Pro Bono: An Overlooked Strategy for a Bar in Crisis
When litigants are informed about how court proceedings unfold, the possibility of a fair and just outcome increases. Maintaining this sense of fairness for the litigant, regardless of socio-economic status, is fundamental to maintaining justice in our society. Pro bono services play a key role in making this possible.
April 16, 2025
By Jeffrey D. Harvey
Pro Bono: An Overlooked Strategy for a Bar in Crisis
When asked why he defended British soldiers accused of murdering five American colonists in the Boston Massacre, John Adams wrote, “…Council ought to be the very last thing that an accused person should want in a free country.” The statement reflects his deep conviction that each person facing the law deserved adequate representation. In fact, he continued, “every lawyer must hold himself responsible not only to his country, but to the highest and most infallible of all trybunals.” His belief that defendants deserved equal counsel before the law directly influenced the Sixth Amendment, and today’s concept of pro bono representation is a direct result of Adams’ thinking.
Having qualified counsel before the court raises the comfort level for all parties and builds trust in the legal process. When litigants are informed about how court proceedings unfold, the possibility of a fair and just outcome increases. Maintaining this sense of fairness for the litigant, regardless of socio-economic status, is fundamental to maintaining justice in our society. Pro bono services play a key role in making this possible.
Staggering Statistics on the Pro Bono Crisis and Trust in the Legal Profession
As Adams demonstrated, the legal profession’s role ensures “the system” works for everyone. But as attorneys, we are dangerously close to failing to uphold our social contract and the vision set forth by our nation’s founders and echoed in our oath. A quick look at some recent data gives context to the pending crisis:
- A 2019 Family Justice Initiative study found that 72% of all divorces include at least one unrepresented party.
- A Harvard Law Today article from the same period lists a study of divorces in Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania that found that represented spouses were significantly more likely to win their divorce matter versus those who were unrepresented, citing unfamiliarity with court procedure as a key culprit.
- At the same time, trust in the American judicial system is at an all-time low. In the most recent Gallup annual honesty and ethics poll, the legal profession scored a net negative, with lawyers tied for eighth least-trusted on the list and judges’ favorability rating dropping 15 points between 2021 and 2024.
- According to American Lawyer’s 2024 Am Law Pro Bono Scorecard, pro bono work at 120 of the largest U.S. firms was still below pre-pandemic levels in 2023.
- Conversely, according to Legal Services Corporation’s (LSC) latest Justice Gap Report, nearly three quarters of low-income Americans experienced a civil legal issue in the previous year, and a staggering 93% of those problems did not receive any or enough legal help.
- The LSC report also revealed that only 19% of low-income individuals sought legal help for their civil matter.
- The LSC report sheds light on why: 46% of low-income, unrepresented individuals believe counsel is out of their reach due to cost and 53% don’t know if they could find an affordable attorney if they needed one.
These statistics clearly portray a system that’s increasingly distrusted and encumbered by those who don’t understand it yet may need it the most. They also illustrate a profession that is not living up to its role and whose level of trustworthiness is in decline. If we wish to remain an independent, self-regulating body, we must change. Should we ignore the crisis, we will lose the opportunity to create solutions ourselves. We must start to address these issues and make ourselves essential, reestablishing the process of trust that Adams initiated 250 years ago.
The Path Forward: Educating Clients, Enhancing Access and Improving Legal Outcomes
The first step is to educate our clients on the system, its process and their rights under the law. A client may not know their responsibilities or vulnerabilities as they make decisions that have legal implications. Many times, we see compounding legal issues that could have been avoided if clients had adequate representation early on.
Second, increased access benefits not only the client but the community. Organizations like the one I lead work hard to prove to clients that the system is not just about enforcement of the law. There are advantages to having a lawyer. We advocate for fairness and explain procedural options to clients who find themselves in a confounding process that they’ve never understood or been exposed to.
Third, we must work to avoid trial. This involves increasing the number of litigants who have counsel and reducing the number of matters compared to the number of litigants. When both sides are represented, a pretrial settlement is more likely. Settling before trial reduces cost for everyone, creates efficiency within the system and bolsters faith in the process. Trust and understanding are necessary components of that spirit of compromise. These basic steps are the essential work of pro bono legal aid.
The Power of Pro Bono
Pro bono work is crucial for improving lawyers’ reputations and maintaining the privilege of self-regulation. Pro bono creates positive client experiences with lawyers and provides a level of understanding of the legal system that builds trust. As businesspeople and marketers will tell you, customer satisfaction is primarily dependent on how the customer is treated rather than the outcome of the transaction. Pro bono legal aid provides relief for our overburdened courts. It saves taxpayers money by helping those in need avoid state-supported services like welfare, childcare, unemployment compensation, and medical and mental health services. By addressing and reducing these needs and building trust with elected officials, pro bono helps avoid legislative oversight and bureaucratic involvement.
It is incumbent on each of us as attorneys practicing in, as Adams called it, a nation of laws, to ensure that the opportunity for equal representation is afforded to everyone who may find themselves facing challenges with the law. Legal aid in the form of pro bono work not only creates efficiency in the judicial system but provides a framework of giving back that builds trust and strengthens our ability to self-regulate as a profession.
Jeffrey D. Harvey, is the chief executive officer of Community Legal Services, a full-service civil legal aid law firm serving the central Florida community. He is a 24-year veteran of the U.S. Army and recently completed a master’s in strategic studies at the U.S. Army War College.
Originally posted on: Daily Business Review