The Australian Pro Bono Centre has issued its report on the Fifth National Law Firm Pro Bono Survey. The survey collates data provided by 41 of the 58 large law firms in Australia, defined as law firms with 50 or more lawyers. The Australian Pro Bono Centre is an independent law centre providing pro bono legal services, which focuses on increasing access to justice for marginalised persons. The findings of the survey show that the average hours of pro bono work per lawyer in the firms surveyed was 34.8 hours in the 2015/2016 financial year. This is a 9.7% increase from 2014.
According to the Centre, one of the main drivers of this growth is the increased and unmet legal need for pro bono work for asylum seekers and refugees. Immigration has risen to third in the list of areas of law in which the respondents carry out pro bono work. In 2014, immigration law ranked in twelfth place. In addition, the survey shows that the firms paid up to $25,000 as part of their pro bono work in this area, attributed to factors such as the need to pay interpreters’ and translators’ fees. Immigration law is also one of the most rejected areas of law in terms of the respondent firms’ pro bono work, along with family law, criminal law and employment law.
The rate of lawyer participation has increased, according to the survey – the rate is now 57%, whereas in 2014 it stood at 50%. 17 of the 41 firms surveyed met the National Pro Bono Aspirational Target of 35 hours per lawyer per annum. Despite the increased rate of lawyer participation and the increase in average hours of pro bono work, however, the findings of the survey reveal that performance across the 41 firms is uneven, ranging from 4 hours per lawyer per annum in some firms to 71 hours per lawyer in others. The firms identified capacity as one of the top three challenges to further growth of their pro bono programmes, with 83% saying that their internal pro bono targets are likely to stay the same in 2017. Another obstacle identified by the respondents was insufficient expertise in the relevant areas of law.
The survey also reveals external obstacles to the respondent firms’ pro bono work. Direct requests from individuals or organisations seeking pro bono help remain the most common source of referrals. The survey shows growth in requests from Community Legal Centres (CLCs), with up to 33% of referrals being made to mid-size firms by CLCs. However, Phillip Cornwell, Chair of the Centre has voiced concerns about the impact of forthcoming cuts to CLCs, which threaten “to reduce the ability of the firms to do pro bono work”.
Click here for the full Report on the Fifth National Law Firm Pro Bono Survey.
Click here for more analysis.