Today, Paladin, the leading pro bono management platform, and Practising Law Institute (PLI), the premier nonprofit provider of learning resources for legal professionals, have announced a strategic partnership designed to equip students with on-demand, actionable training that supports effective pro bono engagement.
Through this innovative collaboration, access to PLI’s world-class training programs will be available to law students through Paladin’s pro bono platform. While Paladin connects law students with vetted pro bono opportunities from legal services organizations, PLI supports this work with targeted, skills-based training at the moment students step into those matters —helping volunteers feel confident and prepared when it matters most.
Pro bono opportunities available to students include intake clinics for immigrants seeking asylum, helping the elderly obtain social benefits, conducting research on innocence matters, guardianship casework for children, and more. The integrated training experience will ensure students feel prepared to take on these matters, while engaging the pro bono community and building relationships.
“Integrating legal training with hands-on pro bono experience is the future of legal education. Especially with the advancement of AI and associates’ work changing so rapidly, there is no substitute for real-world pro bono experience,” said Kristen Sonday, Co-Founder and CEO of Paladin. “With PLI’s trusted, expert-led training programs and Paladin’s network of student-specific opportunities, students are entering a new era of experiential learning.”
“This partnership amplifies PLI’s commitments to both pro bono and law schools. This initiative will help schools deliver trusted, experiential training that’s practical and meaningful, while building a stronger pipeline of law students who will carry pro bono forward into firms, in-house teams, and every corner of practice,” says Kirsten Talmage, Chief Strategy Officer at PLI. “By integrating pro bono into their legal education, students strengthen the substantive skills that support career advancement, while also deepening empathy, building stronger connections to their communities, and enhancing their overall sense of purpose and fulfillment.”
“Closing the justice gap requires an ecosystem that supports volunteers end to end,” adds Adrián Palma, Director of Innovation at PLI. “By pairing PLI’s pro bono skills training with Paladin’s student-ready opportunities, we’re helping more people get help sooner — and building pro bono into the DNA of the next generation of lawyers.”
Through its Law School Hub, PLI offers practical training at no cost to students. On-demand programs led by expert faculty are available to help students sharpen pro bono skills, understand the use of AI in current legal practice, and stay on top of developments in numerous industry and practice areas.
Since launching with 30 law schools in August 2025, law students have signed up for over 5,600 pro bono cases through Paladin’s platform across the country. The impact has been immediate for both law students and the clients they serve.
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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