‘Mergers’, ‘acquisitions’, takeovers’ and ‘capital markets’ – all words that we would expect to associate with the work of a corporate lawyer. But what about, ‘charity’, giving’ and ‘for the public good’… still thinking about a corporate lawyer?

The average layperson would be forgiven for thinking – the former and the latter aren’t generally embodied by the same person. Or at least, not so far as stereotypes go. But after sitting down with Arfat Selvam, Managing Director of international law firm, Duane Morris & Selvam LLP, it’s unequivocally clear that you can in fact, be both. 

A corporate lawyer with almost 50 years’ in legal practice, her accolades in the corporate world stand equally alongside the projects and causes she’s contributed to, outside the office. Today, the founder member of Breast Cancer Foundation,  President of the Muslim Financial Planning Association, and  founding director  of Hope Villages Fund Pte Ltd (to name a few), her appointment as Law Society Pro Bono Ambassador for 2017/2018 is fitting, to say the least.

But how did this well-seasoned and celebrated lawyer – formerly Law Society President, winner of the Law Society’s CC Tan Award, and cited not once, but three times in The Legal 500 Asia Pacific’s ‘Recommended Lawyers’ for Corporate and M&A – get started in pro bono? And why does she think it’s important? We sat down to talk volunteering, advice for young lawyers, and her hopes for the pro bono landscape in Singapore.

Where It All Started

“Heart to God, Hand to Man” – the Salvation Army slogan that Mrs Selvam recalls, set off a passion for volunteering when she was a young lawyer. It’s where her taste for pro bono began, and as it turns out, sparked a passion for projects, dedicated to the greater good, that would last a lifetime.

Originally approached by a friend, who asked if she’d like to join and volunteer, Mrs Selvam proceeded to spend almost 20 years, as a Board member of the Salvation Army. She recounts how they were a well-established organisation. “The Salvation Army was very structured, and they did all the fundraising themselves, so they didn’t need help with that.” Instead, Mrs Selvam’s contribution centred around corporate governance issues, and helping out with policies – a role which she remembers as so fulfilling, that at the time she thought: “I’m just going to do more of that.”

Why Pro Bono Work Is Important

It’s the sense of giving back that encapsulates Mrs Selvam’s overwhelming warmth towards pro bono. As lawyers “we’re trained in a profession, we have special skills, we’ve benefited so much from the community, we need to give back. It’s a sense of moral obligation to give back to society”, Mrs Selvam said. “It’s about how the underprivileged are allowed access to justice, and there’s a sense of fulfilment achieved in making a difference to somebody’s life.”

She offered the quote below from Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, as encapsulating the vision for pro bono work:

“Certainly, life as a lawyer is a bit more complex today than it was a century ago. The ever- increasing pressures of the legal marketplace, the need to bill hours, to market to clients, and to attend to the bottom line, have made fulfilling the responsibilities of community service quite difficult. But public service marks the difference between a business and a profession. While a business can afford to focus solely on profits, a profession cannot. It must devote itself first to the community it is responsible to serve. I can imagine no greater duty than fulfilling this obligation. And I can imagine no greater pleasure.” – 78 Or. L. Rev. 385, 391 (1999)”

Advice to Young Lawyers Interested in Pro Bono

Get young lawyers to do more pro bono work, is something Arfat finds fulfilling herself. The benefits that result, both to the community and to the lawyer, are something she strongly believes in. Pro bono work “opens up opportunities and helps [young lawyers] build their confidence. It helps them stand on their feet, helps with their advocacy, and is character building”. But that’s just part of it. “Because they are young, they can make mistakes, and so it allows them to go beyond their comfort zone.”

Adding to a young lawyer’s skillset aside, Mrs Selvam also reflects on how young lawyers, who take up pro bono work, are recognised by the firm. “They’re acknowledged within the office, and if they do well, they’re acknowledged outside as well. They’re acknowledged by their peers, and by their seniors. Without bragging about themselves, they can shine.”

Advice to a Law Practice Interested in Pro Bono

The benefits of pro bono to a firm, are also something Mrs Selvam speaks of with great conviction. Perhaps the biggest benefit? “The bonding that is created by people who are working together on a pro bono project.”

Speaking from personal experience, Arfat reflects on how pro bono work is without doubt, a value add for senior lawyers and their career as well. “It helps build up your leadership qualities and teaches you how to get people to work together – a skill that’s very useful when managing a law office.”  It allows the lawyer to build a network outside the law, as s/he interacts with fellow directors in charity and civil organisations.

While proud of the structure they have at Duane Morris, where associates are given 100 hours (and partners 50) of billable time to dedicate towards pro bono, Mrs Selvam’s advice for other firms is to ensure they have a sustainable structure for supporting pro bono. “You need to set aside resources, allow billable hours [for pro bono], and recognise and acknowledge people who want to do it.” A clear pro bono policy, to encourage and guide young lawyers, is key.

Not only does she consider taking up pro bono a corporate social responsibility, but “for the younger lawyers especially, there’s a sense of pride that you belong to a firm that does pro bono work.” In August 2018, as part of its CSR project, she led her firm in the mission to give back to the underprivileged in a Hope Village project in Cambodia.

Pro Bono enhances the perception of the law practice. It is an important part of how the law practice defines itself externally. 

Personal journey, and Hope for the Pro Bono Landscape in Future

Taking it all back – while she credits her grandfather, as a driving and encouraging force behind her education, and enrolment in Law School in the first place, Mrs Selvam credits pro bono, and her contribution to it for the past four decades, as a catalyst for understanding herself more, developing a sense of gratitude, compassion and empathy for the underprivileged in her career.

Her hope is that law firms, of all sizes, recognise pro bono as their corporate responsibility, and that they “really advocate for finances, resources and support, to make their structure sustainable.” When asked her thoughts on whether pro bono should be mandatory then, her response is what resonates most truly amongst all of us pro bono advocates out there: “no – it has to come from the heart.”