New research shows that the average number of pro bono hours being undertaken per lawyer has risen by over 8 per cent, with lawyers across the country who are signatories to the National Pro Bono Target now doing more than 40 hours of pro bono work annually.
The Australian Pro Bono Centre has published the 18th Annual Performance Report of the National Pro Bono Target, a voluntary target that law firms, incorporated legal practices, solicitors, barristers, barristers’ chambers, in-house lawyers, and legal teams can adopt to provide at least 35 hours of pro bono work each year (20 hours for in-house teams and lawyers).
The number of practitioners covered by the Target (either as individual signatories or as employees of organisations that are signatories) is now 19,973 lawyers, accounting for around one in five lawyers nationally.
This year’s report shows a “significant” 8.11 per cent rise in pro bono hours in the last financial year, with 333 signatories having undertaken a combined 844,999 pro bono hours, for an average of 42.3 hours per lawyer – the highest ever recorded under the Target.
Findings
Across the board, lawyers working in different types of legal organisations, or for themselves, have achieved the Target.
Individual solicitors and barristers, volunteering in a personal capacity, reported an “outstanding” average of 98.58 pro bono hours in FY2024–25, the centre reported, with more than seven in 10 practitioners meeting or exceeding the Target.
Lawyers working in large firms (with 50 or more lawyers) delivered an average of 41.75 pro bono hours, up from 39.7 hours in FY2023–24, and more than three in five lawyers in such firms were involved in pro bono work this past financial year, up from 57.5 per cent the previous year.
In smaller firms, there was a sharper rise in the number of hours completed, with an average of 51.35 hours per lawyer, up from 44 hours in FY23–24. Additionally, more than seven in 10 (72.26 per cent) of lawyers in SMEs were involved in pro bono work, up from 66.75 per cent last year.
A total of 249 pro bono-focused roles were reported by signatories in FY24–25, with the highest number of dedicated roles (85) reported at the lawyer or associate level, followed by senior associates and special counsel.
Notably, Target signatories reported 32 pro bono roles at the partner or principal level, a rise from 27 the year before.
Overall, 51.59 per cent of Target signatories met their respective Targets in FY24–25, slightly up from 51.44 per cent in FY23–24.
Reflections
Speaking about the results, Australian Pro Bono Centre chief executive Gabriela Christian-Hare said: “As Australian pro bono practices continue to develop and mature, their dedication to pro bono work has strengthened.
“Although the number of Target signatories and lawyers represented by the Target have increased only marginally, average pro bono hours per lawyer have hit a record high. Those individuals and firms already engaged in pro bono have deepened their commitment.
“The role and essence of pro bono as a crucial pillar of access to justice, central to the preservation of the rule of law and the professional life of Australian lawyers, continues to gain strength.”
Tessa Boyd-Caine, chair of the Australian Pro Bono Centre, said: “Legal assistance can be the difference between people accessing their rights and remedying injustice. Yet for many people, legal help is out of reach, either because it is too expensive or because they don’t know how to find legal help. Pro bono legal assistance makes a vital contribution to filling this gap.
“Across the country, legal practitioners working pro bono contribute their professional skill and expertise to meet the legal needs of people, communities, and community organisations every day. This important report shows just how significant that contribution is.”
Jerome Doraisamy is the managing editor of Lawyers Weekly and HR Leader. He is also the author of The Wellness Doctrines book series, an admitted solicitor in New South Wales, and a board director of the Minds Count Foundation.
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