When Shawn Organ was a partner at Jones Day, Columbus, and in charge of pro bono legal services and associate training, he saw the incredible value pro bono offered to associates in building professional experience.
“It is a great feeling to ’give back,’ but [pro bono service] is also an excellent opportunity to get young lawyers some of their first stand up work in trials or hearings and litigation experience with depositions,” Organ said. “It has always struck me as a ’win-win.’”
Now, as the founding partner of Organ Law LLP, a litigation boutique firm in Columbus, he heads a team committed to pro bono service. So committed that Organ Law reported the highest number of pro bono hours per attorney in the 2023 Supreme Court of Ohio and Ohio Access to Justice Foundation’s Pro Bono Survey.
Asked why Organ Law has prioritized such exemplary service, he says it starts with the assertion that pro bono gets at the heart of why attorneys do what they do.
“Fundamentally, it comes down to the fact that many of our attorneys were drawn to the practice of law to right wrongs and address injustices,” Organ said. “Too often, we see people with legitimate issues or claims where they have been taken advantage of or wrongfully manipulated. That’s when we can step in.”
The 2023 survey echoes Organ’s sentiments. The survey recorded a 31% increase in the total reported pro bono hours statewide compared to 2022, thanks to the generosity of Ohio law firms and individual attorneys who give their time and talent to help change lives.
There’s also growing excitement in the pro bono community about new ways to increase volunteerism, efforts that the Foundation is pleased to facilitate.
“There’s a sustained and impressive commitment from law firms across the state in supporting low-income Ohioans and nonprofit civil legal service providers,” said Sophia Chang, the Foundation’s pro bono director.
While pro bono has many practical benefits in developing associates and building firm culture, perhaps the biggest reward is the feeling of positively impacting a person or family. Organ, a board member of Legal Aid of Southeast and Central Ohio and a pro bono volunteer understands that feeling firsthand.
“In all of my hundreds, if not thousands, of representations of clients, I have never had one hug me for a job well done,” Organ said. “But I have had more than a couple pro bono clients respond in exactly that manner.”
The Foundation partners with the Supreme Court of Ohio to gather information about pro bono volunteerism and financial contributions to legal services organizations in Ohio. View the 2023 survey results.