McConnell Discusses Pro Bono CLE Credit with Chicago Daily Law Bulletin

Greg McConnell, who serves as Winston & Strawn’s pro bono counsel, was quoted in the Chicago Daily Law Bulletin on May 22, 2012. In the article, “Pro bono attorneys push to count work for CLE credit,” Mr. McConnell discusses the proposal to allow pro bono work to count towards Continuing Legal Education (CLE) credit.

In Illinois, attorneys must complete 30 hours of Minimum Continuing Legal Education (MCLE) credit every two years, typically in the form of classes. Marc R. Kadish, director of pro bono activities and litigation training for Mayer Brown, LLP, introduced the idea that pro bono work could be counted as CLE credit to several Chicago pro bono attorneys. He hopes this additional incentive will result in increased attorney involvement in pro bono cases. If the Illinois Supreme Court accepts his proposal, it will become the seventh state to allow pro bono work to count towards CLE credit.

However, Mr. McConnell said that if pro bono work was accepted as CLE credit, it could devalue the work of lawyers who do pro bono work. He added that additional incentive was unnecessary and undermines the real reason lawyers do pro bono work. "I think that most people are doing pro bono work for the right reasons, which is that there is a significant community need," Mr. McConnell said, "and as lawyers, they have a unique capacity to meet some of those needs." Still, Mr. McConnell stated that he would not rule out the program entirely until he saw a full proposal.