In its most recent report on access to justice for low-income Americans, the Legal Services Corporation (LSC) warned that legal aid organizations do not have enough resources to meet the demand of the communities they serve. About half of the 1.9 million requests for assistance on civil legal aid problems are turned away, the LSC said, due to a lack of funding and pro bono support.
Even when legal aid assistance is provided, LSC data shows that organizations are unable to see 71 percent of problems through to completion. “Low-income Americans either do not receive any legal help or do not receive enough legal help for the vast majority of their civil legal problems,” the LSC said.
The ABA and many state bar associations across the country recommend an annual pro bono commitment of 50 hours per lawyer. In Model Rule 6.1, the ABA establishes a lawyer’s professional responsibility to provide pro bono service. Every lawyer, the Rule states, should provide legal services to those unable to pay. “Law firms,” the rule adds, “should act reasonably to enable and encourage all lawyers in the firm to provide pro bono legal services called for by this rule.”
How are midsize law firms doing in reaching this goal at a time of growing need for pro bono services? Good2bSocial sibling company Best Law Firms gathered pro bono information from more than 700 law firms for the annual survey it conducts as part of its annual ranking process. The firms providing pro bono data had an average headcount of 90 lawyers—well within our definition of midsize firm of 20-150 lawyers.
More Work to Do
Overall, firms have work to do to meet the 50-hour pro bono target. Lawyers at the firms surveyed by Best Law Firms spent an average of 31.8 hours on pro bono work. A little more than a quarter of firms reported per-lawyer averages above 50 hours, but they were offset by the 21 percent of firms that reported that their lawyers averaged less than 10 hours.
That said, many midsize firms are closer to the 50-hour mark than their large law competitors. Broken down by size category, the Best Law Firms data shows that firms with 50-149 lawyers averaged 37.4 hours per attorney, and firms with 20-49 lawyers averaged 39.4 hours per attorney. That compares to 35.4 hours for firms with 500 or more lawyers and 21.4 hours among firms with 150-499 lawyers. Small firms under 20 lawyers averaged 16.1 hours per attorney.
Best Law Firms also asked firms about the resources they devoted to pro bono. More than 90 percent of firms with more than 100 lawyers have a formal pro bono program in place. At firms with fewer than 100 lawyers, formal programs are harder to come by. Just half of firms with 20-100 lawyers and 21 percent of firms with less than 20 lawyers said they have established a pro bono program. The largest firms were also far more likely to employ a dedicated pro bono coordinator on staff or to have created a standing committee to help direct pro bono efforts.
Hourly Incentives Are Rare
One of the ways to make pro bono a higher priority for law firm lawyers—especially those with high billable hour requirements—is to give them hourly credits for their work. But among the midsize firms surveyed, hourly credit for pro bono is relatively rare.
Small firms of less than 20 lawyers were more likely to offer lawyers substantial credit for pro bono work. Just under 40 percent of small firms said their lawyers receive billable hour credit, and a little more than 20 percent said lawyers received unlimited credit for pro bono work.
At larger firms, however, billable hour credit is far rarer. Among firm with 20 lawyers or more, 14 percent of firms said lawyers receive billable hour credit for pro bono. Fewer than 5 percent of lawyers at these firms are eligible to receive credit—with or without limits.
Redoubling Pro Bono Efforts
As the holidays approach and firms scramble to build their 2025 budgets and to capture as many receivables as possible before the year closes, they might also remember to keep an eye on their pro bono goals. The need for pro bono assistance is almost certain to grow in the year ahead. The Legal Services Corp. is a perennial target for budget cuts and will likely be in the crosshairs once again.
Midsize firms play a critical role in ensuring that pro bono commitments around the country are met. And redoubling efforts to reach the hourly targets set by the ABA and state bars can help ensure the most vulnerable in society receive the legal support they need. A strong pro bono program is also good for the firm—enhancing its sense of mission and providing training, morale, recruiting, and retention opportunities, and potentially enhancing relationships with clients.
(Best Law Firms Legal Market Report 2025 includes additional benchmarking information about pro bono performance, competitive strategies, clients, geographic expansion, generative AI, non-lawyer staffing levels, the gender makeup of firms, and DEI programs. Click here for a full report.)
Do you have questions, feedback, or topics you would like The Edge to cover? Send a note to david@good2bsocial.com.