WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Corporate Pro Bono (CPBO) project of the Pro Bono Institute (PBI) has released its 2024 Corporate Pro Bono Challenge® Report: In-House Pro Bono on the Rise, which benchmarks pro bono performance in 2023.
The Corporate Pro Bono Challenge initiative is a voluntary commitment by legal department leaders to encourage and promote pro bono service, setting an aspirational goal that 50 percent of legal department employees, including attorneys and legal staff, will participate in pro bono annually. There are more than 190 Corporate Pro Bono Challenge signatories.
This year, the data from CPBO Challenge® signatories shows that pro bono participation by in-house legal departments is on the rise.
On average, the pro bono participation rate for 2023 for all survey respondents was 53 percent for U.S. lawyers, 41 percent for U.S. legal staff, and 35 percent for lawyers outside of the U.S. These percentages are all at the highest levels since the pandemic.
For companies that responded to our survey in consecutive years, the average U.S. lawyer participation rate in the U.S. was 52 percent in 2023 compared to 50 percent in 2022. The percentage of signatories who responded in both 2022 and 2023 that met or exceeded the goal of 50 percent participation in pro bono by U.S. attorneys remained consistent at 48 percent.
“We are certainly encouraged that in-house pro bono is on the rise,” said Eve Runyon, PBI President and CEO. “In-house legal departments play a very important role in bridging the access-to-justice gap for the underserved. This upward trajectory signals an optimistic path forward following a dip that occurred during the pandemic.” Runyon noted that “we saw a similar increase among law firms that are signatories to PBI’s Law Firm Pro Bono Challenge® initiative. While some pro bono metrics have not returned to pre-pandemic levels, the growth in pro bono is promising.”
Alyssa Saunders, Director of CPBO said, “We are pleased to see that in-house pro bono participation by lawyers and staff is growing. The Corporate Pro Bono Challenge initiative serves as an important benchmark for corporate legal departments by measuring and reporting on pro bono participation. The data not only highlights the capacity of in-house counsel to assist in the delivery of pro bono legal services, but also can inspire companies of all sizes and across all industries to participate. Thank you to the Chief Legal Officers and General Counsel who encourage and support efforts by their departments to increase access to justice through pro bono.”
An Overview of Corporate Pro Bono in 2023
- Fifty-three percent of U.S. lawyers at responding departments participated in pro bono in 2023 (compared to 49 percent in 2022).
- The average pro bono participation rate for U.S. legal staff increased significantly: 41 percent of U.S. legal staff participated in pro bono in 2023 (compared to 33 percent of U.S. legal staff in 2022).
- Fifty-one percent of responding departments met the goal of at least 50 percent pro bono participation by U.S. lawyers in 2023 (compared to 49 percent in 2022).
- The percentage of responding departments that met the goal of at least
- 50 percent participation by U.S. staff increased to 35 percent in 2023 (compared to 32 percent in 2022).
###
About Pro Bono Institute
Founded in 1996, Pro Bono Institute (PBI) is a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit organization. With an unparalleled depth of knowledge, resources and expertise, PBI is the respected resource for all things pro bono. Through our work with law firms, in-house corporate legal departments, and public interest organizations, PBI is the global thought leader in exploring, identifying, evaluating, catalyzing, and taking to scale new approaches to and resources for the provision of legal services to the poor, disadvantaged, and other individuals or groups unable to secure legal assistance to address critical problems.
About the Corporate Pro Bono project
The Corporate Pro Bono (CPBO) project, launched in 2000, is the initiative of PBI that supports, enhances, and transforms the pro bono efforts of in-house corporate legal departments. Since its inception, the CPBO project has worked with hundreds of legal departments around the globe to strengthen in-house pro bono.