Lawyering for Social Change: Pro Bono Publico, Cause Lawyering, and the Social Movement Society

Abstract

Over the past few decades, large law firms have increasingly integrated social movement causes and organizations into their pro bono practices. In this article, I examine the field of pro bono representation and examine the various types of organizations and social movement causes that receive large-firm representation. I find that large firms represent a range of social movement issues and that this shift has increased over time. My findings support the "social movement society" thesis that movements have increasingly become integrated within mainstream institutions and have expanded to include new constituencies and claims. However, I also find that large firms channel their resources toward some issue domains over others, indicating uneven representation across the contemporary pro bono field.