Pro
bono
matters
can
be
an
invaluable
experience
for
rookie
lawyers.
Depending
on
the
law
firm,
many
new
attorneys
might
not
have
the
chance
to
work
on
substantive
tasks
related
to
the
regular
matters
a
law
firm
handles,
since
partners
may
not
want
novice
lawyers
messing
things
up
for
law
firm
clients. However,
pro
bono
matters
often
give
rookie
lawyers
the
chance
to
handle
types
of
tasks
they
might
not
be
able
to
handle
for
a
firm’s
regular
clients.
If
the
opportunity
arises,
novice
lawyers
should
seek
out
the
chance
to
work
at
legal
aid
clinics,
since
this
experience
provides
even
more
critical
experience
that
can
be
helpful
to
the
development
of
a
lawyer.
Right
at
the
beginning
of
my
career,
I
worked
at
a
law
firm
that
encouraged
pro
bono
work,
and
even
counted
hundreds
of
hours
billed
to
pro
bono
matters
toward
a
lawyer’s
annual
billable
hour
requirement.
During
my
first
month
on
the
job,
Superstorm
Sandy
hit
our
area,
which
decimated
our
office
and
the
areas
where
many
of
the
lawyers
at
the
firm
resided. Numerous
people
in
our
area
had
legal
issues
related
to
the
storm,
such
as
insurance
cases,
foreclosure
matters,
and
the
like.
In
order
to
deal
with
all
of
the
people
seeking
advice
related
to
the
storm,
a
local
pro
bono
organization
decided
to
set
up
legal
aid
clinics
for
victims
of
the
storm
that
were
staffed
by
attorneys
at
that
organization’s
partner
law
firms.
I
attended
multiple
sessions
of
the
legal
aid
clinics,
and
the
experience
was
enriching.
Most
critically,
such
clinics
gave
me
firsthand
experience
interacting
with
clients. When
I
worked
on
regular
matters
at
the
law
firm,
partners
usually
facilitated
all
of
the
communications
with
clients. While
working
on
pro
bono
matters
at
the
firm,
I
was
also
often
associated
with
a
partner
who
would
handle
most
communications. However,
at
such
legal
aid
clinics,
I
had
firsthand
and
significant
communications
with
clients,
which
was
different
than
other
work
opportunities.
While
working
at
legal
aid
clinics,
I
also
had
to
think
on
my
feet
and
handle
a
multitude
of
matters
I
had
not
encountered
before. Often,
I
would
set
myself
up
at
the
legal
aid
clinics
with
my
laptop
and
listen
to
clients
speak
about
all
kinds
of
issues.
I
frequently
had
to
conduct
research
in
real
time
and
provide
advice
on
a
wide
spectrum
of
matters. This
type
of
quick
thinking
is
an
important
skill
that
is
not
usually
developed
while
working
on
regular
matters
at
many
law
firms.
Legal
aid
clinics
can
also
be
a
much
more
fun
and
enriching
experience
than
ordinary
pro
bono
work. The
legal
aid
clinics
were
usually
held
in
the
evenings,
so
people
who
worked
could
attend
the
clinics
after
business
hours.
This
was
not
always
fun
to
attend
as
a
lawyer,
but
this
permitted
me
to
bond
with
other
attorneys
at
our
office
in
different
setting
than
we
were
used
to.
It
is
much
easier
to
form
bonds
and
memories
with
co-workers
when
you
break
the
routine
of
seeing
each
other
in
an
office,
and
this
is
another
benefit
of
staffing
legal
aid
clinics.
Of
course,
legal
aid
clinics
are
typically
a
less
frequent
pro
bono
opportunity,
but
they
can
provide
a
variety
of
benefits. In
order
to
learn
valuable
skills
and
enrich
their
experience
as
a
lawyer,
novice
attorneys
should
seek
out
opportunities
to
staff
legal
aid
clinics.
Jordan
Rothman
is
a
partner
of The
Rothman
Law
Firm,
a
full-service
New
York
and
New
Jersey
law
firm.
He
is
also
the
founder
of Student
Debt
Diaries,
a
website
discussing
how
he
paid
off
his
student
loans.
You
can
reach
Jordan
through
email
at jordan@rothman.law.