Our most recent survey was designed to learn how firms’ pro bono performance to date in 2010 has been affected by an increase in corporate client work and lower headcount. The results, as reported by approximately 110 firms, were mixed. Almost half of the firms reported that their overall pro bono hours had either increased (27%) or stayed at the 2009 levels (22.5%), while 48% reported that their pro bono hours had declined. This result is actually far better than many expected and represents an improvement over past post-recession periods. PBI has been tracking pro bono at major law firms since 1995, and our longitudinal data indicate that the years immediately after a recession are often the most difficult for pro bono. A smaller complement of lawyers, coupled with more paying work and anxiety about whether that work will continue to flow, can create an environment in which associate anxiety and leadership distraction combine to lessen pro bono work. Although we are certainly concerned that a large percentage of firms experienced a decline in pro bono, we are encouraged by the fact that more firms have successfully sustained and even increased pro bono during this difficult time.
The responding firms’ predictions with respect to the remainder of 2010 are even more positive. Almost 70% indicated that they anticipate that their firm’s pro bono hours will either stay the same or increase during the last six months of this year, while 25% predicted their hours will decrease during that period. The survey indicates that, unlike in the past, a decline in pro bono performance in the period immediately after an economic downturn is not inevitable. Law firms in 2010, and in the years to come, are operating in a far different environment — one that poses old and new obstacles for pro bono while also offering new opportunities to strengthen and institutionalize pro bono within law firms.
