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<b><i>Case Study:</i></b> Implementing a New Platform to Increase Productivity During a Down Economy

By Rachel Epps Spears
April 28, 2011

Pro Bono Partnership of Atlanta (“PBP-ATL”) provides free business legal services to Atlanta-based nonprofit organizations that serve low-income or disadvantaged individuals. With a volunteer network of more than 1,500 attorneys representing many corporations and law firms in Atlanta, including Coke, GE, AT&T, Southern Company, UPS, Kilpatrick Townsend, K&S and Sutherland, PBP-ATL is one of the largest legal pro bono organizations of its kind in the Southern United States. In 2010, volunteers managed more than $2.3 million worth of transactional legal matters in areas such as tax, corporate, real estate, contracts, intellectual property, employment and technology.

The number of matters handled by PBP-ATL has consistently grown over the years. The recent economic slowdown has placed added demands on many of Atlanta's non-profit organizations, and the incoming requests for PBP-ATL's legal services have increased. The troubled economy also caused a reduction in our volunteer numbers, but given the network of dedicated attorneys still capable of volunteering their legal expertise, the rise in requests should have been manageable, at least in theory. The reality however, was quite the contrary.

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