Committee Focuses on Corporate Pro Bono Legal Services

By Tara Shockley


The Texas Access to Justice Commission, chaired by James B. Sales of Houston, created the Corporate Counsel Committee in 2004 to encourage participation in pro bono legal services by in-house counsel. The committee has a multi-faceted charge:

To promote both funding for legal aid and volunteer efforts by corporate counsel staff in furtherance of the legal aid effort. The committee coordinates corporate counsel efforts on behalf of the Commission with similar efforts in local communities and provides ongoing input to the Commission for the statewide endowment campaign, expansion of volunteer legal services to the poor and the overall legislative program.

The Corporate Counsel Committee is chaired by Charles Matthews of ExxonMobil in Dallas and includes as members general counsel from across the state. Houston area members are Stephen F. Gates of ConocoPhillips; Craig Glidden of Chevron Phillips Chemical Company LP; Michael L. Jines of Reliant Resources; Catherine Lamboley of Shell Oil Company; Kevin M. McDonald of Anadarko Petroleum Corporation; Frederick J. Plaeger II of Burlington Resources, Inc.; Scott E. Rozzell of CenterPoint Energy, Inc.; William F. Schwind, Jr. of Marathon Oil Company; and Jennifer L. Vogel of Continental Airlines, Inc.
A primary activity of the committee is a partnership with the Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC) to develop corporate pro bono summits in cities across Texas. Last May, Houston hosted the first corporate pro bono summit, organized by ExxonMobil’s Peggy Montgomery, who chairs the Operating Subcommittee; Tom Brandt of Shell Oil Company; Donna Katos of Continental Airlines; and Alice Adams of CenterPoint Energy.
Designed specifically for corporate legal departments, the program explained the need for pro bono involvement by in-house counsel, discussed ways to develop and support pro bono projects, and explored opportunities for corporate volunteers. More than 40 attorneys participated in the half-day event, which was held at the Continental Airlines Training Center. Sales presented an overview of legal services for the poor in Texas, including information on an increasing poverty population, shrinking resources, and crucial legal issues that face low-income clients. Brandt discussed the pro bono activities currently available in Houston for corporate legal departments.
Other speakers included Continental Airlines’ Vogel, Harlan Martens of ExxonMobil, and Carol Helliker of CenterPoint Energy. These in-house counsels talked about their personal pro bono experiences, as well as how pro bono work can offer attorneys experience in honing their legal skills, building teamwork, recruiting new attorneys, and meeting the increasing needs of the poor in our communities.
Client representatives from two non-profit organizations explained how pro bono attorneys provided transactional legal advice that helped them expand their programs and increase services to poverty-level residents. A panel comprising Montgomery, Katos, Paula Narcisse of ConocoPhillips, and Stewart Gagnon of Fulbright & Jaworksi L.L.P. offered
practical advice on the policies, procedures and partnerships that can assist cor-porations in establishing and maintaining successful pro bono programs.
The summit concluded with a pro bono fair organized by the Recruiting Subcommittee of the Corporate Counsel Committee. The fair gave participants the opportunity to meet representatives from legal service providers in the Houston area, including the HBA’s Houston Volunteer Lawyers Program (HVLP).
Drawing on the success of the Houston program, a similar program was held in Dallas in November 2005, and a program is scheduled for Austin later this spring. Discussions are ongoing for summits in San Antonio and smaller cities.
While some of Houston’s corporate law departments have been long-time supporters of pro bono services through the HVLP, an increased awareness and renewed focus has led to active participation by a number of corporations.
ExxonMobil, for instance, has been actively involved with HVLP for many years. The Houston Bar Foundation recognized the corporation’s legal department for outstanding contributions to HVLP in 1990, 1993, 1998 and 2005, and Montgomery was recognized by the Foundation for her outstanding service as a pro bono coordinator. ExxonMobil attorneys have accepted hundreds of individual pro bono cases for full representation. Volunteers have staffed numerous Saturday Legal Advice Clinics at locations throughout the city, as well as HVLP Will Clinics. ExxonMobil’s legal department also has made cash grants to HVLP through the ExxonMobil Foundation in a program that awards grants for every 20 hours of volunteer service provided by an individual or group of employees to a specific charity.
More than 100 Shell Oil Company employees, including 55 attorneys, 20 paralegals and 25 support staff, participated in a two-day pro bono project at the Third Ward Multipurpose Center. The Shell volunteers organized into two teams that provided testamentary planning and general legal advice. On October 17, volunteers met with clients who were pre-screened by HVLP to ensure they met financial criteria for pro bono legal services. One team gathered information to prepare estate-planning documents including wills, powers of attorney, medical directives and guardianship declarations. A second team provided advice on issues including domestic relations, landlord/tenant law, and consumer/credit issues.
On November 1, the general legal advice team held a second session at the Third Ward Multipurpose Center for a second set of clients, while the estate planning team met again with their clients to review and execute their documents.
Anadarko Petroleum and Waste Management, Inc. both sponsored Saturday Legal Advice Clinics for HVLP. Anadarko provided 14 volunteers for the January clinic at Northwest Assistance Ministries, while Waste Management provided six volunteers for the February clinic at Bayland Community Center. ACC members also participated in a November 2005 Bayland Community Center Clinic.
CenterPoint Energy and ExxonMobil provided volunteers for a full day to answer calls for the disaster relief hotline set up at HVLP immediately following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Each corporation provided 10 volunteers who gave legal advice to disaster victims.
For more information on the Corporate Counsel Committee, visit the Texas Access to Justice Commission’s Web site at www.texasatj.org.

Tara Shockley is the communications director for the Houston Bar Association.

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