One of the most common terms bandied about in standard mainstream media depicting lawyers is that of ‘pro bono’. Indeed, the popular legal drama Suits (which Robert Hanna’s legally speaking podcast makes a point of regularly riffing on as an icebreaker) frequently uses pro bono as an excuse for up-and-coming lawyer Mike and his mentor & boss Harvey to step out of their striped suit corporate world into more exciting and nuanced cases, where they represent the proverbial ‘little guy’ against faceless corporations and amoral tycoons.  

But what exactly is ‘pro bono’? Like many terms in law, pro bono’s legal etymology has its roots in Latin, specifically the longer term ‘pro bono publico’, roughly translating to ‘for the public good’. Pro bono, at its core, is the provision of professional services for no fee or a minimal representative fee, such as travel expenses. This effectively free service is often done for individuals or organisations that either cannot afford the service they are receiving outside of a charitable context, or would better serve society if their money was redirected to other outlets. Therefore, pro bono is a method for helping those in need and aiding charities to help those in order to do individual good and help society as a whole.

While pro bono is not restricted solely to the legal world, showing up also in medicine and academics – among other fields, it is most commonly associated with the practice of the law. In the context of law, pro bono is either given in the form of one of advice or signposting further help on a particular issue, in a manner reminiscent of the Citizen’s Advice Bureau, or the free and voluntary provision of legal service throughout the lifetime of a case – the style most often adopted by law firms.

To some, the concept of pro bono is an enigma. Most legal firms are, after all, businesses, with an aim to turn a profit for their paralegals, associates and partners. Why then, divert precious time and expertise, that could be focused on financially rewarding cases, to cases that carry no monetary compensation? Business-minded lawyers could be forgiven for assuming this is the preserve and objective of charities, such as the aforementioned Citizens Advice Bureau, not a job for business-oriented firms, with employees to pay and bills to settle.

 However, there are a myriad of positive reasons;

1. Skill sharpening – lawyers are human, and, like any human, they respond well to repetitive exposure. Just as practice makes perfect, new situations improve overall professional development. If a firm restricts itself only to paying cases, then there may be periods of time, of varying lengths, where legal staff sit idle. Of course, this time could be used to take holidays or do housekeeping, both domestic and at the firm. However, when those are not necessary or desirable, pro bono can act as a stop gap to keep lawyers sharp and occupied. Moreover, just as pro bono is used as a narrative device in the aforementioned suits to introduce new situations, pro bono in reality can be an excellent tool for individual lawyers and larger legal teams to gain exposure to new, esoteric or previously untouched areas of the law, without the pressure of letting a paying client down. Of course, no firm wants to let a pro bono client down, both for reputation reasons and, on the more extreme end, for the possibility of a professional negligence claim. However, pro bono is a superb option for stepping outside of a professional comfort zone and getting a chance to practise law outside of a given area. 

2. Feel Good Factor – law, particularly the corporate variety, can sometimes be described as feeling bland or soulless. Certainly, not every legal professional feels this way, but there is something to be said for a chance to help those in need. This sense of righteousness and satisfaction now only applies to the individuals directly involved in the pro bono case, but also tends to have a firm-wide effect, providing an often much needed morale boost.

3. Networking Potential – in a similar vein to reason number one, that of skill sharpening, pro bono offers exposure. While this can be a two way street, provided a pro bono client is happy they may be likely to recommend a firm’s services to other, paying, clientele. This can open up new, unforeseen, avenues of legal business, while doing a good act. Indeed, some small firms’ reputations have been made, or at least largely boosted, by prominent pro bono cases that skyrocketed their practices to fame. In this vein, the law society, alongside other prominent legal organisations, gives prizes for firms that have world-class pro bono services. Winning such a prize certainly adds prestige to a firm’s name.

All this being said and notwithstanding the copious advantages listed above, the practice of pro bono is, in its immediacy, a money sink. This is an especially painful reality in a time where law firms are having to spend more to retain top talent, while their business clients are slashing legal budgets and private clients are tightening their purse strings in the face of a looming global recession. This all results in a clash where legal practice shot callers come to the somewhat understandable conclusion that pro bono is an unaffordable luxury in an increasingly hostile legal-business environment. Contrastingly, legal aid cuts and court backlogs mean that pro bono is needed more now than ever before. 

Given all these pressures, managing pro bono casework amongst the requirement to take on non-pro bono cases can seem to be on the verge of the impossible. However, with a good legal practice management system and the best legal matter management tools, this objective, of meaningfully running a pro bono service or arm, quickly becomes surmountable.

The first aid of a matter management system, necessarily a tripartite intersection between a law firm’s operations software, their overall operating doctrine, and their specific pro bono strategy. If for example, a firm is highly focused on rewarding its staff on the basis of the billable hour, then an inherently non-billable exercise, such as pro bono, will not only likely be avoided by lawyers, but its allocation, forced or otherwise could be perceived as an insult or punishment within the firm’s specific culture. The answer would not simply be to count pro bono cases as equivalent to billable cases, as not all billable cases are created equal. Such an asymmetry would create its own problems. Further, any associated legal timekeeping and billing software would have to be adjusted to account for this weighing up the utility of pro bono vs non-pro bono cases in the relevant solicitors’ case management system.

Beyond these doctrinal issues, a firm must also ask itself what its objectives are when undertaking pro bono. Often clients want cases done quickly and professionally, minimising cost while maximising utility. Firms have an incentive to do a good job, quickly enough to please the client (to ensure repeat business) while also making money off of the service. In instances of pro bono, this dynamic is often reversed with clients not minding time input, as it brings them little to nothing, instead putting a premium on ensuring the service they receive is top notch. By contrast, every minute a lawyer spends on a pro bono case they are, for all intents and purposes, financially inactive to the firm. This creates an impetus to speed work up, potentially to the extent that corners are cut to varying degrees. If this desire is not carefully managed by a legal practice management solution, then the aforementioned reasons for even undertaking pro bono are rendered moot and unachievable. However, with the right plan and the right legal practice software pro bono services and their associated awards can be effectively undertaken and obtained by a given firm

Below the sweeping requirements of strategy and goal-setting, the daily nitty gritty of taking on pro bono work, as well as billable work, can be hard on lawyers whose work life balance already has a reputation for abysmal. Tools for law, such as legal tech, can serve to assuage lawyers’ pain points and make work more manageable. With such an armoury, any below-water lawyer can not only be more productive in a billable sense, but also serve as a efficacious practitioner of pro bono legal services.

References:

[1] ‘Introduction to pro bono’ https://www.lawsociety.org.uk/topics/pro-bono/introduction-to-pro-bono

[2] ‘Why Do pro bono?’ at https://uk-graduates.bakermckenzie.com/news/why-do-pro-bono/

[3] ‘Pro bono manual’ https://www.lawsociety.org.uk/topics/pro-bono/pro-bono-manual

[4] ‘Pro Bono: Technology’, at https://www.dlapiper.com/en/uk/focus/probono/technology/overview/

[5] Violeta Stancheva, ‘The use of technology in Pro Bono’ at https://www.aston.ac.uk/sites/default/files/2%20-%20The%20use%20of%20technology%20in%20pro%20bono%20%E2%80%93%20advantages%2C%20pitfalls%20and%20lessons%20learned%20-%20Violeta%20Stancheva.docx

[6] ‘Why pro bono?’ at ‘The Importance of Pro Bono Work in Your Practice’ at https://www.natlawreview.com/article/importance-pro-bono-work-your-practice

[7] ‘The Case for Pro Bono’ at https://www2.nycbar.org/mp3/DoingWellByDoingGood/pbi_businesscase.pdf

[8] ‘Guide to Pro Bono’ at http://probonoweek.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/ProBonoHandBook-2019-npbc.pdf

[9]  ‘Pro bono and Young Solicitors: Views from the Front Line’, at https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/9831091.pdf

[10] ‘The Importance of Pro Bono Work in Your Practice’ at https://www.natlawreview.com/article/importance-pro-bono-work-your-practice