D.C. Lawyers Clock 1 Million Hours of Pro Bono Work
Washington D.C. is the legal hub of the United States and has the highest number of leading law firms than any other place in the country. What sets these law firms apart from the rest is their record-breaking number of hours spent engaging in legal pro bono work.
In the last year (2017), D.C. lawyers clocked over 1,000,000 hours in pro bono work! [1] This is the highest amount of time that was dedicated to pro bono work, and was mentioned in the D.C. Bar Pro Bono Center’s survey [2].
Started in 2001, the D.C. Bar Pro Bono Initiative was started with the sole goal to connect D.C. lawyers with pro bono legal services and give back to their community. The project sets goals for law firms to achieve about 60-100 pro bono hours annually.
Although the high number is a reason to smile, the Executive of the D.C. Bar Pro Bono Center’s Initiative says that there is still a long way to go. There are a lot more people out there in the D.C. area who are in need of legal aid, and with the Center’s help, will hopefully get the representation they need.
Links:
- https://wtop.com/business-finance/2018/09/dc-law-firms-put-in-almost-1-million-pro-bon-hours-in-2017/
- http://www.dcbar.org/pro-bono/resources-and-training/2017-DCBar-Pro-Bono-Initiative-Report.cfm
