Undertaking pro bono work is an important way for junior lawyers to diversify their skills, says Andrew Compton, a finance associate who oversees Hong Kong pro bono activity and sits on the global pro bono committee for Latham & Watkins.
He said he actively encourages junior lawyers to begin taking on pro bono work as a way to build client relationship skills and practice new areas. “One thing pro bono work is good for is learning a new area of law,” Compton said. “I don’t necessarily use the same skills in my day to day work – a large corporate transaction is very different to setting up a social entrepreneurship with operations and a company structure in Hong Kong, which we recently did, but some skills are transferrable.”
In terms of recognition for pro bono work, Compton said that in many firms, hours spent working for pro bono clients are viewed exactly the same as billable hours for the purpose of performance management. “It is good demonstration of corporate responsibility too, people do like to see what we are doing,” added Compton. He cited his first experience of helping an Israeli woman who had fled domestic violence under the US Violence Against Women Act as one of the most meaningful things he has done to date.
On Thursday afternoons Compton takes an hour out of his day to meet with Help for Domestic Helpers (HDH) to assist Hong Kong’s immigrant domestic helpers from around South East Asia. “These women are often not paid properly, are charged exorbitant fees by the people who bring them here and we work to give them a voice,” Compton said. Lawyers at the firm also assist refugees applying to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to be taken in by another country. This involves legal work, research into the social issues these people face, preparation of briefs and accompanying clients to their hearings before the UNHCR, according to Compton.
That work also gives Compton tangible results, and increased enthusiasm for billable client work and helps him see that he really is making a difference to these peoples’ lives and hopefully deterring would-be extortionists as they see the wins that his clients get. “They aren’t huge in terms of dollars, but we find that we are writing letters on behalf of people and the other side settles,” he said. When he returns to his billable work, Compton said he usually feels re-energised from his time away.
Currently Compton and around 10 other lawyers from the Hong Kong office work with three community organisations, but that number is likely to change in the near future. “Unlike London or New York, Hong Kong is not as developed in terms of pro bono opportunities available but we have managed to find some great opportunities with partners here,” he said. Now that Latham & Watkins has a new litigation department in Hong Kong, Compton said there will be new pro bono opportunities in this area of law for the team.