Also known as: pro bono services · pro-bono service · pro bono · pro bono publico
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A professional responsibility of lawyers to furnish legal services without fee or expectation of fee to persons of limited means. The responsibility is aspirational rather than mandatory and is accompanied by a suggested annual benchmark of fifty hours. Limited exceptions permit modest gifts for basic living expenses when the representation occurs through designated nonprofit or law-school channels.
Paige Porter, an attorney at a nonprofit legal services organization, represented an indigent client in a wage claim. After the complaint was filed the client faced eviction. Porter paid the overdue rent directly to the landlord and supplied a modest sum for groceries. The payments were made without any pre-retention promise and without seeking reimbursement.
Preston Pratt, a lawyer licensed in State B, applied for admission in State A. State A denied the application solely because Pratt resided outside the state. The denial rested on the assumption that nonresidents would not perform pro bono work or remain available for local matters. Pratt challenged the residency requirement as violating the Privileges and Immunities Clause.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Pavel Petrov, a solo practitioner, tracked the hours he devoted each year to matters for clients unable to pay. Petrov completed forty-eight hours of such work in one calendar year and recorded the time in a professional log. He viewed the hours as fulfillment of his professional responsibility even though no client paid a fee.
The duty is aspirational. A lawyer is not subject to discipline for failing to render pro bono service even though Model Rule 6.1 sets a goal of fifty hours per year.
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A lawyer may provide modest gifts for food, rent, transportation, medicine, and other basic living expenses when representing an indigent client pro bono through a nonprofit legal services organization, a public interest organization, or a law school clinical program. The gifts must not be promised before retention, used as an inducement to continue the relationship, or reimbursed by the client or anyone affiliated with the client.
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No. A residency requirement for bar admission violates the Privileges and Immunities Clause when it rests on the speculative assumption that out-of-state lawyers will not perform pro bono work or remain available for local matters.
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No. Advances for ordinary living expenses such as rent or credit-card bills fall outside the narrow exceptions for court costs and modest pro bono gifts. The representation must be pro bono through a qualifying organization and the amounts must remain modest to fit within the exception.
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