Today, two leading pro bono and access to justice innovators, Paladin and Pro Bono Net, announced Paladin’s acquisition of Pro Bono Manager. Pro Bono Manager is a robust pro bono reporting product used by many top AmLaw firms to measure the health of their pro bono programs.
The acquisition will equip pro bono teams with more data and insights, broaden Paladin’s law firm network across the country, and expand knowledge of best practices to further support the pro bono community. Mark O’Brien, Pro Bono Net’s Co-Founder and Executive Director, will join Paladin as an advisor. The organizations will collaborate on pro bono-related thought leadership and programming, including opportunities for pro bono volunteers to use Pro Bono Net’s platforms to help the public resolve legal problems. As a part of the acquisition, Pro Bono Manager clients will migrate to Paladin’s platform, resulting in a greatly expanded, centralized network of legal service partners, pro bono opportunities, and volunteers. Pro Bono Net will continue to support Pro Bono Manager during the transition.
With Paladin’s focus on maximizing value to law firms, corporations, bar associations, and legal services organizations, this acquisition is a natural next step in the organization’s ability to customize its pro bono technology to each client’s needs.
“Pro Bono Net has done a fantastic job understanding how law firms analyze their pro bono programs and creating a flexible data framework to empower each user. We could not be more excited to build upon their expertise to provide even better insights to firms across the world,” said Kristen Sonday, Paladin’s Co-Founder and CEO. “Furthermore, by combining the data insights of Pro Bono Manager with Paladin’s opportunity referral and volunteer tracking tools, we’ll be able to create strong network effects that boost pro bono engagement across the board.”
Since its founding in 1999, Pro Bono Net has dedicated itself to creating a world in which everyone is empowered to exercise their legal rights on issues affecting their safety, home, family, and livelihood. Its signature programs include LawHelp, LawHelp Interactive, Remote Legal Connect, and Citizenshipworks.
“By combining Pro Bono Net’s institutional knowledge and experience with Paladin’s expertise in volunteer engagement, we believe that Pro Bono Manager’s customer base will greatly benefit from a set of expanded services,” said O’Brien. “We also believe the transaction and the exciting strategic partnership we are creating with Paladin will strengthen Pro Bono Net’s ability to focus on what we do best — creating innovative technology solutions and partnerships that bring the power of law to all.”
Kristen Sonday
Kristen is the Co-Founder and CEO at Paladin. As a first generation-college Princeton graduate, Kristen first witnessed how complicated our judicial system is to navigate while at the U.S. Department of Justice conducting international criminal work in Mexico and Central America. As one of the few Latinos on the team, she saw the immense value of having an advocate with you throughout the legal process, which inspired her to want to build something to increase access for those in diverse communities. After DOJ, she joined the Founding Team of YC-backed Grouper, where she learned how to build a startup from the ground up. In addition to Paladin, Kristen Co-Chairs the Legal Services Corporation’s Emerging Leaders Council and is a partner at LongJump, investing in overlooked founders in the Chicago area.
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