For lawyers, pro bono work fulfills a professional sense of obligation toward access to justice and satisfies the personal need to contribute to community and the social good. But donating time and expertise to serving clients and communities in need of legal assistance and unable to afford it can also yield unexpected benefits for practitioners and firms. Below are some of the practical – and perhaps less discussed – rewards of pro-bono work that panelists highlighted during an in-depth discussion of How to Make Pro Bono Legal Services Work for Your Firm or Practice, chaired by Amrita V. Singh, chair of the OBA's Pro Bono Committee and partner and co-chair of litigation at Marks and Clark Canada, to mark Access to Justice Week.
Business Development
In ways formal and more organic, dealing with firms and lawyers who engage in pro bono work is increasingly attractive to current and would-be clients, adding to the overall value proposition.
“Our clients are increasingly inclined to engage law firms, suppliers and business partners who have a commitment to the communities in which they work,” says Sarah Armstrong, chair of Fasken's Ontario Litigation and Dispute Resolution Practice, chair of the Board of Directors for Pro Bono Ontario, and recipient of the OBA’s David Scott Award for Pro Bono Law.
While that may have been the case for some time, she notes that the language that firms like hers use around ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance), where volunteering certainly counts as social contribution, has formalized that. At her firm, pro bono commitment is built right into the strategic plan. It’s frequently included in RFPs, and she’s observed that in-house counsel often want to see that the law firm suppliers they work with support Pro Bono Ontario.
Client Relations and Community Impact
Louis Frapporti, a partner in Gowling WLG's Hamilton office, who over the last two years has been leading efforts to change the pro bono legal services ecosystem in Canada, believes that a focus on taking care of clients and community – and the causes that matter to both – is key to a firm’s survival. It can create an appealing brand, offer value that may distinguish it from its competitors, and also add a sense of personal care that most definitely differentiates it from AI legal tools. As he puts it, “It’s very good business to do good and to be good.”
What’s more, a pro bono investment in worthy enterprises and individuals who aren’t able to afford legal advice creates relationships that can deepen, change and have a ripple effect over time.
“If you are in a position to find an individual, a small-business person, a family, or entrepreneur that's struggling to start up a business, they invariably have a need or a deficit in what we call the de-risking advice that a lawyer can bring,” Frapporti explains. “They don't usually have the appropriate corporate documents setting up the business – these are huge deficits.”
If you can provide that work on a pro bono basis, and help them develop a successful business that creates employment opportunities in the community, they may eventually become a client who is paying you to be their lawyer.
“And so,” explains Frapporti, “the impact of that one gratuitous act of helping a small entrepreneur get started can become not only a business for you, but a business for other people in that area.”
Building Profile and Referrals
Volunteering on work that you find interesting and rewarding can help you build both profile and referrals, according to Janani Shanmuganathan, a criminal defense lawyer and another recipient of the OBA’s David Scott Award for Pro Bono who also volunteers with the Pro Bono Inmate Appeal Program at the Ontario Court of Appeal. Doing an intervention, on a pro bono basis, on behalf of an organization to the Supreme of Canada is work she suggests can be very fulfilling while also garnering positive attention.
She cites as an example an intervention she did on behalf of the South Asian Bar Association to the Supreme Court during COVID – a criminal appeal that the criminal bar, as well as lawyers outside of criminal law, were watching closely and discussing vigorously on social media.
“For whatever reason,” says Shanmuganathan, “some of the remarks I made during my five minutes of oral argument really resonated with a lot of people, so I had a lot of people across different practices messaging me about my remarks.”
She got to know scores of new people through that work and, as she says, “the more people you meet, the broader your network is, and that could translate into referrals.”
Bolstering Relationships with Senior Lawyers
Shanmuganathan and her fellow panelists underscored that you don’t need to wait for pro bono work to land on your plate – you can put your name forward, and in doing so, gain excellent experience and also connections. You can find lists of lawyers who do interventions on behalf of organizations – like the example above – and you can contact them to volunteer to help out. In the world of criminal law, there is a Junior Interventions Counsel that lawyers can join to be paired with senior counsel when an intervention in an appeal requires pro bono assistance.
Shanmuganathan advises looking out for “people (you) admire and the kind of work that (you) want to do and the kind of lawyer (you) want to be,” and then reach and ask them to keep you in mind when they’re doing that kind of work.
Frapporti, who encourages looking to the community for ways to give back, believes a proactive approach can bolster relationships with those within your firm.
“Rather than waiting for a senior lawyer to bring (opportunity) to you or asking them to share with you what they're doing, you might bring an opportunity to a senior lawyer that you aspire to work on and invite them to consider supporting the work that you're doing by mentoring you on that file,” he suggests. “It's a great way of creating a connection to a partner you might not otherwise work with and a way of establishing who you are as a person that has a certain constellation of values and probably something that might help those that are really ambitious make their way forward in a career.”
Professional Development
Exposure to intriguing work that is not a regular part of your day can help you build new skills and gain valuable perspective, according to Sarah Armstrong.
“As a junior litigator at a large firm, hands down, doing pro bono work, interfacing directly with these clients whose problems I was trying to solve made me a better lawyer and a better litigator,” she recalls. “I had more responsibility and developed more hands-on soft and practical skills than I would have otherwise at a large law firm … And the work taught me to be creative and to figure out ways to effectively advocate in a system that wasn't necessarily designed to be adversarial.”
As she’s progressed in her career, she still finds that the work takes her out of her day-to-day practice and that helps her hone her expertise.
“I feel like it expands my knowledge of the law and everyday problems that people face.”
Attracting Talent
The challenges and rewards Armstrong enjoys from pro bono work are extremely enticing to up-and-coming lawyers, which makes providing and facilitating these opportunities important to a firm’s ability to attract, develop and retain talent, she says.
“It’s clear to us from a recruiting perspective that students are looking for a firm that has a demonstrated commitment to that kind of work, and then, as associates, they want a firm that's going to support them in doing the work ... the leaders of a firm need to understand that value proposition.”
Frapporti agrees. “I think that younger generations of lawyers have a good deal of bargaining power, and that we are all, as firms, on the hunt for talent that has a lot of soft skills in addition to high academic performance – people who are caring, who demonstrate the ability to be wonderful partners in a firm.”
All of which amounts to a great call to action for firms to engage and do good in the community and participate in existing pro bono programs – to entice lawyers who will be great colleagues and compassionate leaders and well-rounded performers. It’s a persuasive piece of what Frapporti calls “an evolving generational conversation over the balance between work and ‘not work’.”
Strengthening Mental Health and Career Satisfaction
“As a professional, I would say that the rewarding nature of (pro bono) work really contributes to my own wellbeing,” Armstrong asserts. “There's a lot of stress and a lot of challenge in our job, and I think having something like a great pro bono file can really help one’s sense of wellbeing.”
Frapporti, too, sees this type of work as an important piece of the mental health equation.
“Whether it's volunteering, doing pro bono work, or doing the things that relate to that pro bono sensibility, there's an enormous amount of joy and satisfaction in pursuing that within a firm.”
There are definitely lawyers out there who like, but don’t necessarily love, their jobs – in which case, pro bono work can be a welcome boost. For them, Shanmuganathan advises, “You can also do things, in a pro bono way, that you're passionate about while still maintaining this job that you have that provides you with the security and the paycheck.”
For legal employers, she offers this wisdom: “If you want happy lawyers, you're going to have to find a space for pro bono work.”
View the full OBA program for ways to get more involved in pro bono work.
About the author
Emily Sinkins is the editor of JUST. and the OBA's director of information services and executive communications.