With legal professionals around the U.S. celebrating National Pro Bono week (October 23-29), we took this opportunity to catch up with Cisco Chief Legal Officer, Dev Stahlkopf, on Cisco’s approach to pro bono, how it ties to our purpose of powering an inclusive future for all and the broader conversation around ESG.
Hello Dev. It’s National Pro Bono week in the U.S. Pro Bono is a common term in the legal profession, but less so in the tech industry. Can you share a bit of background on the practice of pro bono and how companies traditionally engage?
Absolutely. Pro bono literally translates to “for the public good.” In the legal profession, attorneys volunteer their time and skills to provide pro bono legal services free of charge for those who otherwise would not be able to afford them. And while the tradition of pro bono started in private practice, over the past 15-20 years, corporate legal departments have embraced the opportunity to use their professional skills to help increase access to legal services. In the past few years, many jurisdictions in the U.S. have set aspirational goals for all attorneys for pro bono service.
What does that engagement look like at Cisco?
Cisco has a strong give-back culture. It’s one of the things that makes me most proud to be a part of this organization – the commitment to living our purpose. I spent my first year exploring the different ways Cisco has embraced pro bono. We’re lucky to have some really passionate colleagues. I’m excited to scale the program, building on their hard work.
At the start of this fiscal year, we set a goal of 50% participation in pro bono activities across Cisco Legal. We've designated October as pro bono month, spotlighting different ways for employees to get involved – hosting a pro bono fair in San Jose, inviting guest speakers from leading pro bono organizations to share their mission, and sponsoring clinics for people to lend their time and skills.
So much about the way we work has changed in the wake of the pandemic. What has been the impact to pro bono?
Like many things pre-pandemic, pro bono was traditionally an in-person endeavor. But in the shift to virtual, there was a silver lining. The number of pro bono hours reported to the American Bar Association actually increased in 2020. The combination of more time at home and effective collaboration technology (like Webex) opened doors of opportunity for people to participate in pro bono.
I’m the co-chair of the Corporate Pro Bono Advisory Board, and lately, we’ve been talking about where we go from here. What is the right balance of virtual and in-person when it comes to pro bono? I think it’s going to take some time to sort that out.
Let’s shift gears a little. You mentioned you’re on the board of the Corporate Pro Bono Advisory Board. You’re also on the board of the Leadership Council for Legal Diversity. How does diversity factor into your leadership approach?
Diversity in the legal profession is something near and dear to my heart. I believe innovation is stronger and outcomes are better when you’re bringing diverse perspectives and experiences to the table. Progress in the legal industry has been slower than any of us would have hoped, with some studies reflecting only small gains for women and almost none for most minority groups over the last decade, especially at leadership levels. For me, and members of our senior leadership team, we know growing and developing the next generation of diverse leaders needs to be an important area of focus.
You mentioned measuring progress in pro bono participation. There is an increased focus on how to measure societal impact, and ESG activities more broadly. What role does Legal have in the ESG conversation?
I think about Legal’s contribution in a few ways. First, we have a role to play as a business unit – just like Engineering, Finance, or any other function – contributing to the ESG-related goals and metrics Cisco has outlined. Our pro bono hours, our commitment to diversity, these efforts help demonstrate Cisco’s broader purpose story.
Second, we contribute directly to several of Cisco’s ESG focus areas, including governance through our corporate legal team, data privacy and responsible AI through our business human rights and privacy teams and ethics and integrity through our global compliance enablement team.
And finally, as an advisor to the business. More and more frequently we are seeing aspects of companies’ ESG efforts being subject to regulatory reporting requirements. We help guide the organization through the reporting process and mandatory disclosures. Based on the increased focus on ESG reporting from investors, analysts, regulators, and shareholders, it’s an element of our job that will only continue to grow in the coming years.
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