# What percentage of lawyers do Zero Pro Bono work? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 11, 2010, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-percentage-of-lawyers-do-zero-pro-bono-work/556742 "2010-10-11T02:23:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Blalron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/35a633/32.png) [@Blalron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blalron)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2010, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-percentage-of-lawyers-do-zero-pro-bono-work/556742/1 "2010-10-11T02:23:24Z")
Inspired by this [enormously massive](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=577586&page=30) thread. Is there any data available on what percentage of lawyers that report doing “0” hours of Pro Bono work in any given year? Even better, is there a way to figure out how many lawyers shirk their professional responsibility for their entire careers? ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2010, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-percentage-of-lawyers-do-zero-pro-bono-work/556742/2 "2010-10-11T02:28:25Z")
Here’s some American stats from seven years ago. Don’t know if things have changed all that much, esp. given the recession: [http://www.news.probono.net/e\_article000188673.cfm](http://www.news.probono.net/e_article000188673.cfm) ---
**Author:** ![boilercake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ccd318/32.png) [@boilercake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boilercake)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2010, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-percentage-of-lawyers-do-zero-pro-bono-work/556742/3 "2010-10-11T02:29:34Z")
How much actual work do you do for free? Not volunteer/feel good stuff, but actual grind it out/pain in the ass for nothing work? What kind of ahole question is this? ---
**Author:** ![OldGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/3bc359/32.png) [@OldGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OldGuy)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2010, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-percentage-of-lawyers-do-zero-pro-bono-work/556742/4 "2010-10-11T02:38:41Z")
> [@boilercake](#): > > How much actual work do you do for free? Not volunteer/feel good stuff, but actual grind it out/pain in the ass for nothing work? What kind of ahole question is this? Well most other occupations aren’t on record as recommending 50 hours per year as the Am. Bar Association is, so it seems like a legitimate question. And for many people, it may well be that volunteering their time in what you call “Feel good stuff” is more useful to society than their working at their job for free which would accomplish maybe lowering prices for us all. But there are many circumstances in which people need legal advice and can’t afford it, so a lawyer providing such for free could well help society better than his/her manning a soup kitchen or whatever. ---
**Author:** ![Blalron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/35a633/32.png) [@Blalron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blalron)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2010, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-percentage-of-lawyers-do-zero-pro-bono-work/556742/5 "2010-10-11T02:40:02Z")
> [@boilercake](#): > > How much actual work do you do for free? Not volunteer/feel good stuff, but actual grind it out/pain in the ass for nothing work? What kind of ahole question is this? Without rehashing a 1,500 post argument, I’ll just put it this way: My job doesn’t have a Code of Conduct that I’ve sworn to uphold that outlines a duty to donate my time. ---
**Author:** ![boilercake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ccd318/32.png) [@boilercake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boilercake)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2010, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-percentage-of-lawyers-do-zero-pro-bono-work/556742/6 "2010-10-11T02:47:23Z")
> [@OldGuy](#): > > Well most other occupations aren’t on record as recommending 50 hours per year as the Am. Bar Association is The ABA isn’t an occupation. Attorneys aren’t monolithic. > [@OldGuy](#): > > But there are many circumstances in which people need legal advice and can’t afford it, so a lawyer providing such for free could well help society better than his/her manning a soup kitchen or whatever. Well, if everyone worked for free it would “well help society” in some way or another, why enslave attorneys? ---
**Author:** ![boilercake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ccd318/32.png) [@boilercake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boilercake)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2010, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-percentage-of-lawyers-do-zero-pro-bono-work/556742/7 "2010-10-11T02:48:45Z")
> [@Blalron](#): > > My job doesn’t have a Code of Conduct that I’ve sworn to uphold that outlines a duty to donate my time. What is this Code of Conduct do you refer to? ---
**Author:** ![Rand\_Rover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/db5fbb/32.png) [@Rand\_Rover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rand_Rover)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2010, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-percentage-of-lawyers-do-zero-pro-bono-work/556742/8 "2010-10-11T02:53:28Z")
A 2005 ABA study says that 14% of lawyers report that they haven’t done any pro bono: [probonolaw: Pro bono statistics tell the real story about American lawyers](http://probonolaw.blogspot.com/2005/09/pro-bono-statistics-tell-real-story.html) ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2010, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-percentage-of-lawyers-do-zero-pro-bono-work/556742/9 "2010-10-11T03:07:44Z")
A couple things came out in that monolithic thread that may well be relevant to this question: - “Pro bono” work is a broad category that includes not only the “aid poor clients at no or nominal fee” work we normally understand by it, but also other work benefitting the general public that does not result in billable hours, e.g., volunteering legal services to a civic or charitable organization, serving on a committee or task force to improve an aspect of statute law or how the law is administered in a practical sense, etc. - In many states, the “pro bono” rules are so written that a lawyer with specialized expertise that pays extremely well may choose to devote all his time to billable work and fulfill his pro bono obligation by donating to charity, especially to clinics offering what is essentially pro bono services, or by having his law firm subsidize the work of a member devoting all or much of his time to pro bono type work. ---
**Author:** ![Rand\_Rover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/db5fbb/32.png) [@Rand\_Rover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rand_Rover)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2010, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-percentage-of-lawyers-do-zero-pro-bono-work/556742/10 "2010-10-11T03:18:13Z")
Since no one else is staying on topic, I guess I won’t either. One important thing to keep in mind on this subject is that the code of conduct does not require a lawyer to perform pro bono work. It only essentially suggests that it would be a nice thing if a lawyer does pro bono. Therefore, those discussing a lawyer’s “professional responsibility” or “duty” or “obligation” to do pro bono are speaking only of a “moral obligation”–i.e., an obligation imposed by some general sense of right and wrong floating out in the ether. It is not the case that a lawyer has an actual obligation to do pro bono–i.e., an obligation imposed by a set of rules to which lawyers are subject or that arose by reason of a lawyer’s promise to do pro bono. More specifically, the ABA Model Rules (on which several codes of conduct are based) have lots of rules saying that a lawyer “shall” do this or “shall not” do that. It then has a rule saying that a lawyer “should aspire” to do 50 hours of pro bono work a year. But a lawyer who doesn’t do any pro bono or doesn’t even “aspire” to do any pro bono has not violated the rules–there are no consequences for not doing pro bono. The Illinois rules (which were also discussed in that thread) don’t say a word about pro bono. The preamble to those rules state that a lawyer has a responsibility to do pro bono. As with the ABA model rules, there are no consequences for a lawyer that does not do pro bono or aspire to. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2010, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-percentage-of-lawyers-do-zero-pro-bono-work/556742/11 "2010-10-11T04:01:13Z")
> [@boilercake](#): > > How much actual work do you do for free? Not volunteer/feel good stuff, but actual grind it out/pain in the ass for nothing work? What kind of ahole question is this? **MODERATOR STEPS IN FOR THE SECOND AND LAST TIME TONIGHT**. By that, I mean you’re history. Buh-Bye. **samclem** Moderator ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2010, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-percentage-of-lawyers-do-zero-pro-bono-work/556742/12 "2010-10-11T04:21:49Z")
> [@Rand\_Rover](#): > > Since no one else is staying on topic, I guess I won’t either. [Moderator Instructions] Please stick strictly to the question in the OP. This goes for everyone. In particular, since the person responsible for the original hijack has now been banned, I don’t think it’s necessary for anyone to respond to his posts. For anyone wishing to debate any aspect of pro bono work, please take it to the thread linked to in the OP. Colibri General Questions Moderator ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2010, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-percentage-of-lawyers-do-zero-pro-bono-work/556742/13 "2010-10-11T04:23:51Z")
> [@Blalron](#): > > Even better, is there a way to figure out how many lawyers shirk their professional responsibility for their entire careers? [Moderator Note] Also, as stated this particular point is not suitable for GQ. Please restrict responses to the percentage of lawyers who do no pro bono work. ---
**Author:** ![Blalron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/35a633/32.png) [@Blalron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blalron)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2010, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-percentage-of-lawyers-do-zero-pro-bono-work/556742/14 "2010-10-11T05:19:40Z")
I do appreciate the cite that listed 14% of lawyers doing 0 Pro Bono hours in a year. > [@Colibri](#): > > > [@Blalron](#): > > > > Even better, is there a way to figure out how many lawyers shirk their professional responsibility for their entire careers? > > [Moderator Note] > > Also, as stated this particular point is not suitable for GQ. Please restrict responses to the percentage of lawyers who do no pro bono work. I’m wondering if I can carefully rephrase this question to be purely factual and not introduce a debate… I’m trying to ascertain whether there’s any data on this that spans over a longer duration than a year. A lawyer missing Pro Bono work in a given year is a different matter from one that has gone for say, 5 or 10 consecutive years and still has not logged in a single hour. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2010, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-percentage-of-lawyers-do-zero-pro-bono-work/556742/15 "2010-10-11T05:23:25Z")
> [@Blalron](#): > > I’m wondering if I can carefully rephrase this question to be purely factual and not introduce a debate… > > I’m trying to ascertain whether there’s any data on this that spans over a longer duration than a year. A lawyer missing Pro Bono work in a given year is a different matter from one that has gone for say, 5 or 10 consecutive years and still has not logged in a single hour. That’s acceptable. Just don’t use loaded phrases like “shirking their professional responsibility.” ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2010, 5:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-percentage-of-lawyers-do-zero-pro-bono-work/556742/16 "2010-10-11T05:36:11Z")
If I may ask a related question within the confines of GQ standards: Given the point **Rand Rover** has belabored in the Pit thread linked to in the OP, does any lawyer have quick access to figures, without wading through 51 sets of bar association standards and bar admission/license retention rules, to how many states mandate pro bono work (or the equivalent, as noted), as opposed to the loophole **RR** has brought up that, while stated as a professional responsibility in Illinois, it is not strictly _required_? Count a mandate one may be excused from (e.g., a lawyer recovering from traumatic injury would be excused) as one with a mandate. I think this information might be quite interesting. ---
**Author:** ![Kimmy\_Gibbler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Kimmy\_Gibbler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimmy_Gibbler)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2010, 6:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-percentage-of-lawyers-do-zero-pro-bono-work/556742/17 "2010-10-11T06:49:14Z")
> [@Polycarp](#): > > If I may ask a related question within the confines of GQ standards: > > Given the point **Rand Rover** has belabored in the Pit thread linked to in the OP, does any lawyer have quick access to figures, without wading through 51 sets of bar association standards and bar admission/license retention rules, to how many states mandate pro bono work (or the equivalent, as noted), as opposed to the loophole **RR** has brought up that, while stated as a professional responsibility in Illinois, it is not strictly _required_? Count a mandate one may be excused from (e.g., a lawyer recovering from traumatic injury would be excused) as one with a mandate. I think this information might be quite interesting. No state requires a lawyer to do pro bono work. Why the non-attorneys on this board have gotten that idea in their heads, I’ll never know. Like **RR** , I’m also beginning to resent the idea that attorneys alone among the professions are obligated to render these services for free. To tell you the truth, attorneys see our pro bono _aspirations_ (note the choice of words) as a matter of grace and _noblesse oblige_—not one of penance. Don’t make us think better of our generosity by getting greedy. ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2010, 12:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-percentage-of-lawyers-do-zero-pro-bono-work/556742/18 "2010-10-11T12:18:53Z")
And what attorneys are you asking about? Too many people think that attorneys are people in law firms, like on television. There are a large number of attorneys that work law exclusively and as employees for companies. Are they lumped in the with the number of law office lawyers that should be counted in the pro bono figures? ---
**Author:** ![Rand\_Rover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/db5fbb/32.png) [@Rand\_Rover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rand_Rover)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2010, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-percentage-of-lawyers-do-zero-pro-bono-work/556742/19 "2010-10-11T13:02:04Z")
Poly–I believe Kimmy is correc that no state has rules of professional conduct that require pro bono work. However, in googling around last night, I saw a discussion of the language used in the oath in one state (not sure which one). The language was squirrley and fuzzy but couldprobably provide at least weak support for the idea that lawyers in that state had promised to do pro bono. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2010, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-percentage-of-lawyers-do-zero-pro-bono-work/556742/20 "2010-10-11T13:41:12Z")
Here’s one data point for **Polycarp** ’s question … Per my NV-licensed attorney wife … In Nevada the (simplified) rules are: 1. You \*should \*do 20 hours per year of pro bono. 2. If you don’t do 1., you \*should \*donate $500 or more to an organization that does law-related pro bono work. 3. Each year you \*must \*report how much pro bono you did or didn’t do. There’s a space for this on your annual license renewal paperwork. In my wife’s case, she provides legal services to her church for free. Most years this exceeds 20 hours by a decent multiplier. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-percentage-of-lawyers-do-zero-pro-bono-work/556742.md?page=2)