If you want something done, ask a busy person. The top-grossing firms on the Am Law 200 did the most pro bono work this year, according to the results of our Pro Bono Survey. Not only are those firms making the most money, but they are doing the most volunteer work. We looked into how and why.
Our pro bono data shows that, when it comes to pro bono, the top quartile of Am Law 200 firms are outperforming the three quartiles that follow them in our gross revenue rankings. Attorneys at the top 50 firms averaged 71 hours of pro bono work each in 2016 while attorneys at the 150 lesser-ranked firms averaged between 39.1 and 45.9 pro bono hours. In the highest quartile, 58.7 percent of attorneys at those firms did more than 20 hours of pro bono work in 2016. Meanwhile 40.8 percent of attorneys in the second quartile, 36.4 percent in the third and 36.8 percent in the fourth worked more than 20 hours pro bono.
