Attorney General's Office

Attorney General: Associate Parliamentary Corporate Social Responsibility Group - Celebrating the pro bono work of UK law firms

I would like to thank the Associate Parliamentary Corporate Responsibility Group and Linklaters for inviting me to address you today and to participate in this celebration of the pro bono work of UK law firms, and the reasons why we should celebrate it.

In 1792, when Thomas Jefferson was writing to George Hammond, he wrote: "It is reasonable that everyone who asks justice should do justice." This seems a fitting sentence to capture a number of the aims of the Associate Parliamentary Corporate Responsibility Group. It seems equally fitting in reflecting the principle behind pro bono publico, the ancient tradition where lawyers agree to act free of charge, "for the public good".

And while the modern legal profession prides itself on being progressive and rightly so, it is pleasing to note that lawyers have carried on the ancient tradition of pro bono and do so with enthusiasm and professional dedication. Lawyers continue to recognise that it is incumbent on those of us who are in the business of justice to act justly. While the ethical code that lawyers operate under means each one of us should always exercise our skills and any power we may possess in a just way, pro bono goes further than that. It is an active process; it invites lawyers to take their skills and apply them to people who are particularly deserving of justice, or who might otherwise be denied it because they cannot afford to pay for a lawyer.

That is why I am so pleased to address you as part of this celebration of the pro bono work of UK law firms. The ethical argument, if I may call it that, in favour of pro bono work is captured in the exhortation given by Thomas Jefferson. Alternatively, we can apply a numerical argument, and calculate the financial value of the pro bono work that is being provided. This is already being carried out; for example, in the Law Society Firms Omnibus survey completed towards the end of 2009, the Law Society asked private firms of solicitors a number of questions about pro bono work to get an understanding of the extent of that work. These questions measured the number and value of chargeable hours solicitors acted pro bono. The estimated value for 2009 was £399 million, a significant increase of 17.9% on the figure in 2007 (£338 million).

Firstly, it is helpful in ensuring that both the fact and amount of pro bono work is better understood beyond the confines of the legal profession, otherwise it tends to be seen as rather a nebulous concept. Secondly, it helps us establish a marker, so that we can track changes in the levels of legal advice and assistance being given pro bono. Finally, it helps law firms themselves understand the levels and importance of the work being carried out without charge.

It is heartening to see how law firms have grasped the importance of pro bono work and that it should be assessed and valued as part of the services being provided overall by solicitors. For example, a number of firms now count pro bono hours towards the firm's overall target hours, or towards individual targets for solicitors within a firm, thus guaranteeing there is no down side to the work being done. This is a welcome change for lawyers who historically had to fit and shape their pro bono assistance around and outside their chargeable hours. It also confirms that law firms view pro bono work as an intrinsic part of their business, and that there is some equivalency between pro bono hours and chargeable hours. Another example of this is the move by law firms to appoint pro bono partners. I look forward to hearing shortly from Kathryn Ludlow, the first Global Pro Bono partner appointed at Linklaters, who uses, in that role, the skills she provides to the firm separately as a Litigation Partner.

A numerical calculation shouldn't be misunderstood. Offering £399 million of free legal advice and assistance in one year is a significant achievement. In a context where law firms are criticised routinely for making significant profits from litigation, it is clearly something worth celebrating. I would also like to emphasise at this point that the true figure of the free legal advice we provide is likely to be well above the figure of £399 million, the true costs never being fully recognised.

The Law Society did not collect information on the value of pro bono work undertaken by in-house solicitors, legal executives or barristers, so the total value of pro bono assistance given by lawyers in 2009 would have been even higher. We know that there are so many lawyers who do so much more, more that flies just under the radar and is never factored in. Many of the firms that were included in the Law Society's survey offer pro bono work as part of a wider corporate social responsibility programme. This increases both the reach and the depth of the assistance being provided, including, for example Public Legal Education and other work to connect law firms with their local communities.

Pro Bono clients themselves place a value on the assistance they receive. It is a different value, of course, but equally important. For the client, it is the distinction between being represented in court or having to represent oneself and navigate the uncertain waters of litigation, whilst ratcheting up ever spiralling costs. It avoids a person feeling unable to fight a decision that seems thoroughly unjust and unfair simply because they do not know how to fight it effectively. It might even make matters easier for a charity that could, in theory, afford legal advice and representation but in so doing would have to use precious funds that could otherwise be spent undertaking the charitable work it was registered to carry out.

Looking more widely, we can look at the pro bono work law firms carry out abroad, and what benefit they offer to the recipient or "pro bono client". To take but one example, the World Bank has, over the last seven or eight years, operated a project called "Doing Business". The aim of this project is to provide an objective basis for understanding and improving the regulatory environment for business. This involves looking at small and medium-sized companies and measuring the regulations applying to them throughout their life cycle. A fundamental premise for the Doing Business project is that economic activity requires good rules. These include rules that establish and clarify rights, reducing the costs of resolving disputes and providing greater economic certainty for those who wish to set up businesses as well as offering protection when they do. All of this helps support the development of the Rule of Law. One hopes that the businesses being regulated will, in turn, develop ethically and responsibly; providing minimum wages, proper working conditions and hours are just brief examples of how they might do so.

The Doing Business project benefited from pro bono assistance by number of different organisations, some of which are represented here . There are many parallels between what Doing Business is achieving and the aims of the APRCRG in developing a wider understanding of, and promoting, corporate responsibility.

The Law Society encouraged its members to contribute to the Doing Business project, recognising that pro bono lawyers themselves benefit from pro bono work. Solicitors involved have had the opportunity to participate in a high profile, high value pro bono project, which spans a variety of international countries. These skills can then be used and transferred to other work carried out by these lawyers at home. Not only this, but being involved in the project offers a way to make a very visible difference to countries where a lawyer might never practice, or even visit. It represents adopting collective responsibility for supporting the Rule of Law.

The Doing Business project has also benefited from assistance by non-lawyers. Equally, pro bono work in this country often benefits by a collaborative approach between lawyers and other professionals, who bring their own particular skills, pro bono, to a project or enterprise. In celebrating the impact of pro bono, we should not overlook the work, for example, of ProHelp, which operates a network of over 600 professional firms, providing free advice and professional support to clients in need.

So, drawing my remarks to a close, we know that the value of pro bono assistance being offered by law firms is increasing. It is clear that increasing numbers of lawyers are acting pro bono. We know that more and more lawyers first start their pro bono work whilst students, and continue their pro bono commitment long into their careers. Speak to a pro bono lawyer and one understands that pro bono brings with it not only a sense of social responsibility, but also a tremendous sense of achievement and attainment which makes it all worthwhile. It reconnects lawyers with their desire to see justice done, without making justice hang, precariously, on the cost of so doing.

So, I end as I began, by returning to Thomas Jefferson, who wrote to John Adams in 1816, and said: "I believe….that every human mind feels pleasure in doing good to another." But there is something more to this. Baroness Scotland and I are both members at Middle Temple, where after dinner grace reflects the true meaning of pro bono for lawyers. The part that particularly sticks out in mind is as follows: "… replenish our hearts with joy and gladness that we having sufficient may be rich and plentiful in all good works."

Do justice in asking for justice, and take pleasure from doing good to others. It seems a fitting way to reflect on the work of the UK law firms that we are celebrating today. I commend to you the pro bono work that is being undertaken already. As Attorney General, I will lend my support in encouraging the legal profession to continue its excellent record of pro bono work, and maintain the good work of my predecessor, Baroness Scotland. I hope you will lend me your support in this encouragement as well.

Thank you.