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Doing Pro Bono Work As A New Attorney

02 August
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Doing Pro Bono Work As A New Attorney

Posted by cdtalaw
in CDTA, Law Practice, Pro Bono Work, Training, Trial Advocacy

As an attorney, doing pro bono work may be exceedingly rewarding. Helping those in dire need of legal services who otherwise might not have solved their problems or reversed their misfortunes without your assistance, may provide you with the most precious memories of your legal practice many years from now.

In addition to helping those who are less fortunate, pro bono work allows attorneys, especially younger attorneys, an excellent opportunity to develop new skills. These skills include the hard skills – learning the substantive law – and the soft skills, those interpersonal skills that allow you to work effectively within the social framework of your job.

Pro bono work provides young attorneys with practical knowledge they would otherwise have to wait several years to experience. Working with new clients and new attorneys helps young lawyers gain the experience to develop their law practices more quickly.

ABA Model Rule 6.1 states that “[e]very lawyer has a professional responsibility to provide legal services to those unable to pay. A lawyer should aspire to render at least (50) hours of pro bono public legal services per year…” Not all firms encourage their attorneys to perform pro bono work equally. Some allow associates to use hours to fulfill yearly billable hour goals and expectations. Others expect you to complete 50 hours on your own time.

Spend a reasonable amount of time considering a cause, organization, or even an area of law with which you have an affinity. What is it that brings out the passion within you? What do you fervently care about? The extent of your fervor will serve you well on those nights that you work late to meet your responsibilities to your firm and your pro bono work.

Do not be reluctant to do work that is different from your practice. Most lawyers fail to do this but doing pro bono work may allow you to branch out and evolve as a general practitioner or find your way as a specialist in another legal area. Do not be afraid to ask colleagues for assistance with your pro bono matter. Fellow attorneys with experience in the same area of law as your pro bono matter can make your life easier.

There are many resources available to help young lawyers. You must have the appropriate time and resources available to provide competent representation in your pro bono matter. You owe pro bono clients the same ethical obligations that you owe professional clients. If you have some upcoming gaps in your hours working for the firm, it might be a good time to accept a new pro bono matter.

The California Desert Trial Academy utilizes an extensive distance learning platform for students studying online. The CDTA focuses on providing a cutting-edge academic experience that takes advantage of many effective, easy-to-use online tools. At CDTA, we train, educate, and develop students to be exceptional attorneys and trial advocates. Call us today at (760) 342-0900 or find out more online here.

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California Desert Trial Academy College of Law
45-290 Fargo Street
Indio, CA 92201
(760) 342-0900

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Consistent with sound educational policy, CDTA College of Law does not discriminate on the basis of sex, race, color, ancestry, religious creed, national origin, disability, medical condition, age, marital status, political affiliation, gender identity, sexual orientation, or veteran status.

California State Bar Standard and Required Disclosure

The method of instruction at this law school for the Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree program is principally in physical classroom facilities.

Students enrolled in the J.D. degree program at this law school who successfully complete the first year of law study must pass the First-Year Law Students Examination required by Business and Professions Code 6060(h) and Rule VIII of the Rules Regulating Admission to Practice Law in California as part of the requirements to qualify to take the California Bar Examination.

A student who passes the First-Year Law Students Examination within three (3) administrations of the examination after first becoming eligible to take it will receive credit for all legal studies completed to the time the examination is passed. A student who does not pass the examination within three (3) administrations of the examination after first becoming eligible to take it must be promptly disqualified from the law school’s J.D. degree program. If the dismissed student subsequently passes the examination, the student is eligible for re-enrollment in this law school’s J.D. degree program, but will receive credit for only one year of legal study.

Study at, or graduation from, this law school may not qualify a student to take the bar examination or to satisfy the requirements for admission to practice in jurisdictions other than California. A student intending to seek admission to practice law in a jurisdiction other than California should contact the admitting authority in that jurisdiction for information regarding the legal education requirements in that jurisdiction for admission to the practice of law.

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