The Importance of Completing a Voluntary Form: Pro Bono Service Trends Since 2003

by Andrew A. Guy

By the time this article is published, all WSBA members should have received the annual license packet. In the press of our practices, there may be a temptation to skip any portion of a form whose completion is not mandatory, including the one relating to voluntarily reporting the hours of pro bono publico service performed in 2008. The purpose of this article is threefold: (1) to report the information gleaned from last year’s form, (2) to encourage all of us to report the pro bono services we performed in 2008 on the current license renewal form, and (3) to encourage the performance of higher levels of pro bono work in 2009. 

Some background

In 2003, Washington’s Pro Bono Publico Service ethics rule, RPC 6.1, was amended to encourage lawyers to provide free legal services to low-income clients who otherwise would not have access to a lawyer. The rule’s guiding principle was stated in its first sentence: “Every lawyer has a professional responsibility to assist in the provision of legal services to those unable to pay.”

RPC 6.1 defines pro bono service as either:

1. Rendering free legal service to low-income persons or organizations whose primary mission is to serve such persons [RPC 6.1(a)] or

2. Rendering free or substantially reduced fee legal services to individuals, groups or organizations seeking to secure or protect civil rights, civil liberties or public rights, or charitable, religious, civil, community, governmental and educational organizations in furtherance of their organizational purposes, where the payment of standard legal fees would significantly deplete the organization’s economic resources or would otherwise be inappropriate, and participating in activities for improving the law, the legal system or the legal profession. [RPC 6.1(b)]

The rule includes an aspirational goal for each WSBA member to perform at least 30 hours of pro bono service per year. Lawyers who perform 50 hours or more in any calendar year and report that fact on the WSBA license renewal form receive a frameable certificate as a recognition award from the WSBA.

The WSBA and its Pro Bono and Legal Aid Committee extend their hearty thanks and congratulations to the 1,989 lawyers who reported that they performed 50 or more pro bono hours in 2007.

What the numbers show

Each year since the rule was amended, the WSBA has compiled the responses from the licensing packet form to track aggregate reported hours. It does not keep any records of individual attorneys’ reported hours, except as necessary to identify the attorneys who are entitled to receive recognition for their pro bono service.

The percentage of lawyers reporting pro bono hours has increased from 13 percent of total Bar membership in 2003 to 20 percent in 2007. This represents a 69 percent increase in the number of attorneys reporting over that five-year period (from 3,678 in 2003 to 6,226 for 2007), while Bar membership has increased from 28,043 to 31,441, only 12 percent.

Of these, the total number of attorneys who reported that they met the 30-hour aspirational goal increased from 1,979 in 2003 to 2,907 in 2007 (a 47 percent increase), and the number who reported that they exceeded 50 hours of annual pro bono service increased over that four-year time period from 1,247 to 1,989 (a 45 percent increase). Included within the 50-plus figures are those members who chose to remain anonymous, a category that increased from 177 in 2003 to 590 in 2007 (a 233 percent increase).

During that same period, the number of total pro bono hours reported increased from 202,900 to 286,641 (an increase of 83,741 hours, or 41 percent). Of these, the hours reported for services to low income persons or organizations primarily serving them rose from 107,823 to 167,630 (a 59,807 hour increase, or 63 percent), and the total hours reported for other types of pro bono publico service increased by 23,934 hours, from 95,077 to 119,011 (a 25 percent increase).

So, is the rule working?

It is encouraging to see this increase in pro bono service hours being reported over the past four years. However, with only 20 percent of the Bar reporting, it is difficult to know how many hours of pro bono service are being provided by Washington lawyers. It may be that those who don’t report are not performing even 30 hours of pro bono publico service per year, but it is also quite conceivable that many lawyers simply don’t take the time to complete the form and that others may wish to remain anonymous and not receive any form of recognition for the work they do.

Anecdotal information suggests that some Washington lawyers have been motivated to render pro bono services due to the existence of the rule and its reporting form, which (by being included on the license renewal form) is a reminder of our professional responsibilities under RPC 6.1 to render such services. Some lawyers have indicated that they have been motivated to undertake pro bono work in part so they could honestly report that they had met the 30- or 50-hour goals, and not be left with the choice of either quietly ignoring the form or completing it and admitting that they hadn’t performed the minimum aspirational goal of 30 hours.

Some law firm pro bono coordinators report that in November of each year they obtain from their firm accounting departments a list of lawyers at their firms who have performed pro bono hours that are shy of their 30- or 50-hour goals. They then contact those lawyers to encourage them to perform more pro bono work before year-end, so as to be able to report success in meeting their goals. 

All of this suggests that RPC 6.1 is having a positive impact in encouraging pro bono service by our Bar. However, to get a truer sense of what our profession is really doing to help low-income individuals access our justice system in Washington, we need to increase the response rate on the license renewal form. Those who wish to remain anonymous can do so by indicating that on the form (it’s no longer a separate form and has the member’s name preprinted on it.)

Increasing pro bono services

Of course, the point of RPC 6.1 is not to measure how many of us are willing to voluntarily report pro bono hours, but rather to encourage us to perform more pro bono work, so more persons who otherwise would not have access to a lawyer can get legal help. The rule tries to accomplish this partly through use of a carrot (providing recognition for performing over 50 hours per year) and partly through use of a stick (establishing a minimum goal of 30 hours per year as a matter of professional responsibility).

Each of us can set a personal goal for 2009 to increase our pro bono service. Call it a New Year’s resolution, if you like. The unmet need remains high, and there are many opportunities to make a difference in the lives of those less fortunate than ourselves. Many of us are already involved with one or more legal services programs, but for those who are looking for opportunities to perform pro bono work, check out your local bar association for pro bono matters or go to www.advocateresourcecenter.org, which lists pro bono projects. Also, you can obtain information regarding volunteer opportunities with Northwest Justice Project’s CLEAR (Coordinated Legal, Education, Advice, and Referral) telephone service by calling 206-464-1519 and asking for Abby Goldy or Julie Rattray. Business lawyers can find good non-litigation referrals through Washington Attorneys Assisting Community Organizations, at contact@waaco.org.

As a profession, we are uniquely positioned to make the legal system available to those who need help but cannot afford to pay for legal services. As individual lawyers, we have the skills to make a profound difference in the lives of the pro bono clients we represent and to help make “equal justice for all” more than a slogan. We also have the opportunity to experience the personal satisfaction that comes with helping level the legal playing field for clients with meritorious cases who otherwise would not have representation. To achieve these objectives and to address the unmet needs of low income persons needing civil legal services, we, as a bar association, need to dramatically increase the levels of pro bono services being provided. To assist the WSBA, the Access to Justice Board, and other organizations with planning and to help inform the public as to what the bar is doing, we also need to keep track of the pro bono hours we work and report them on the license renewal form. For something this important, a New Year’s resolution is definitely in order.

Andrew Guy is a commercial litigation partner in Stoel Rives, LLP’s Seattle office, where he is the office pro bono coordinator. He is a member of the WSBA Pro Bono and Legal Aid Committee, a trustee of the King County Bar Association, and a volunteer with the KCBA’s Housing Justice Project and Community Legal Services.