Pro Bono Work Research Articles

“Have we lost a part of our soul … [to] the result on the bottom line”? Reconfiguring professional spaces and the development of lawyers’ pro bono work as a professional project in Denmark

ABSTRACT Danish lawyers have long positioned themselves as fundamental pillars of the Rechtsstaat, portraying their independence and adherence to professional ideals as central to serving the public good. However, this traditional image has been increasingly challenged by the rise of large law firms taking advantage of deregulation and globalization. This has placed lawyers under a cross-pressure forcing them to compromise on their traditional defining characteristics. Large law firms, serving as advisors to clients such as major corporations and organizations, have distinguished themselves from the rest of the legal field with new professional projects. To regain some of the lost credibility, the largest law firms reformulated voluntary work as a professional project from being legal aid to individuals to US models of pro bono directed at NGOs and charity leading to further differentiation between lawyers. This article examines this dilemmatic cross-pressure between the differentiation of professional spaces in Denmark and the development of voluntary work as professional projects to regain the lost credibility as a profession working for the common good. It is based on a qualitative document analysis of 632 issues of the Danish Bar and Law Society's trade magazine for the period between 1976 and 2018 and qualitative interviews.

Pro bono in the real World: A comprehensive review of the literature and recommendations for meaningful engagement

Background and PurposeThe APA’s Ethical Principles for Psychologists explicitly addresses and humbly encourages pro bono work: “psychologists strive to contribute a portion of their professional time for little or no compensation or personal advantage.” Yet, there is ambiguity surrounding the specifics, including frequency, time commitment, eligible services, and fair selection process to determine who will receive services. Materials and Methods: This manuscript provides the results of a comprehensive literature review on pro bono work. Initially focused on psychological assessment (e.g., neuropsychological, psychoeducational), the literature search expanded to therapy, community-based practice, and fee/paid assessment studies due to the dearth of literature. The purpose of the review to explore pro bono services in order to better understand in the future how services impact a child’s access to education, family engagement, and school relationships. Results: Two primary and secondary searches were completed. The primary search investigated the involvement of the family system when working with children and adolescents. The secondary search looked at the effectiveness of psychological, neuropsychological, and psychoeducational assessments to bolster results and provide additional recommendations and future directions. Discussion: The paper also features detailed recommendations based on the search results for how clinicians can engage meaningfully in pro bono work in their current practice along four main themes: community clinic, crisis, equity, and family support. Conclusion: Finally, future directions will address the substantial gaps in the literature on this subject.

Law Students as Active Citizens: Instilling a Career-Long Commitment to Pro Bono and Social Justice via the CLE Curriculum

By engaging in pro bono work whilst at university, students demonstrate that they are good citizens. Students perform a valuable service for members of the local community, and the skills they learn enhance their ability to secure, and succeed in, a graduate role. But is this enough? Should we, as clinical legal educators, be doing more to facilitate students becoming active (and not just good) citizens, who know not only how to ‘do’ pro bono, but who also actively engage with the why of pro bono? Can facilitating a critical understanding of the political and social backdrop to the need for pro bono advice engender a genuine commitment to social justice which students can take with them into their working lives? This paper explores the drivers for an ‘active citizenship’ approach to pro bono learning and reflects on the pilot year of a student-led module aimed at fostering social responsibility and a strong sense of social justice to achieve a long-lasting commitment to pro bono in the lawyers of the future.

Industrial-organizational psychologists and volunteer work

AbstractMany of the larger employers in this country and abroad have benefited from industrial-organizational (I/O) psychologists’ evidence-based practice. However, charitable and not-for-profit organizations have not always been aware of our services or able to afford them when cognizant of them. Volunteering professional services to charitable organizations provides an opportunity to extend these benefits. In addition, volunteers reap the intrinsic rewards of service, acquire opportunities to hone their skills, and learn from others, and pro bono work has the potential of informing our understanding of the science and practice of I/O psychology. This paper provides five case studies from five I/O psychologists who share their volunteer experiences in their own words. Each case study describes what the I/O psychologist did for the organization, how he or she became involved, and what he or she got out of the experience and learned. The paper offers ways SIOP and the SIOP Foundation might facilitate volunteer activities and concludes by inviting readers to share their own volunteer experiences and suggestions for encouraging volunteer work.

Enhancing access to justice: free legal aid and client-centered legal counseling through Clinical Legal Education in Uzbekistan

This article explores Uzbekistan's recent legal and judicial reforms aimed at fortifying the rule of law, protecting human rights, and enhancing access to justice in alignment with international norms. Reforms include adopting the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, enacting gender equality laws, and introducing digital tools for legal consultations. However, challenges persist, particularly for vulnerable groups like women, rural youth, and people with disabilities, who face limited awareness of their rights and difficulties accessing legal remedies. The article proposes integrating client-centered legal counseling through Clinical Legal Education (CLE) to improve the provision of free legal aid to address this. Recommendations encompass institutionalizing CLE, incentivizing pro bono work, fostering collaboration with NGOs, utilizing technology for outreach, and implementing legal reform for free legal aid. These measures, alongside robust monitoring and training, promise to democratize access to justice and create a more equitable legal landscape in Uzbekistan. However, challenges persist, particularly for vulnerable groups like women, rural youth, and people with disabilities, who face limited awareness of their rights and difficulties accessing legal remedies. To address this, the article proposes integrating client-centered legal counseling through Clinical Legal Education (CLE) to improve the provision of free legal aid. Recommendations encompass institutionalizing CLE, incentivizing pro bono work, fostering collaboration with NGOs, utilizing technology for outreach, and implementing legal reform for free legal aid. These measures, alongside robust monitoring and training, promise to democratize access to justice and create a more equitable legal landscape in Uzbekistan.

The Need for Monitoring and Assessment of Legal Aid Quality in South Africa

Legal aid is needed in South Africa as one mechanism for poor South Africans to realise their legal rights and to use the law as a vehicle for positive social change in a grossly unequal society in which deep poverty is rife. However, simply having a legal aid service provider is insufficient if the quality of such services is not satisfactory. But how can high quality legal services be ensured? This paper considers how different forms of legal aid service provision can be effectively monitored and assessed to ensure that satisfactory standards of legal aid work are delivered. Categories of "legal aid" (broadly construed) which are considered are legal NGOs, including university law clinics, the state's Legal Aid South Africa telephonic advice, and pro bono work by private lawyers. Separate research has focussed on the need for much improved coordination between legal service providers to promote co-operation among legal aid services. The next step is to ensure that such coordination leads to quality services and promoting quality control mechanisms which are appropriate and which can be considered best practice. This paper analyses and discusses this next step. If legal aid is not of an adequate standard or quality assurance is not in place, the legal aid is not serving a positive function. The paper considers viable means for vetting the quality of these free legal services in a South African context, including telephonic legal advice in the Covid era. It suggests mechanisms to promote high-level free legal service provision by assessing the quality of such services. Legal aid quality control methods abroad were analysed to serve as an indicator of the options used in this regard in those jurisdictions. The question to be answered is what quality control measures are most apposite in the South African legal aid arena.

Measuring the Impact of Clinic Participation on Law Graduates: A Small Case Study

In an academic environment where there is an increasing emphasis on impact, it is rather surprising that there is a paucity of studies on the effect (if any) of participation in a clinical legal education programme on the career trajectory of law graduates. In this article, after considering the methodologies behind and outcomes of two such studies conducted in North America, the author describes how he devised a survey, which was sent to a group of law students at the University of Galway’s externship-based clinical programme it its pilot year, and analyses the responses. In short, this study – like the other two – suggests that clinic participation has a marked impact on lawyers in terms of enhancing practical legal skills, but a less significant impact when it comes to inspiring graduates to embark upon public interest-oriented legal careers or undertake pro bono work. The article acknowledges that there are myriad factors influencing these choices and that it is foolish to extrapolate excessively from these studies. It concludes by arguing that, no matter these “failings” with respect to the social justice imperative that helps define clinical legal education, the capacity of programmes to equip future lawyers with key skills and to instil in them, at the very least, a cognisance of the shortcomings of the law and legal system means that our work is still eminently worthwhile.

Development and Validation of a Scale Measuring Intention toward Participating in Pro Bono of Pre-Service Physical Activity Instructors for the Activation of Physical Activity for the Disabled: Based on the Theory of Planned Behavior.

The purpose of this study was to develop and validate a scale for predicting the intention of pre-service physical activity instructors for persons with disabilities to participate in pro bono work, based on the Theory of Planned Behavior. This study analyzed 322 university students majoring in adapted physical activity in South Korea. To determine the purpose of the study, the EFA using SPSS 21.0 and CFA using AMOS 21.0 were used to confirm the validity of the measurement tool and the relationship between latent and observed variables. Further, the Cronbach’s alpha was used to identify the internal reliability. As a result, first, the questionnaire used in this study was validated based on the theory. Second, the behavioral belief was influenced by teaching experience about physical activity for the disabled and knowledge about physical activity for the disabled. Third, the normative belief was influenced by the parents of people with disabilities, people with disabilities, family members, friends, and students in my department. Fourth, the control belief was influenced by the state of mind of physical activity instructors for people with disabilities, the ability to create an IEP, and the ability to do physical activity.

LESSONS FROM SOUTH AFRICA FOR THE DELIVERY OF LEGAL AID IN SMALL AND DEVELOPING COMMONWEALTH COUNTRIES

The South African legal aid scheme experience is a useful model for small and developing countries because it has tried numerous models of delivery and operates on a modest per capita annual expenditure. In most Commonwealth countries judicare, supplemented by pro bono work, is the most common form of delivery of legal aid services. The South African scheme illustrates how a combination of public defenders, including intern public defenders, and judicare can be used to operate justice centres that deliver a full range of legal aid services. It also shows how cooperative agreements between the Legal Aid Board and university law clinics,public interest law firms and paralegals can be used to supplement legal aid services, particularly in civil matters.

When altruism is remunerated: Understanding the bases of voluntary public service among lawyers

AbstractThe legal profession claims a duty of public service that calls on lawyers to volunteer their time through “pro bono” work (i.e., free legal service). And increasingly law firms strongly endorse pro bono and even remunerate time that is provided to clients without charge. But what happens when pro bono is mandated by the law firm, even compensated? Is altruism undermined? Drawing on a survey of 845 lawyers, we develop an integrated theoretical model to account for how volunteering takes place in the course of legal work. The analysis reveals psychological traits, collective norms, economic exchanges, and organizational dimensions shape lawyers' pro bono work in intriguing ways with marked distinctions emerging when pro bono is remunerated by firms. Collective norms known to foster altruistic behavior appear most relevant to pro bono that is outside the job (i.e., unpaid), while organizational supports and constraints as well as economic exchange factors appear most salient to pro bono that is compensated within firms. We argue that a theory of pro bono work requires a more refined understanding of the forces promoting helping behaviors across several dimensions: whether to help, how much to help, and with or without compensation.

Psychological Predictors of Medical Students’ Involvement in Pro Bono

Theory Medical pro bono, in which medical professionals provide no (or low) cost services, is one approach to addressing unmet healthcare needs. Prior efforts to understand who chooses to take part in pro bono and why they might do so have been primarily atheoretical in their approach. The current investigation focuses on students in medical school and draws on relevant theory and research in psychology to identify predictors of their intentions to engage in medical pro bono service during and after medical school. Hypotheses:Four major approaches to identifying predictors of medical pro bono are examined: the role of demographic variables as predictors of medical pro bono, conceptualizing medical pro bono as a form of volunteerism, viewing medical pro bono as an expression of personality, and medical pro bono as a reflection of role identities and expectations. Each of these approaches can be characterized as being about medical students’ individual attributes or aspects of the situation they are in. Methods A total of 278 medical students from 15 different medical schools in the United States of America completed a web-based survey (8/4/2020–9/22/2020). The students completed measures of pro bono identity and expectations, intentions to engage in medical pro bono activities, prosocial personality, volunteer motivation, exposure to volunteering, general traits of personality, and demographic variables (in this order). We used linear regression analyses to separately predict three measures of intentions (general medical school intentions, intentions toward medical pro bono trips during medical school, and general post medical school intentions). Results The strongest predictors of intentions to engage in medical pro bono were one’s identity and expectations related to pro bono. Medical students who had incorporated medical pro bono into aspects of their identity and/or considered medical pro bono to be an expectation indicated higher intentions to engage in medical pro bono work. Conversely, volunteer motivation/exposure, personality, and demographic variables were much weaker predictors of medical pro bono. Conclusions The findings of the present study have implications for ways that medically oriented volunteering may be increased by individual-level interventions and/or changes in medical education. Individual-level interventions could leverage the importance of identity and expectations to craft persuasive messaging to appeal to identity and expectations as drivers of engagement in medical pro bono. Program level interventions could work toward the institutionalization of medical pro bono by the inclusion/promotion of medical pro bono into the program’s co-curricular and/or extracurricular activities.

Negotiating Status: Pro Bono Partners and Counsels in Large Law Firms

Law firm pro bono work provides access to justice to low-income people and other vulnerable populations. The professionals that manage pro bono programs are at the forefront of that process. The limited available research on these professionals do not often distinguish lawyers from other managers or theorize about their statusvis-à-visother law firm lawyers. Yet the status of lawyers who are also managers of pro bono programs influences both their identities and the management and provision of legal services and advocacy. Drawing on original demographic and interview data, this article shows how law firm pro bono partners and counsels navigate their ambiguous roles and negotiate their status as lawyers and managers. I find that pro bono partners and counsels navigate their ambiguous roles by striving to be perceived as “real” lawyers, reframe their roles as business generators, conform to the billing culture, and establish a common identity. They also negotiate their titles and office spaces to raise their profiles. Gender inequality influences the negotiation of office spaces and the approval of pro bono matters. These findings have implications for lawyers who manage pro bono programs and the legitimacy of pro bono work.

For good, but not for long: Disengagement from pro bono supports in U.S. law firms, 2008-2012

Many businesses have implemented corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives in the last few decades, spawning a substantial body of research on the drivers of adoption. Yet, firms that adopt can vary tremendously in their post-adoption trajectories. While some firms remain committed, others eventually reduce their support for CSR or disengage entirely. Given the range of possible outcomes following initial adoption, as well as the likelihood that short-lived CSR efforts have little impact, it is important to understand the factors that lead firms to step back from their CSR efforts. In this paper, we propose that a firm’s status or social standing plays a central role in distinguishing firms that reduce or withdraw their support for CSR from those that persist. Drawing on middle-status conformity theory, we argue that higher-status and lower-status firms will be more likely to reduce support for their CSR programs, compared to firms with middling status. We test and find support for our arguments using a unique dataset of law firms’ provision of benefits supporting pro bono work, a major employee-related type of CSR. Overall, our examination of the antecedents of CSR abandonment contributes to a more comprehensive picture of CSR activity in firms.

An Assessment of the Change in Co-worker Well-being at Sydenham Garden

Statisticians for Society is a scheme funded by the National Lottery Community Fund, connecting charities with volunteers from the Royal Statistical Society (RSS) membership who provide pro bono work. In this article, RSS fellow Dr Violeta Balinskaite describes the pro bono work she did for Sydenham Gardens, a charity that provides group arts and activity-based recovery programmes for people with mental health problems. The charity needed help understanding their data and how to analyse it.

Legal Society Service of Pro-Bono on Migrant in Morocco in Law Perspective

Morocco is a constitutional, democratic and social monarchy. The King is the Supreme Representative of the Nation and the Symbol of the unity thereof. He is the guarantor of the perpetuation and the continuity of the State. As Defender of the Faith, he ensures the respect for the Constitution. He is the Protector of the rights and liberties of the citizens, social groups and organizations. System Barriers to Pro Bono work result from the social environment of the judiciary and, more specifically, from the current practice of law in Morocco. The population generally has a low regard for the legal and judicial sector, and expects corruption in the judiciary. In Morocco, legal information is also not adequately disseminated to the public.[1] In addition, the low literacy rate 52.3% for the total population (39.6% for women, 65.7% for men) renders access to justice all the more difficult. A substantial proportion of the population is therefore vulnerable and may fall prey to unethical behavior. The Bar Association has great difficulty in supervising “homeless” lawyers, who are lawyers with no fixed business address and operate with a cellular telephone from undisclosed premises. Up to 800 of the 3,000 lawyers registered with the Casablanca Bar Association are reportedly “homeless” lawyers, who prey on the uninformed and often maintain frivolous suits in order to collect higher fees.[1] US Department of State, 2004 census <http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/5431.htm accessed on January 10, 2021

Clinical legal education and pro bono work in Germany to help those in need and to establish a better and more sustainable society

Clinical legal education and pro bono work in Germany to help those in need and to establish a better and more sustainable society

Voices from the front line: exploring what pro bono means to lawyers in England and Wales?

ABSTRACT Pro bono is seen as an important aspect of the working lives of many legal professionals. The withdrawal of legal aid for most civil law claims has led to a greater need for pro bono legal services. This article describes and analyses the findings of an empirical study with solicitors to explore their views on pro bono. It seeks to understand perceptions of pro bono work and examine the reasons why individuals choose to give their time for free to help those who have unmet legal needs. Following an analysis of interview data, this article argues there is a significant commitment to pro bono within the legal profession, but there tensions associated with the delivery of pro bono legal services. This study builds on the work of academics in the US and Australia to add to the literature on our understanding of pro bono within the context of England and Wales.

Gaining insights into why professionals continue or abandon pro bono service

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to empirically examine the personal/situational and business factors that encourage or discourage pro bono service of professionals based on the theory of institutional logics framework and the extended purchase behavior model.Design/methodology/approachThis paper collected the data using a mixed-method approach: 30 qualitative interviews and 443 cross-sectional surveys from professional service providers across industries. The constructs of interest were measured with the scales compiled from the literature, industry reports and the preliminary interviews.FindingsThe results highlight emotional value derived from personal/situational factors (intrinsic motivation, personal recognition, philanthropic disposition and lack of appreciation) drove professionals’ intentions to continue to undertake pro bono work. While employer encouragement motivated professionals to engage in pro bono service, the prospect of gaining business opportunities and time constraints discouraged this important practice.Research limitations/implicationsWhile there has been considerable empirical study undertaken on charitable behavior, little attention has been given to this form of giving (pro bono work by service professionals). Overall, the results show that personal satisfaction with and feeling good about the study undertaken are required for continuation. Professionals who are intrinsically motivated, philanthropic-natured and properly-acknowledged through positive feedback and recognition tend to experience positive feelings that engender their good intentions to help the underprivileged, those in need and society more generally. The findings thus complement and extend the academic and industry literature on charitable giving.Practical implicationsThis research identifies the drivers of service professionals’ continuation of pro bono work that the third sector relies heavily on its sustainability. As the study findings suggesting the importance of personal recognition, nonprofit organizations should demonstrate genuine gratitude and recognition of these professionals so that they continue to give their services pro bono.Originality/valueThe research is the first empirical study to develop a conceptual model that delineates the drivers and/or barriers to professionals continuing pro bono service. Unlike the previous study lacking a theoretical basis, this paper proposed and tested the conceptual model derived from the institutional logics framework and the extended purchase behavior model.

Rationing the milk of human kindness: the fable of The Dun Cow.

There is an old English fable that describes a period of drought. In the midst of famine a mysterious lady arrives leading a giant cow. She instructs the villagers that the cow will fill any single pail, no matter the size, with milk, on a daily basis. The cow was able to provide a seemingly limitless supply of milk until one day when someone brought an unfillable bucket full of holes and sat down to milk the cow. The milk gushed into the bucket but ran away through the holes. As the last milk was drained the cow’s hide had become dull, clinging to the curves of her famished ribs. In great distress the maddened Dun Cow ran far away over the hills and was never seen again.1 In times of need health professionals have always given their time freely. Doctors donate significant time to the health system through pro bono work, usually in the form of administrative tasks undertaken after hours or as extra clinical time for our vulnerable patients. Our hospitals run on …

Promoting a Public Service Ethic in the Legal Profession in Kenya: The Imperative Role of Clinical Legal Education

AbstractThe taskforce appointed in 2016 to undertake a review of the legal sector in Kenya highlighted a decline in public service and pro bono work as one of the challenges facing the legal profession in the country. In its report, the taskforce made several proposals to tackle the problem, all directed at qualified lawyers. This article seeks to contribute to the deliberations anticipated from the findings of the taskforce, by suggesting instead that the problem of a declining public service ethic be addressed by targeting law students. Bringing students face to face with real clients and their needs can play an important role in broadening their horizons and shaping their beliefs about, and attitudes towards, the different possible careers they can pursue with their education. The article specifically recommends clinical legal education as a practical and comprehensive means by which students can be encouraged from early on to have an interest in pro bono and public service work.