Last year, over 100 attorneys from Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe contributed 3,617 pro bono hours to building a microfinance network in Latin America. The result was an $8.5 million dollar microcredit investment fund that would open entrepreneurial doors for millions of low-income people through tiny loans.
Private law firms are increasing their pro bono commitments to the microfinance industry, the banking sector for the world’s poor. In response to the recent jump in food prices and contracting credit, firms are stepping up and offering their finance expertise for the social good. Mary Rose Brusewitz, a global finance partner at Orrick, explains the motivation for such public interest work in this way: “Young lawyers are simply not planning on just working and earning money. They want to be inspired.”
To read the full article in New York Lawyer, click here.
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