EDITOR IN CHIEF
Aric Press
EXECUTIVE EDITOR DESIGN DIRECTOR
Robin Sparkman Joan Ferrell
MANAGING EDITOR
Maryann Saltser
DEPUTY EDITORS
Emily Barker, Paul Braverman
EXECUTIVE EDITOR, AMERICANLAWYER.COM
Dimitra Kessenides
SENIOR WRITERS
Susan Beck, Alison Frankel, Andrew Longstreth
RESEARCH EDITOR
Rosemarie Clancy
SENIOR EDITORS
Judy Lopatin, Anthony Paonita (Corporate Counsel),
Joseph Phalon ( americanlawyer.com), Jim Schroeder,
Ed Shanahan, Brian Zabcik (Corporate Counsel)
ALM SUPREME COURT CORRESPONDENT
Tony Mauro
SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT
Michael D. Goldhaber
CHIEF ASIA CORRESPONDENT
Anthony Lin
SENIOR REPORTERS
Vivia Chen, Drew Combs, David Hechler (Corporate Counsel),
Sue Reisinger (Corporate Counsel), Julie Triedman
ART DIRECTOR (Corporate Counsel)
Morris Stubbs
ART/PHOTO ASSISTAN T
Martin Refsal
STAFF REPORTERS
Brian Baxter ( americanlawyer.com), Amy Kolz, D.M. Levine,
Zach Lowe ( americanlawyer.com), Amy Miller (Corporate Counsel),
Joe Mullin (Corporate Counsel), Ross Todd
ASSISTANT MANAGING EDITOR
Patricia Paine
COPY EDITOR
Thomas Coster
STAFF EDITOR
Elliott Hurwitt
ASSISTANT EDITORS
Irene Plagianos, Claire Zillman
EXECUTIVE ASSISTAN T
Eileen Vella
DATA ANALYS T
Greg Mulligan
RESEARCH ASSOCIATES
Tom Broucksou, Jesse Rothman, Craig Savitzky
CONTRIBUTING EDITORS
Alan Cohen, Marc Galanter, Stephen Gillers,
Ben W. Heineman, Jr., Scott Horton, Denise Howell,
Laura King, David Marcus, Douglas McCollam,
Peter H. Schuck, Michael Stern, Peter D. Zeughauser
ALM NATIONAL LEGAL MAGAZINE GROUP
EDI TORIAL DIREC TOR
Aric Press
DEPUTY EDITORIAL DIRECTOR DESIGN DIRECTOR
Robin Sparkman Joan Ferrell
EXECUTIVE ASSISTAN T
Eileen Vella
MATT GREENSLADE
HO W TO REACH THE AMERICAN LAWYER:
MAIN OFFICE: 120 Broadway, New York, N Y 10271; (212) 457-9400
E-MAIL ADDRESSES: editorial@alm.com (editorial inquiries);
customersvc@theamericanlawyer.com (circulation inquiries);
info@alm.com (all other inquiries); americanlawyer.com (contact information)
ADVERTISING INQUIRIES: Mike Medwig ( mmedwig@alm.com)
(212) 457-9470; fax: (646) 822-5035
REPRINT REQUESTS: The Copyright Act of 1976 prohibits the reproduction by
photocopy machine or any other means of any portion of this issue except with
the permission of the publisher. For permission to photocopy or to use material
from The American Lawyer electronically, please contact Syndia Torres, director of
reprints, at (347) 227-3382 or reprintscustomerservice@alm.com, or the Copyright
Clearance Center, Inc., at (978) 646-2777 or customercare@copyright.com. CCC is a
not-for-profit organization that provides licenses or registration for a variety of users.
THE AMERICAN LAWYER (ISSN 0162-3397) is published monthly by ALM
Media, LLC. Vol. XXXII, No. 7, July/August 2010. Copyright ©2010 ALM Media Prop-
erties, LLC. All rights reserved. Further duplication without permission is prohibited.
SUBSCRIPTION RATES: $430 annually. FOR CANADIAN AND FOREIGN
SUBSCRIPTIONS, the rate is $555. FIRM AND BULK RATES ALSO
AVAILABLE. Call (800) 755-2773 for information. Periodicals postage paid
at New York, NY, and additional mailing offices. Bulk rate U.S. postage paid by
ALM Media. POSTMASTER: SEND ADDRESS CHANGES/SUBSCRIPTION
CORRESPONDENCE TO: The American Lawyer, P.O. Box 5184, Brentwood, TN
37027. Please allow 4–6 weeks for address changes. Current and back issues are
available exclusively from this office at customersvc@theamericanlawyer.com.
PRINTED IN THE U.S.A.
bad news, it’s just a long way from the
double-digit annual increases we’ve grown
accustomed to reporting since 2005.
Overall, average pro bono time per lawyer
increased by 16 minutes, 26 seconds, to
61 hours and 24 minutes. But, as has long
been the case, it’s still a minority of lawyers who make the rest look so good. The
percentage of lawyers last year who donated more than 20 hours actually dipped
slightly, to 47. 5 percent. Fortunately, even
after that 1 percent year-over-year drop,
the participation rate of lawyers is still 27
percent better than it was in 2005.
By almost any measure, then, there’s
reason to be proud of the progress. Measured year over year, 100 of the 180 firms
for which we have consistent numbers had
flat or improved Am Law pro bono scores.
(Our formula is simple: Half of the score
comes from the average pro bono hours
per lawyer; the other half represents the
percentage of lawyers who performed
more than 20 hours of pro bono work.) Of
the 80 backsliders, 43 were off by less than
five points. Some of the deepest drops appear to be one-year anomalies, occurring
at firms with powerful pro bono traditions, proving only that in a year of record
layoffs, hiring deferrals, and general client
uncertainty, even the best records can be
bruised. (For this year’s rankings and the
one- and five-year pro bono growth charts,
go to americanlawyer.com/probono.)
The five-year tally is even more impressive: 123 of the 154 firms for which
we have consistent data improved their
pro bono scores. This took time, money,
and commitment. And there was little if
any collateral economic damage. During
that period, eight of the ten firms that
showed the most improvement on their
pro bono scores also enjoyed double-digit
increases in their revenue per lawyer.
All of which reminds me of the great
mutual fund company whisper: Past performance is no guarantee of future results.
Is all this progress irreversible? Being a
worrier, I hesitate to say much more than:
“That depends on you.” There are good
reasons for the momentum to resume.
Does anyone need to hear again the business case for pro bono? We all know the
litany: the training opportunities, the law-yer-maturation process, the reputational
advantages, and, of course, the satisfaction
that comes with fulfilling the responsibility to serve those who need your help. But
knowing all that isn’t the same as acting,
and this is all about action. If pro bono
maintains its status as work that great
firms do, then you get the credit. If it
doesn’t, there’s no one else to blame.
As my colleague Claire Zillman makes
clear in our cover story, the necessary ingredient to building a strong pro bono
program is leadership. This can be accomplished by a managing partner’s fiat,
an executive committee initiative, or an
entire partnership rising as one. (Let me
know when that happens.) I know, I know:
It’s hard to make demands on busy people, and a mandate may not be the highest
form of charity. And a hundred other excuses. The point is to create expectations
and metrics, and then follow through.
The future of pro bono will undoubtedly get caught up with the various change
agenda initiatives—clients refusing to pay
for first-years; alternative billings; non-partner-track lawyers asked to spend their
days as drones. Agreed, but for these purposes, a sideshow. Law firms will continue
to hire lawyers. What they’re called, how
they’re billed, whom they salute is not the
issue; it’s whether you will help them find
the time to serve those in need. And only
you can make that happen.
For the moment, at least, the great pro bono surge has ended. As we report in
this issue, total hours increased last year in The Am Law 200 by roughly 2
percent, to a new record of 5. 7 million. In a tough economic year, that’s not
