The American Lawyer - July/August 2010

By Scott L. Cummings
and Deborah L. Rhode
Deferral
Economics
The recession affected
The Am Law 200’s pro bono
commitment—for good and for ill.

Is large-firm pro bono work subject to the “undertaker effect”—that is, when billable matters suffer in tough economic times, do pro bono programs benefit? That is one of the questions we hoped to answer in our recent survey of pro bono counsel in large law firms.

FRANCESCO BONGIORNI

We were also interested in the broader challenges confronting firms committed to public service. How were their pro bono programs faring in this financial climate, how were they evaluating effectiveness, and what were the effects of encouraging deferred associates to work for nonprofit legal organizations? What deeper lessons could be drawn from the downturn?

We chose to study large firms for several reasons. They are leaders in the pro bono field, they play a central role in the delivery of charitable assistance, and they provide the most accessible sources of systematic data. With the cooperation of the Association of Pro Bono Counsel, we surveyed counsel from 56 firms. Our study, “ Managing Pro Bono: Doing Well by Doing Better,” was published in a 2010 Fordham Law Review symposium on the impact of the economic downturn on the legal profession. It offers one of the most comprehensive profiles of large-firm pro bono work to date and suggests some general lessons for public service initiatives.

Is pro bono work “recession-proof”? That was the question The American Lawyer asked in last year’s ranking of large-firm pro bono performance [“Recession-Proof?” July 2009]. Our answer is a typical law professor’s “yes and no.” On the positive side, firms in the 2009 Am Law 200 (which measured hours logged in 2008) increased their total pro bono contributions by nearly 15 percent in the face of the recession, while the average attorney logged an additional five hours of pro bono service, for a total of nearly 53 hours. Most of the surveyed pro bono counsel reported no major cutbacks in their pro bono budgets. (In 2009, hours rose 2 percent [see “Still Growing,” page 73].)

This achievement reflects firms’ responses to the increased need for assistance among those affected by the recession, as well as the desire to provide meaningful opportunities for underemployed lawyers. The effort to promote both public service and professional development took two forms. One was to encourage public service by associates who were asked to defer their start dates.