Many large firms continued to undertake substantial levels of pro bono work last year despite the economic downturn, a new study has found. Twenty-four firms provided data to the Interim Report of the National Law Firm Pro Bono Survey, and within these 24 firms 10,410 FTE lawyers undertook more than 322,000 hours of pro bono legal work in the 2009/2010 financial year - an average of 29 hours per lawyer. “That’s equivalent to more than 178 lawyers working pro bono full-time for a year,” said executive director of the National Pro Bono Resource Centre, John Corker.
Corker said that despite the financial pressures and retrenchments last year, pro bono work continued because lawyers considered it part of their professional obligation. “Part of being a lawyer is believing in justice and access to legal resources. From an individual lawyer perspective, there is a desire to assist people in need. It’s an ethical obligation. During the GFC there was increased legal need, more people in distress,” he said.
Many firms also used pro bono work as a way of keeping their lawyers engaged and stimulated at a time when billable work was less readily available, as reported here.
The National Pro Bono Resource Centre has 58 signatory firms to its voluntary target of 35 hours pro bono work per year per lawyer. Although the number of signatory firms has dropped from 66 in the previous financial year, the number of legal professionals covered by the target increased from 4,600 in 2009 to almost 5700 this year. Of the 13 signatory firms included in the survey, seven , met the target in the 2009/2010 financial year. “The target is used to lift the visibility of pro bono work in the legal profession,” said Corker. “I think it’s great 53% reached or exceeded the target.”
The report found that signatories to the target were more likely to report higher hours of pro bono work than non-signatories, suggesting signatories have a stronger pro bono culture. On average signatories completed 37.8 hours of pro bono work per lawyer per year, compared to 18.6 hours per lawyer pre year in non signatories. The target was set in 2007 and was based on similar targets set by the US Pro Bono Institute. Corker said the US and Australia were the world leaders for pro bono legal work. The UK does not have an official pro bono target for legal practitioners and “New Zealand and Canada are still in their early days of establishing one,” Corker added.
National Law Firm Pro Bono Survey - Key Findings
29 = Average number of pro bono work hours worked per lawyer
59% = Average participation rate of lawyers in firms surveyed
35= Number of pro bono hours worked per lawyer per year set by Pro Bono Target
58 = Number of firms who have signed the Pro Bono Voluntary Target
7= Number of signatory firms that met the target
37.8 = Average pro bono hours worked per lawyer in signatory firms
18.6= Average number of pro bono hours worked per lawyer in non-signatory firms
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