By Troy Shelton
“Would you be interested in helping a group of us create an appellate pro bono program for North Carolina?”
That was the pitch to me from a group of former and current appellate judges, the director of the Pro Bono Resource Center and the lead appellate counsel for another state program.
I was a young associate and had no business getting that invitation. If I brought anything to the table, it was only enthusiasm. But a couple of years later, our little ad hoc group did manage to create the state’s first appellate pro bono program, which I administered for five years.
But I could have said no. If you want to find a reason not to do pro bono work, you’ll find one. You’re busy. The hours don’t bill themselves. Things are wild at home.
You don’t have to be a disciple of Ayn Rand to wonder about the return on investment for pro bono work. Saying yes to pro bono will cost me something, so how can it benefit me?
Pro bono work could shape your career. Creating the appellate pro bono program introduced me to the state’s appellate bar. Cases that I handled myself through the program helped make me eligible to sit for the appellate specialization exam. After launching the program, I also changed firms so I could focus on appellate law. Today, appeals are basically my entire practice.
Pro bono work also can open doors. It’s given me the chance to meet and work with other appellate practitioners, state appellate judges and our appellate court clerks.
But set aside my...
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