1.1 Planning pro bono for the firm

Almost all pro bono programs will benefit from a planned and coordinated approach. The growth of a structured, less ad hoc approach by law firms to pro bono has been linked to the growth in the size of law firms and the perceived need for an approach that embodies a firm’s institutional commitment to pro bono. It ‘mirrors the general trend toward greater structure and formalism in other areas of firm administration . . . and signals the integral role of pro bono in the firm’.2

Properly designing, structuring and coordinating a firm’s pro bono program significantly enhances the ability of the firm – and particularly mid-sized and large firms to:

• manage the level of commitment to pro bono work of all kinds;
• track and record pro bono work and consequently measure the benefits and the costs;
• undertake pro bono work on a less reactive basis;
• nurture a firm-wide culture within a coherent policy;
• provide opportunities for a greater number of lawyers, spread the involvement of lawyers in the firm (including amongst groups that would not usually be associated with pro bono services), and provide a greater range of opportunities for pro bono work;
• engage in better supervision and quality control of pro bono work carried out within the firm;
• provide valuable opportunities for training and experience to lawyers;
• target resources in ways considered most beneficial;
• give a consistent message when communicating the firm’s activities to the outside world.3
  

The planning checklist below may assist firms to achieve these outcomes.

It may be worth noting Roger West’s recommendations for a particular large firm’s pro bono program.4 West suggests that the program would have the best chances of success if it:

• has the clear support of the firm’s leaders;
• is professionally planned and managed with a full-time specialist lawyer -coordinator;
• has a dedicated and significant budget;
• operates according to clear policy and guidelines;
• ensures that, to the maximum extent possible, pro bono work is treated, -performed and credited in the same way as other work the firm undertakes;
• has both in-house and external components;
• is targeted to areas of greatest need where the firm’s skills and resources can be best utilised; and
• ensures that interested personnel at all levels of the firm can participate.
  

Planning checklist

Firms planning their pro bono programs might consider undertaking the following:

• survey the firm’s pro bono work, contacts and interest and seek ideas for the program (see 1.5 Surveying interest);
• consider ways to promote a pro bono culture and encourage pro bono in the firm (see 1.4 Promoting a pro bono culture);
• develop a pro bono policy (this will require decisions to be made about many of the matters noted below) (see 1.11 Pro bono policy);
• identify the nature of the work to be undertaken (see 1.2 Current models of law firm pro bono);
• define pro bono for the purposes of the firm’s program (see 1.3 Defining pro bono for the firm);
• determine processes for overseeing and administering the program with clear lines of responsibility (see 1.8 Coordinating pro bono work in the firm);
• consider unmet legal needs and identify sources of work (see 1.6 Identifying needs and sources of work) and ensure that an individual in the firm is given responsibility for contacting relevant community organisations and others (such as pro bono referral schemes) and communicating with them on a regular basis;
• identify possible pro bono work and projects for different teams within the firm, including ‘transactional’ (non-litigation) work, community legal education and law reform work;
• identify opportunities for involvement of all levels in the firm, including new graduates, articled clerks and vacation clerks (where relevant) (see 1.9 Involvement of all levels);
• consider acquiring expertise in particular areas (see 1.14 Training and skills);
• identify how pro bono work will be counted and credited, including for the purposes of assessing performance, remuneration and advancement in the firm (see 1.10 Counting and crediting time);
• determine procedures for intake, file management and supervision (see 2.1 Casework procedures and 2.2 Supervision);
• create mechanisms to ensure communication within the firm regarding pro bono work;
• consider record keeping and reporting mechanisms and requirements (see 1.13 Measurement, record keeping and evaluation);
• make arrangements for periodic evaluation of the pro bono program and for making changes to it.

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