Integrating Pro Bono Work in Your Legal Practice

When you become licensed as an attorney, you not only gain the right to practice law in your jurisdiction, but you also become a member of the legal profession. That means, beyond being a representative for your clients, you are an officer of the legal system and a public citizen with “special responsibility” for the quality of justice that everyone deserves to receive. One potentially rewarding way to fulfill that special responsibility is to voluntarily provide pro bono legal services to those who are unable to pay for a lawyer.

This program will teach you how to make pro bono work a part of your practice by reviewing the ethical rules that often pertain to pro bono work, including Model Rule 6.1, which defines the types of activities that count as pro bono work. It will also explore the different avenues for providing pro bono legal services, which can include volunteer opportunities with your local legal aid office and programs sponsored by your bar association. Finally, it will discuss best practices for managing a pro bono attorney-client relationship and ways to use pro bono work to further your professional and practice development.

This program is suitable for attorneys at all levels of experience who want to get involved with pro bono work.
 
Learning Objectives:

• Understand Model Rule 6.1 (and its equivalent in professional conduct rules adopted by each state), which encourages lawyers to do pro bono work and defines the types of activities that count as pro bono work
• Recognize other rules of professional conduct that often have a bearing on pro bono work and understand how to comply with them
• Navigate the potential ethical issues in some hypothetical scenarios involving pro bono work and arrive at possible resolutions
• Seek out and identify potential opportunities for pro bono work that interest them
• Develop and implement best practices for managing a pro bono attorney-client relationship
• Explore ways to use pro bono work to develop professionally and to enhance one’s law practice

Production Date: 1/28/2024