June 2005

Putting Professional Ideals into Practice — ProBono Publico Services by WSBA Members in 2004

by Andrew A. Guy

Kudos! Let’s hear it for the lawyers who received the WSBA recognition award for contribution of 50 or more hours of pro bono publico services in 2004. Think of the clients they helped. Think of the impact their unselfish contributions made to our communities and to the profession. An ovation is appropriate. Each of these volunteers also will be receiving a personalized recognition certificate issued by the WSBA.

2004 was the second year that a form for reporting pro bono publico services was included in the WSBA’s annual licensing materials, as provided in RPC 6.1, the pro bono publico rule. That rule, as amended in 2003, was patterned after the ABA’s model rule 6.1, which has been adopted in some form by at least 16 states. The amended rule proclaims that it is the professional responsibility of each WSBA member to assist in providing legal services for those unable to pay, and establishes an aspirational minimum goal of 30 hours of pro bono publico services each calendar year. It provides for the voluntary reporting of pro bono publico service hours to the WSBA in the annual licensing materials, and for a recognition award to be presented by the WSBA to those who report 50 or more pro bono publico hours during the preceding calendar year. (A copy of the rule is printed at the end of this article for easy reference.)

What the Numbers Show

Because reporting is voluntary, it is likely that other lawyers contributed substantial pro bono publico services last year and chose not to keep track of the hours or to report them to the WSBA. That, of course, means that the statistics obtainable from the reporting forms most likely understate the total hours of services rendered by Washington lawyers.

Although data collected over just two years are not sufficient to show meaningful trends, a review of the two years of reporting history reveals some interesting information. Figure 1 shows comparative numbers from each of these years.

The table shows that approximately the same number (roughly 3,700) and percentage (13 percent) of WSBA members chose to report their time in both 2003 and 2004. The total pro bono publico hours reported in 2004 was 33,198 higher than the number reported in 2003 — a 16 percent increase.

Significantly, the number of reported RPC 6.1(a) service hours increased by 16,245 in 2004, or 15 percent over the number reported in 2003. (RPC 6.1(a) services are free legal services provided to persons of limited means, or organizations in matters designed primarily to address the needs of persons of limited means.)

The ratio of reported RPC 6.1(a) service hours compared to the total pro bono publico hours reported each year held steady at approximately 13 percent each year. The number of members reporting 50 or more pro bono publico hours increased by 284 — 23 percent higher than 2003. However, the number reporting between 30 and 50 hours declined by 19, representing a three percent decrease from 2003.

Types of Services Performed

Comments from respondents on the completed 2005 forms indicate that lawyers provided free legal services in a number of settings and through a wide variety of legal services providers and pro bono client referral sources. These included legal clinics providing help in the areas of family law, elder law, and immigration law. Specific programs identified included Clallam County Pro Bono Lawyers, King County Bar Association’s Housing Justice Project, Snohomish County Legal Services, the Northwest Center, the Northwest Justice Project, the NAACP, the Red Cross, the Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) program, Chaya, Northwest Women’s Law Center, the Eastside Legal Assistance Program, the Unemployment Law Project, Alaska Legal Services Corporation, the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project, and Habitat for Humanity.

Members also reported that they had provided pro bono representation to clients in cases involving family law, criminal law, and civil rights, and engaged in alternate dispute resolution, including a mediation involving the tent city for homeless persons in Seattle.

Activities reported under RPC 6.1(b) included representing theaters and other community nonprofit organizations, serving as a member of the Access to Justice Board, writing sections in legal deskbooks, and participating in law school mock trials.

Comments on the form also indicated that, in addition to Washington, services were performed in or benefited people or organizations located in California, Oregon, Alaska, and Colorado.

What’s Wrong with This Picture?

The statistics are fine as far as they go, but a nagging question arises from reviewing them: Why are only 13 percent of WSBA members reporting their pro bono publico hours?

The WSBA’s Pro Bono and Legal Aid Committee was hoping that the number of members reporting pro bono publico services in 2004 would increase significantly, as RPC 6.1 just became effective in September 2003. That effective date, being rather late in the calendar year, did not give lawyers or firms a lot of time to compile information for the first annual reporting period, which ended on December 31, 2003. However, as noted above, the number of lawyers reporting remained roughly the same, and the percentage of the WSBA membership reporting stayed at 13 percent each year. Why?

Cynics might respond to this question by suggesting that only 13 percent of WSBA members are actually rendering pro bono publico services. Surely, that isn’t the case, and other factors are at play. For example, comments placed on a few of the reporting forms indicate that some members simply resist the concept of reporting pro bono publico hours, even on a voluntary basis. Another likely reason is that most of us don’t like to complete forms and skip the ones we can avoid. Or we don’t keep track of pro bono service hours expended with the same rigor as hours that are going to be billed, so we don’t know how many hours to report. Also, some lawyers and firms do not have billing codes that correspond to the categories of matters reportable under RPC 6.1, so at the end of the year it becomes a challenge to compile all of the time spent on pro bono matters during the course of that year. Even the firms that do have a “pro bono” and/or a “civic and charitable” billing code in their time-accounting systems may include matters that are outside of the RPC 6.1 definition of pro bono publico services or do not distinguish between the particular types of services described in RPC 6.1(a) and (b), respectively.

To facilitate tracking and reporting pro bono publico services, the Pro Bono and Legal Aid Committee encourages lawyers and organizations where they practice (including firms, government agencies, corporate in-house law departments, etc.) to do the following:

1.  Record the time spent in pro bono publico service. Don’t fail to record it merely because it isn’t billable.

2.  Implement a system to track pro bono publico hours in a way that distinguishes between those services described in RPC 6.1(a) and 6.1(b), which will make reporting RPC 6.1 hours a snap.

Why Report?

Having more comprehensive data regarding the pro bono publico services WSBA members contribute on an annual basis should help improve the public image of Washington lawyers. It will also help the WSBA recognize all those — including the currently unsung — members who are upholding the standards of our profession and performing pro bono publico services. In addition, broader statistics will assist the WSBA, the Access to Justice Board, and other organizations in planning future programs designed to meet the civil legal needs of low-income persons.

Getting Your Name on the Recognition List

RPC 6.1 prompts each of us to assess at least annually what we are doing in the way of “service for the public good.” We need to ensure that we are meeting our professional ethical responsibility to provide such services. There remains a tremendous unmet need in our state, with some 70 percent of those needing legal help in civil matters in Washington not receiving it because they can’t afford a lawyer. We need more lawyers to perform more pro bono services for persons of limited means.

For lawyers who aren’t performing pro bono work at all, it is time to start doing it. For those who are performing less than 50 hours per year, the recognition award should provide some incentive to move up to that level of service. If your name doesn’t appear on the recognition list this year, make sure it does next year.

How? There are many avenues to finding meaningful and worthwhile pro bono work. Any attorney who wishes to assist pro bono clients through one of the legal services organizations designated by the WSBA as  “qualified legal services providers” may contact Sharlene Steele, WSBA access to justice programs liaison, at 206-727-8262, or sharlene@wsba.org. She will find a program that is right for you.

Congratulations again to those receiving the recognition award for performing 50 or more pro bono publico services in 2004. And here’s hoping that the list will be substantially longer next year.

Andrew A. Guy is the chair of WSBA Pro Bono and Legal Aid Committe and can be reached at aaguy@stoel.com.