NY Firms Pledge Lawyers to 50 Pro Bono Hours Annually

Thirty of the 55 large Manhattan law firms asked by the New York City Bar Association to endorse its aspirational “Statement of Pro Bono Principles” have pledged their lawyers will perform 50 or more hours per year.

A “substantial majority” of those hours should be in the cause of civil legal help for poor people ' or about 30 hours, says Bettina B. Plevan, city bar president. That figure coincides with the 30 hours of annual pro bono service to the poor long advocated by Volunteers of Legal Service.

Independent of Reduced
Fees and Financial Support

Under the new city bar policy, pro bono credit would not accrue for cash contributions by the law firms to nonprofit agencies. According to an advisory from the city bar: “In addition to the requisite 50 hours, firms also agree to offer both financial and substantive support to legal service organizations.”

The city bar's action follows the adoption in April of a pro bono policy by the New York State Bar Association. That policy calls for 20 hours of pro bono service to the poor. In addition, according to State Bar President A. Vincent Buzard, lawyers should offer “substantially reduced fees” when normal fees would “significantly deplete the resources” of poverty law agencies. “We also ask [lawyers] to make financial contributions,” says Buzard, a partner at Harris Beach in Rochester, NY. “We expect them to do both.”

Aspirational v. Mandatory Pro Bono

The development of such policy by the two major bar groups has come after several years of debate in the legal community over the issue of aspirational versus mandatory pro bono service. “We're not doing it because we feel threatened,” says Buzard. “We're doing it because it's the right thing.”

“I think the issue of mandatory pro bono is pretty much a dead issue now,” says Plevan, a partner at Proskauer Rose.

Beyond the pledge of 50 hours of annual pro bono work, Plevan says the principles endorsed would help foster a “strong culture of pro bono” at law firms. Among the principles:

• Pro bono hours should be counted the same as billable hours and “looked on favorably” during personnel decisions.
• Senior lawyers would be “strongly encouraged” to work pro bono.
• New associates would be asked to perform at least one pro bono matter during their first year.

The city bar's Committee on Pro Bono and Legal Services, headed by William T. Russell Jr., a partner at Simpson, Thacher & Bartlett, developed the statement over a year-long period of meetings and hearings. The policy hews to the American Bar Association's Model Code of Professional Responsibility.

State Action Still Needed

The city and state bar policies combined will hardly solve what Buzard sees as the “societal problem” of unmet legal needs of the poor.

Such need, he says, “should be met not simply by lawyers donating their time ' they should be met by the state, and they're not. We strongly believe there should be a permanent source of funding for civil legal needs for people of limited means.”

Thirty of the 55 large Manhattan law firms asked by the New York City Bar Association to endorse its aspirational “Statement of Pro Bono Principles” have pledged their lawyers will perform 50 or more hours per year.

A “substantial majority” of those hours should be in the cause of civil legal help for poor people ' or about 30 hours, says Bettina B. Plevan, city bar president. That figure coincides with the 30 hours of annual pro bono service to the poor long advocated by Volunteers of Legal Service.

Independent of Reduced
Fees and Financial Support

Under the new city bar policy, pro bono credit would not accrue for cash contributions by the law firms to nonprofit agencies. According to an advisory from the city bar: “In addition to the requisite 50 hours, firms also agree to offer both financial and substantive support to legal service organizations.”

The city bar's action follows the adoption in April of a pro bono policy by the New York State Bar Association. That policy calls for 20 hours of pro bono service to the poor. In addition, according to State Bar President A. Vincent Buzard, lawyers should offer “substantially reduced fees” when normal fees would “significantly deplete the resources” of poverty law agencies. “We also ask [lawyers] to make financial contributions,” says Buzard, a partner at Harris Beach in Rochester, NY. “We expect them to do both.”

Aspirational v. Mandatory Pro Bono

The development of such policy by the two major bar groups has come after several years of debate in the legal community over the issue of aspirational versus mandatory pro bono service. “We're not doing it because we feel threatened,” says Buzard. “We're doing it because it's the right thing.”

“I think the issue of mandatory pro bono is pretty much a dead issue now,” says Plevan, a partner at Proskauer Rose.

Beyond the pledge of 50 hours of annual pro bono work, Plevan says the principles endorsed would help foster a “strong culture of pro bono” at law firms. Among the principles:

• Pro bono hours should be counted the same as billable hours and “looked on favorably” during personnel decisions.
• Senior lawyers would be “strongly encouraged” to work pro bono.
• New associates would be asked to perform at least one pro bono matter during their first year.

The city bar's Committee on Pro Bono and Legal Services, headed by William T. Russell Jr., a partner at Simpson, Thacher & Bartlett, developed the statement over a year-long period of meetings and hearings. The policy hews to the American Bar Association's Model Code of Professional Responsibility.

State Action Still Needed

The city and state bar policies combined will hardly solve what Buzard sees as the “societal problem” of unmet legal needs of the poor.

Such need, he says, “should be met not simply by lawyers donating their time ' they should be met by the state, and they're not. We strongly believe there should be a permanent source of funding for civil legal needs for people of limited means.”