Joseph Bell took the academic route–at first. “I was originally enrolled in grad school for economics, but it wasn’t quite fulfilling on its own,” says Bell. He switched to law. After Yale Law School, his background in economics and interest in public policy led him to work first for the Cabinet Task Force on Oil Import Control, then for the Federal Energy Agency. But only after joining the energy practice at what was then Hogan & Hartson did Bell find his true passion: a uniquely globe-spanning brand of pro bono.
At Hogan, Bell handled oil, gas, and electric regulatory work for clients such as Peabody Energy Corporation and Citizens Energy Corporation, a nonprofit that provides free or discounted heating to low-income families. His Citizens work took him around the world, negotiating contracts and implementing small-scale assistance projects in countries that supplied oil. In 1989, then-Harvard University professor Jeffrey Sachs recruited Bell for a pro bono project: advising the Polish Ministry of Finance on privatization and debt relief in the early days of the Solidarity-controlled government.
