????At Akin Gump, a prominent law firm in Washington, D.C., Steve Schulman, head of the pro bono practice, notes, "as a firm, we are a bit leaner, so, of course, pro bono hours are down." A firm restructuring trimmed nearly 200 attorneys from its roster since 2007, which has resulted in a reduced pro bono case load, Schulman says.
????Akin Gump lawyers have racked up 48,000 free hours so far this year, and the firm expects to be close to last year's 57,000 total hours. Such work, he says, "is still a draw to recruit top law students."
????Larger firms also have deeper pockets to cover expenses, such as travel, to pursue a pro bono case. But, Schulman maintains, that while "our attorneys are on salary, which is a fixed cost, and it doesn't cost that much to generate an extra free hour, the cost to the firm of these hours is not zero."
Pro bono cases as apprentice work?
????One potential solution is to create a model where pro bono work is formally used as "the way lawyers gain skills and experience," says the Pro Bono Institute's Lardent. Since fewer corporate clients are willing to pick up the tab for novice lawyers to learn on the job, she says, pro bono work can provide those opportunities.
????If not enough hours are being devoted to pro bono work, why not just come up with a mandatory minimum for big firms or all practicing lawyers?
????"A mandate would not be enforceable in any way that is meaningful," maintains Schulman. "Law schools need to follow the medical school model and devote significant time to clinical practice so it's not just one credit a semester.
????"Law students could apprentice to a legal services office, for example," he says, "and could spend two years learning and two years in law school."
????Like aspiring lawyers in colonial days who learned the legal ropes under the tutelage of a practicing attorney, law students today could apprentice themselves at public interest or legal aid offices to "read the law," a practice that largely did not change (although a few states still allow it) until the 1890s, when the ABA began urging formal post-college instruction -- what is now called law school.
