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Pro bono laggards will rue the day they chose to neglect their corporate responsibilities
Corporate responsibility is inextricably linked to business development and financial performance, writes Jacqueline (Jaci) Burns.
Jacqueline (Jaci) Burns
In recent years, each time a government has put its legal services out to tender, the corporate responsibility-related questions, expectations, and deliverables have increased.
Later that same year, the Queensland government mandated that its panel law firms meet the pro bono aspirational target, or risk suspension or termination from its panel.
In 2020, the NSW government RFT mandated that firms with 11-plus partners meet the aspirational target.
Laggards or chronic underperformers?
Despite the clear business case for corporate citizenship, many of Australia’s law firms are failing to meet the mark.
The Australian Pro Bono Centre's (APBC) 2020 report indicated more than half (55.7 per cent) of Australia’s law firms are still not achieving the pro bono aspirational target.
As reported by Nine Publishing in late 2020, some of these firms are “chronic under performers” and pressure is mounting for clients to hold these firms accountable.
Other law firms display admirable corporate citizenship, but their priorities are all wrong. Volunteering and fundraising, corporate donations and a carbon footprint reduction… All these things are important, but they are not the most important.
At least, not right now.
Right now, what government clients expect their Australian law firms to prioritise is pro bono work.
Though APBC masks the data submitted annually by the law firms, the Commonwealth Attorney-General’s Department typically does not. Except for in the 2018-19 financial year, Australia’s law firms have been obligated to provide pro bono data to the Attorney-General and that data has been reported in its annual Legal Services Expenditure Report.
Most importantly, although for whatever reason pro bono data was not collected in 2018-19, the Attorney-General’s website states that future Legal Services Expenditure Reports will include pro bono data.
Our commercial law firms will have nowhere to hide.
Nor will government clients – procedural fairness make it difficult for government entities to not suspend or terminate panel firms that neglect their corporate responsibilities.
It is not easy to establish and manage a pro bono program. And it is not lost on me that in most law firms, the person who is responsible for pro bono is bearing that responsibility in addition to their day job.
Still, there are no excuses. For a law firm, the cost of doing business includes the cost of doing pro bono.
It might be time for struggling firms to ask for help.
Jacqueline (Jaci) Burns is the chief marketing officer at Market Expertise.
