- Background
- Responses
- Aggregate Performance
- Management Practices
- Signatory Firms
- Firms Reporting 2011 Results
In 2001, 41 of the District’s largest law firms committed through the D.C. Bar Pro Bono Initiative to provide pro bono legal services at specified levels. They agreed to a benchmark of either 3% or 5% of total client hours, or 60 or 100 hours for every lawyer in the firm, and to report annually to the D.C. Bar Pro Bono Program on their progress. These standards were created by and are used with permission from the Pro Bono Institute and modeled on the Institute’s Law Firm Pro Bono Challenge®. The reporting year 2011 marked the tenth year of the D.C. Bar Pro Bono Initiative. Since 2001, an additional 23 firms joined the initiative, bringing the number of participating firms up to 64 in 2009. For the 2010 reporting year, a total of 63 firms participated[1] and in 2011, 62 firms participated.[2]
In 2010, 63 of the 63 pledged firms responded to the survey. This reporting year, all 62 of the 62 eligible firms responded to the survey, at least in part.[3] As was the case last year, not all firms responded to all questions. All statistics below note participation accordingly.
- All 62 of the eligible firms responded to the survey, at least in part.
- Of the 62 firms, 61 firms reported their total number of pro bono hours. Combined, the 61 firms contributed approximately 787,770 pro bono hours with 9,957 full–time attorneys in their D.C. offices, an average of 79 hours per attorney.
- The 61 firms that responded in both 2010 and 2011 and that provided total number of pro bono hours reported 860,981 pro bono hours in 2010 and 787,770 in 2011, a decrease of 8.5%. The 61 firms that responded in both 2010 and 2011 and that provided the number of attorneys in their D.C. offices had 9,932 full–time attorneys in 2010 and 9,957 full–time attorneys in 2011, an increase of about .3%. The average of 79.1 hours per attorney in 2011 compared to 86.7 hours per attorney for the group reporting in 2010, a decrease of about 8.8%.
- Fifty–four of the 62 firms provided enough information to verify whether they met their respective commitments. Of these 54 firms, 52 of them are enrolled in the Pro Bono Institute’s Law Firm Pro Bono Challenge® and were committed to specific benchmarks. Seventy–seven percent, or 40 of these 52 firms, reached their goals, a 2% decline from 2010.
- On average, the 52 firms enrolled in the Pro Bono Challenge had pledged to have pro bono hours account for at least 3.4% of billable hours. These firms actually contributed 4.3% of their billable hours to pro bono work. While the firms’ pledged hours are consistent with the results from 2010, the percentage of their actual billable hours devoted to pro bono work is a .3% decline from the 2010 report.
- In both 2010 and 2011, 8 of the firms contributed 7% or more of their billable hours to pro bono work, more than double the average pledge (3.4%).
- Based on the responses of 62 firms, 91.1% (5,140) of all non–partner attorneys and 65.8% (2,821) of partners in these firms participated in pro bono work. This is an increase of 1.7% in non–partner attorney participation and a decrease of 9.1% in partner participation for firms reporting in 2010.
- Sixty–one of the firms reported that 3,727 attorneys each contributed more than 50 hours of pro bono work in 2011. This accounts for 47% of the attorneys who participated in pro bono work at those firms and is a 2% decline from 2010.
- Pro bono hours credited toward billable/bonus targets:
- Of the 62 firms that reported on their respective pro bono/billable hour policies, approximately 97% (60) reported crediting non–partner attorneys’ pro bono hours toward billable requirements and bonuses. Among these same firms, approximately 61% (38) provide partner attorneys with credit.
- Pro Bono Committees:
- Most firms have established firm–wide pro bono committees or committees for specific offices that meet on a regular basis in order to coordinate the pro bono activities and report on firm pro bono achievements or progress.
- Pro Bono Management:
- 57% of reporting firms have either part–time or full–time attorneys managing the firm’s pro bono program. Seventeen percent of reporting firms have either a part–time or full–time non–attorney managing the firm’s pro bono program.
- Budgeting for Pro Bono:
- Some of the firms budget pro bono goals. Nearly all of the firms have oversight provided by their respective pro bono committees.
- Pro Bono Requirements:
- Some firms set a minimum pro bono requirement, and many report that partners are expected to perform pro bono service. Most firms communicate a pro bono expectation during new attorney orientation.
- Pro Bono Awards Ceremony:
- Some firms hold annual pro bono awards ceremonies or dinners to recognize attorneys and legal assistants contributing significant amounts of time to pro bono work.
- Pro Bono Luncheons:
- Many firms host luncheons for their attorneys to learn about pro bono opportunities and discuss recent pro bono news, victories or new initiatives.
- Pro Bono Newsletter:
- Some firms publish or email newsletters announcing pro bono opportunities. These newsletters can be daily, monthly, or quarterly.
- Service events:
- Some firms have “service week” or “service day” where all attorneys are expected to volunteer, though not all of these events are dedicated to providing pro bono legal services.
- Sponsorship of Projects:
- Some firms choose to sponsor a particular project or clinic with which they strongly encourage all attorneys to volunteer.
- Partnerships with Nonprofits:
- More firms are choosing to partner with a nonprofit, academic institution or foundation and develop signature pro bono projects with those organizations.
- Web site/Databases:
- Some firms have pages on their intranets or have created a pro bono database where all pro bono opportunities are listed.
- Evaluations:
- Associates in many firms are evaluated on their pro bono activity as part of the annual review process.
- Pro Bono Externships/Fellowship:
- Some firms have established pro bono summer externships or a fellowship position in which an attorney will work full–time with a specific nonprofit organization.
D.C. Bar Pro Bono Initiative Signatory Firms
Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP
Arent Fox Kintner Plotkin & Kahn, PLLC
Arnold & Porter
Baker Botts, L.L.P.
Collier Shannon Scott, PLLC
Covington & Burling
Crowell & Moring LLP
Dechert LLP
Dickstein Shapiro Morin & Oshinsky L.L.P.
Dow, Lohnes & Albertson, PLLC
Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner, L.L.P.
Foley & Lardner
Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson
Hogan & Hartson L.L.P.
Holland & Knight LLP
Howrey Simon Arnold & White, LLP
Hunton & Williams
Jones Day
King & Spalding LLP
Kirkland & Ellis
Kirkpatrick & Lockhart LLP
Latham & Watkins
Mayer, Brown, Rowe & Maw
McDermott, Will & Emery
Miller & Chevalier, Chartered
Morgan, Lewis & Bockius
O’Melveny & Myers LLP
Patton Boggs LLP
Piper Rudnick LLP
Reed Smith
Shaw Pittman
Sidley Austin Brown & Wood
Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP
Steptoe & Johnson LLP
Sutherland Asbill & Brennan LLP
Swidler Berlin Shereff Friedman, LLP
Venable LLP
Vinson & Elkins, L.L.P.
Wiley Rein & Fielding LLP
Wilmer, Cutler & Pickering
Winston & Strawn
Firms Reporting 2011 Results
Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP
Arent Fox PLLC
Arnold & Porter LLP
Baker Botts LLP
Beveridge & Diamond
Bingham McCutchen LLP
Blank Rome LLP
Bryan Cave LLP
Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP
Covington & Burling LLP
Crowell & Moring LLP
Davis Wright Tremaine LLP
Dechert LLP
Dickstein Shapiro LLP
DLA Piper
Dow Lohnes PLLC
Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP
Epstein Becker & Green
Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner, LLP
Foley & Lardner LLP
Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver &
Jacobson LLP
Fulbright & Jaworski LLP
Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP
Goodwin Procter LLP
Hogan Lovells US LLP
Holland & Knight LLP
Hunton & Williams LLP
Jenner & Block LLP
Jones Day[4]
Kelley Drye & Warren LLP[5]
King & Spalding
LLP
Kirkland & Ellis LLP
K&L Gates LLP
Latham & Watkins
LLP
Mayer Brown LLP
McDermott, Will & Emery LLP
McKenna Long & Aldridge LLP
Miller & Chevalier, Chartered
Mintz Levin Cohn Ferris Glovsky & Popeo PC
Morgan, Lewis, & Bockius LLP
Morrison & Foerster LLP
Nixon Peabody LLP
O’Melveny & Myers LLP
Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP
Patton Boggs LLP
Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker LLP
Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP
Reed Smith LLP
Shearman & Sterling LLP
Sidley Austin LLP
Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP
SNR Denton
Steptoe & Johnson LLP
Sutherland Asbill & Brennan LLP
Venable LLP
Vinson & Elkins LLP
Weil Gotshal & Manges LLP
Wiley Rein LLP
Williams & Connolly LLP
WilmerHale LLP
Winston & Strawn LLP
Zuckerman Spaeder LLP
Note
[1] Howrey LLP dissolved and the number of firms from 2009 to 2010 decreased from 64 to 63.
[2] Dewey & Leboeuf LLP dissolved in 2012, bringing the total number of reporting firms in 2011 to 62.
[3] One firm did not provide information on their number of billable hours for 2011.
[4] Jones Day is not enrolled in the Pro Bono Institute's Law Firm Pro Bono Challenge®
[5] Kelley Drye & Warren LLP is not enrolled in the Pro Bono Institute’s Law Firm Pro Bono Challenge®
Thank you to the Pro Bono Institute for permission to use and affiliate with the Law Firm Pro Bono Challenge®. The Law Firm Pro Bono Challenge® is the property of the Pro Bono Institute and may not be further used or cited, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from the Pro Bono Institute.
