Is pro bono wasted on the young? We know from reporting our annual pro bono rankings every year, page 48, that associates typically do the bulk of the pro bono work at firms. That's been the pattern for many years. But there's another constituency that firms can lean on for pro bono help: their retired partners.
Three years ago, New York State Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman named John Feerick (director of the Feerick Center for Social Justice at Fordham Law School) and Fern Schair (chair of the center's advisory board) cochairs of the Attorney Emeritus Program. The idea is simple: Some 2.3 million people navigated the courts in New York State without legal help last year. At the same time, there are hundreds of baby boomer lawyers retiring from The Am Law 200 annually. It's difficult to imagine these hardworking folks—who have been blessed with longevity and stamina—watching YouTube cat videos in their spare time like the rest of us.
