There was a time when plenty of big firms wrote off a meager pro bono commitment as a necessary casualty of a vigorous pace of business. So when the economy slowed last year, idling droves of big-firm lawyers, pro bono service shot through the roof, right?
Not exactly. It is true that last year, according to The American Lawyer, 66 AmLaw 100 firms posted increases in pro bono hours, contributing to a 17.9 percent increase in total pro bono hours for TheAm Law 100 as a whole. But head count at AmLaw 100 firms grew by 11 percent, and pro bono hours per lawyer increased just 6.8 percent – nice, but not sufficient to make up for 10 years’ worth of decline.
