Pro Bono: Is This Going to Be a Trend?

The American Lawyer’s 2007 Pro Bono Survey report this year focuses on the “rich palette of causes” that Am Law 200 firms have taken on (“From Death Row to Dolphins”), how law firm leaders can pave the way for pro bono at their firms (“Starting at the Top”), and the difficulties of defining what constitutes pro bono work (“Drawing the Line”).

In fact, pinning down that definition, and determining what metrics to use, has been a challenge since the beginning of the Pro Bono rankings. The American Lawyer changed its methodology for calculating scores and rankings last year. Currently, they are determined by two figures which count equally: 1) average pro bono hours per lawyer, and 2) percent of the firm’s lawyers who performed 20 or more hours of pro bono work in the year covered in the survey. Only U.S. lawyers are used in the calculations, since many countries outside the U.S. have no real history of pro bono commitment.

Totals, Averages, Percents
This year's story included a few trend studies showing which firms had changed the most in the rankings since last year (Morgan, Lewis was up by 94 points; Akin Gump was down by 50), and which firms had changed the most in the rankings in the last five years (Saul Ewing had moved up 121 points in the rankings; Buchanan Ingersoll had slipped by 66 points).

So, we decided to do our own historical trending. The Pro Bono Survey has been conducted since 1993 (each year’s published survey covers work done in the previous fiscal year), and the data for all years is available through ALM Research Online as part of the premium subscription.

A look at total pro bono hours contributed by all Am Law firms since 1993 shows a rather satisfying ever-upward trend, with firms performing about 1.4 million hours of pro bono work in the 1993 report, and over 4 million hours in the most recent report.

However, the first spike in that trend – 1998 – can be attributed to the simple fact that 1998 was the first year that The American Lawyer reported The Am Law 200 (and not just The Am Law 100). But after that initial jump in total pro bono hours, the trend continued, though in the last two years the total number of pro bono hours has remained somewhat constant, at about 4.2 million hours.

A look at the average annual pro bono hours per firm shows a similar trend, though not one as relentlessly reassuring in its uphill movement. Again, the effect of adding the “Second Hundred” in 1998 is visible, dragging the average down. But it is interesting to note that this average had been moving in a downward direction prior to 1998, and after 1998, the trend reversed. Since the inclusion of the "Second Hundred", an on-going steady improvement in the average firm’s commitment to pro bono has followed.

However, a look at the two key measures for a firm’s score in the Pro Bono Survey (average hours per lawyer, percent of attorneys who contributed 20 or more pro bono hours) is not so reassuring. Though the percent of Am Law attorneys who contributed 20 or more pro bono hours each year has remained somewhat steady since 1993, the hours-per-lawyer figures have gradually slipped downward. In 1993, the average firm performed almost 55 hours of pro bono work per lawyer. In the last two years, the average has been only about 42 hours.

What does it all mean? There appears to be a rather steady, if stagnant, percentile of Am Law lawyers who remain committed to pro bono work. But the average pro bono hours per Am Law firm seems to be dwindling. Does it relate to the growing size of the average Am Law firm? Or perhaps to the musical chair effects of increased lateral movement? Or is it due to a heightened focus on the bottom line, at the expense of “lifestyle” choices?

At ALM Research we provide the numbers but encourage interested others to ferret out the most meaningful truths underlying those numbers. To purchase the 2007 Pro Bono Report and other recent survey data, visit the ALM Research Store. If you are interested in a exploring a subscription, and gaining access to our extensive archive of legal research, please contact Chuck Lowry, Director of Client Relations, at clowry@alm.com.