is key.
Speaking clearly and plainly,
without resorting to legalese, is
essential. Avoid language and
terms such as insolvency that may
be familiar within legal circles but
are completely foreign to clients
who have never had dealings with
the legal system. If the message is
not getting through, it may be
that clients think and learn vis-
ually instead of through listening
as is the case with the majority of
lawyers, pointed out Geeta Nar-
ang, the executive director of a
Montreal legal aid clinic.
Practice Management
Canada’s legal online job board.
