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How pro bono work has evolved
Pro bono work has long been a fundamental aspect of the legal profession; however, a special counsel from a national law firm explains that its role and perception have undergone significant evolution in recent years.
Grace Robbie
Speaking on a recent episode of The Lawyers Weekly Show, Shabnum Cassim, special counsel in sustainability and social impact at Gadens, addressed the significant evolution of pro bono work within the legal profession and how large law firms are placing greater importance on this type of work than ever before.
Cassim, a first-generation Australian, shared how her aspiration to pursue a career as a social justice and human rights lawyer was initially met with scepticism, including dismissive remarks regarding pro bono work, with some questioning its validity as a legitimate career path.
“I’m a first-generation Australian, and the first in my family to go to university … so the direction of my career has been profoundly shaped by my experiences growing up as a migrant woman and a woman of colour.
“I wanted to be a social justice and human rights lawyer. But at the time when I would tell people about it, the response was nobody’s going to pay you to work for people that can’t afford a lawyer and being a pro bono lawyer isn’t a real job,” she said.
Cassim noted that while pro bono work has consistently been an integral component of the legal profession, its reach has historically been limited by constrained resources and a lack of awareness of available opportunities.
“But the reality is that pro bono work has always been part of the legal profession. But it’s limited resources and the lack of awareness opportunities that historically made it more challenging to identify and access these roles,” she said.
However, Cassim acknowledged a positive shift, stating: “The role of pro bono in Australia has come a really long way, and there are more conversations on the importance of pro bono in the legal space.”
This evolution, as explained by Cassim, has been bolstered by the increased support for community legal centres and the growing recognition of their essential role in assisting vulnerable individuals.
“For example, community legal centres have more access to funding than before. I’ll preface this by saying that community legal centres always need more funding.
“But there is a recognition of the importance that community legal centres play in our community, not just to ensure that vulnerable people have access to justice and access to a good lawyer or legal representation but also that community legal centres tie a community together, and it ensures that people are safer and feeling more inclusive and protected in that community,” she said.
In the corporate sector, Cassim emphasised that pro bono work is no longer perceived merely as a discretionary “feel-good” activity; instead, it has evolved into a vital component of law firm operations, influenced by clients’ and government entities’ expectations.
“For the corporate firms and how it translates, there is that pro bono is no longer just a tick box or a feel-good story. Clients and the government are actively looking at ways in which corporate law firms engage with pro bono, the types of work they do and the hours that they do,” she said.
One of the most notable changes observed in recent years, as disclosed by Cassim, is the heightened interest in pro bono work among young lawyers and law students, which indicates an ongoing and advancing recognition of the value of pro bono contributions within the legal profession.
“There’s certainly a big shift today than there was previously. And even for young lawyers, I find that there is a greater interest in the pro bono work that a firm does,” she said.
“Every year, I have more and more law students who are looking to get into grad roles or doing clerkships reach out to me and ask me what kind of work Gadens does.
“They aren’t interested in the big banners of who we help, but they’re interested in exactly what we do. And that’s certainly a shift that I can see from the past.”
