Reinventing The Law Business: Another Word About Pro Bono
Columnist Bruce Stachenfeld asks: why does "pro bono" have to be thought of exclusively as work we lawyers do as lawyers?
In my last column, I argued that pro bono should be something we “want to” do rather than something we “have to” do. Here is another thought, which I think is somewhat new.
I wonder, why does “pro bono” have to be thought of exclusively as work we lawyers do as lawyers? Why does it have to “solely” be, for example, litigation work defending someone on death row or transactional work helping an artist start her art business – worthy endeavors, no doubt?
Why can’t it also be building a homeless shelter or raising money for a charity? Or helping a disadvantaged youth have a chance at the American dream? Let me take you through my thinking.
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Hypothesize a law firm in which the lawyers in the firm fall in love with, say, Oxfam, which provides famine relief (among other things) for starving people in the world? So they make a big push here. The attorneys contribute their own money – they volunteer their time for fundraising efforts and whatever else they can do to contribute to this great cause. They also put their firm’s efforts behind this in a big way.
Yet – this is largely not thought of as “pro bono” in the legal community…..
And, why is this? “Pro bono publico,” shortened to “pro bono,” means “for the public good.” Is it no more “good” to save a starving family than it is to defend someone on death row?
I wonder, then, whether we lawyers should start defining pro bono in our law firms to mean “both” (i) traditional pro bono, which is the providing of legal services for those who need it and cannot afford it, or to effectuate a societal goal plus (ii) the doing of good things for society or individuals that does not necessarily require us to use our legal skills to achieve?
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The pro bono program at my firm does both. We do traditional pro bono (not enough yet – and we will be increasing this over time) – and also urges our lawyers to contribute money, time and effort to causes that they are passionate about. Sometimes their time and effort is in the capacity as lawyers – and sometimes it is not – but either way we encourage what they are doing.
And, to add to this, sometimes you just can’t find a pro bono cause where you are acting as a lawyer that excites you. Maybe litigating to help someone feels like “work” but digging a hole with a shovel to help someone to live better feels like fun to you, and you just can’t wait for Saturday to go to build homes with Habitat for Humanity.
Am I crazy here? Is our profession – which is so influential – so powerful – and so strong in society – missing something here by not expanding the definition of “pro bono” to also include all things that we can do for the public good – whether or not it is in our capacity as lawyers?
I suspect if we redefine what pro bono means in this manner, we will have a dramatic – and I mean dramatic – increase in the total “public good” that is performed by lawyers and law firms.
Earlier: Reinventing The Law Business: A Word About Pro Bono
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Bruce Stachenfeld is the managing partner of Duval & Stachenfeld LLP, which is an approximately 70-lawyer law firm based in midtown Manhattan. The firm is known as “The Pure Play in Real Estate Law” because all of its practice areas are focused around real estate. With 50 full-time real estate lawyers, the firm is one of the largest real estate law practices in New York City. You can contact Bruce by email at thehedgehoglawyer@gmail.com.