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Entergy celebrates second annual Day of Pro Bono Service
11/14/2022
In recognition of this year's National Pro Bono Week, Entergy employees joined together Oct. 27 to help low-income community members during Entergy's second annual Day of Pro Bono Service.
Forty-five attorneys and law students, including 18 Entergy attorneys, collaborated to support a virtual legal clinic created and organized by Entergy, answering questions submitted to freelegalanswers.org by low-income community members throughout the service area in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas.
Collectively, participants logged 90 hours of legal pro bono time in just two hours – an approximate market value of $11,000 in legal services.
The Day of Pro Bono Service brings together legal professionals in all four states, simultaneously, to help clear the queue of questions in each state's freelegalanswers.org website.
"Our professionals have the skills to make a difference in people's lives," said Christy Kane, Entergy's pro bono counsel. "When we help our customers navigate complex legal issues, they become more resilient, which means they will be able to manage life's challenges on blue sky days or following a disaster."
The 16 participating outside counsel came from law firms Baker Donelson, Bradley, Duggins Wren and Quattlebaum. Eleven participating law students represented Baylor University, Loyola University New Orleans, Mississippi College of Law, South Texas College of Law, Texas A&M and the University of Arkansas, Little Rock – Bowen School of Law.
Since 2012, Entergy's legal pro bono program has increased the commitment of company lawyers and paralegals to provide free legal assistance to some of the most vulnerable citizens living in our utility service territory.
In 2018, Entergy named Kane, a veteran litigator and leader of a Louisiana-based public interest law center, as the company's first pro bono counsel. The Louisiana State Bar Association has honored members of Entergy's legal department with the prestigious 2019 Friend of Pro Bono Award. In 2020, the Pro Bono Project named Entergy Outstanding Pro Bono Corporate Partner of the Year and the Mississippi Volunteer Lawyers Project awarded Entergy their Torchbearer and Pro Bono awards.
Over the last 10 years, Entergy's legal department has performed nearly 50,000 hours of community service, with approximately 18,000 of those representing pro bono hours equaling a $4.7 million in-kind donation to the community. In 2021, legal professionals donated almost 1,800 hours of pro bono time.
National Pro Bono Week is held the last week of October each year and celebrates the public good of the legal profession, using their talents to make a positive difference in their local communities. Groups participated in-person and virtually, depending upon their locations.
