- Background
- Responses
- Meeting Goals
- Aggregate Performance
- Management Practices
- Signatory Firms
- Reporting Firms in 2003
- Reporting Firms in 2004
- Reporting Firms in 2005
- Reporting Firms in 2006
Background
In the fall of 2001, forty-one (41) of the District’s largest law firms committed to provide pro bono legal services at specified levels (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 Bar on their progress. The Initiative has been underway since the beginning of calendar year 2002. This marks the fourth report firms have made on their progress.
Responses
Out of the 41 firms that originally joined the Pro Bono Initiative in the fall of 2001, all 41 responded to this year’s survey, and, we also have added a new firm this reporting year. A list of the responding firms is attached.
Meeting Goals
In 2005 seventy percent (71%) of the responding firms (30 out of 42) met or substantially met* their Pro Bono Initiative performance goals. This is a significant increase from last year, where we had only 37 firms responding, and half meeting their commitment. Two firms fell short of their goal of devoting 5 percent of their total paying client hours to pro bono service, but exceeded the Initiative’s minimum target of three percent. The remaining firms did not meet the three percent minimum goal.
Aggregate Performance
As a group, the responding firms provided 604,929 hours of pro bono service to the community in 2005 - a figure equal to 75.45 hours of pro bono service for every lawyer in these firms. This amounts to 38,449 more hours of pro bono service than the previous reporting year. Additionally, the reporting firms provided 73,352 more pro bono hours than the total promised in their commitment forms.
The responding firms reported 71% of their lawyers being involved in pro bono work. This is a slight increase from 69% in 2004. In the aggregate, 36% of the attorneys working at the reporting firms did at least 50 hours of pro bono work in 2005. The Judicial Conferences of the District of Columbia and the D.C. Circuit have passed Resolutions on pro bono service encouraging lawyers to fulfill their ethical obligations by providing at least 50 hours of pro bono legal service each year. The D.C. Bar Pro Bono Program is encouraged by the modest increase in the number of lawyers in the reporting firms meeting this target.
It is also worthy to note that this year we had eight firms that went far beyond their committed 3% or 5% goals. With average per attorney hours of 137.95, 132.57, 127.75, 123.70, 121.60, 119.25, 118.30 and 118.14, these eight firms are models for all Initiative firms. The firms also reinforce the importance of management support to pro bono. It is clear that all eight firm’s pro bono efforts are supported by their internal management structure and their outstanding numbers are a direct result of that support.
Management Practices
In addition to tracking pro bono performance statistics, the D.C. Bar Pro Bono Initiative Survey asks for information about the techniques that law firms use in managing their pro bono programs. Although practices vary widely, several broad trends have emerged among firms with good pro bono performance.
Firms that report good pro bono numbers are generally able to do so because a large percentage of the attorneys at these firms perform significant amounts (at least 50 hours per year) of pro bono work. When attorneys are willing to make a significant pro bono commitment, it is almost always because their firms have a positive overall pro bono “culture” that provides concrete support and positive reinforcement for attorneys who do pro bono work. This culture is generally demonstrated through management practices that encourage pro bono work. Some examples of these practices include:
- Pro bono hours counted toward billable/bonus targets: This practice has a number of variations from firm to firm, but overall, in firms with good pro bono programs, attorneys are able to receive at least some amount of credit toward their minimum billable requirements or other billable-hour targets. Of the 30 firms that reported pro bono hours at or above the 3% Pro Bono Initiative minimum benchmark, 27 (90%) gave equal billable-hour credit to associates for at least some portion of pro bono hours worked in 2005.
- Pro bono coordinator on staff: Developing a pro bono culture and ensuring that attorneys are receiving the types of pro bono opportunities that interest them is a time-consuming task. The majority of firms that exceeded the 3% Pro Bono Initiative minimum benchmark (23 out of 30 – 77%) had a pro bono coordinator on staff in their D.C. offices. Of the firms that did not meet their minimum benchmark, about half (7 out of 12) had a pro bono coordinator on staff.
- Support from senior management: The single most important indicator of a firm’s pro bono culture is whether the firm’s senior-level management truly supports pro bono service by attorneys at the firm. Firm management sets the tone for the expectations and behavior of everyone at the firm. In the pro bono context, this tone is established when a firm’s leadership actively commits itself to developing effective, pro bono-friendly policies and ensuring that these policies are carried out consistently at every level and in every practice area of the firm. A majority of all of the firms that met the Pro Bono Initiative 3% minimum benchmark reported that support from senior management was an integral element of their pro bono programs. A prime example is 83% (25 out of 30) of the firms that met their pro bono commitment cited that they expect partners to become involved in pro bono work (this is an increase from 71% in 2004). For more information about how senior management can actively support pro bono work in their firms, please see “Law Firm Pro Bono Programs: Learning From Success”, a report issued in 2004 by the D.C. Circuit Judicial Conference Standing Committee on Pro Bono Legal Services.
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
Reporting Firms in 2003 (2002 Reporting Year)
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.
Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner, L.L.P.
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
Reporting Firms in 2004 (2003 Reporting Year)
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
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
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 Hale & Dorr LLP
Winston & Strawn
Reporting Firms for 2005 (2004 Reporting Year)
Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP
Arnold & Porter
Collier Shannon Scott, PLLC
Covington & Burling
Crowell & Moring LLP
Dechert LLP
Dickstein Shapiro Morin & Oshinsky L.L.P.
DLA Piper Rudnick Gray Cary US LLP
Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner, L.L.P.
Foley & Lardner LLP
Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP
Hogan & Hartson L.L.P.
Holland & Knight LLP
Howrey LLP
Hunton & Williams LLP
Jones Day
King & Spalding LLP
Kirkland & Ellis LLP
Kirkpatrick & Lockhart Nicholson
Graham LLP
Latham & Watkins LLP
Mayer, Brown, Rowe & Maw LLP
McDermott, Will & Emery LLP
Miller & Chevalier, Chartered
Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP
O’Melveny & Myers LLP
Patton Boggs LLP
Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP
Reed Smith LLP
Sidley Austin LLP
Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP
Steptoe & Johnson LLP
Swidler Berlin LLP
Venable LLP
Vinson & Elkins L.L.P.
Wiley Rein & Fielding LLP
Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP
Winston & Strawn LLP
Reporting Firms for 2006 (2005 Reporting Year)
Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP
Arent Fox PLLC
Arnold & Porter
Baker Botts LLP
Bingham McCutchen LLP
Covington & Burling
Crowell & Moring LLP
Dechert LLP
Dickstein Shapiro L.L.P.
DLA Piper US LLP
Dow Lohnes LLP
Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner, L.L.P.
Foley & Lardner LLP
Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP
Hogan & Hartson L.L.P.
Holland & Knight LLP
Howrey LLP
Hunton & Williams LLP
Jones Day
Kelley Drye Collier Shannon
King & Spalding LLP
Kirkland & Ellis LLP
Kirkpatrick & Lockhart Nicholson Graham LLP
Latham & Watkins LLP
Mayer, Brown, Rowe & Maw LLP
McDermott, Will & Emery LLP
Miller & Chevalier, Chartered
Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP
Melveny & Myers LLP
Patton Boggs LLP
Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP
Reed Smith LLP
Shearman & Sterling LLP*
Sidley Austin LLP
Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP
Steptoe & Johnson LLP
Sutherland Asbill & Brennan LLP
Venable LLP
Vinson & Elkins L.L.P.
Wiley Rein & Fielding LLP
WilmerHaleLLP
Winston & Strawn LLP
