Devoting more of your law firm’s time to pro bono cases will have broad-reaching benefits for your firm and its attorneys. It will allow your employees to work in areas of law that are outside their normal routines, which will help them grow as professionals. That will also create opportunities for collaboration that will help your attorneys meet other lawyers in the community. Here are more reasons to increase pro bono opportunities in your firm.
Appeal to Top Talent
When you’re ready to hire new attorneys, you’ll have to have something to offer other than a competitive salary. Many younger professionals want to work for companies that show some measure of responsibility for the community. When you take on more pro bono cases, you can exhibit a sense of corporate responsibility that will appeal to the best candidates in the legal field.
Develop Attorney Skills
Offering pro bono cases to your younger attorneys will help you give them the experience they need to develop their negotiating, research, and litigating skills. This is especially true in smaller communities where the normal case load is smaller. Attorneys working pro bono cases may also have the opportunity to work in more diverse areas of law, which means they will develop additional expertise as well as sharpening their existing skills.
Increase Job Satisfaction
It’s easy for lawyers to lose sight of why they went to law school in the first place. However, when an attorney has the opportunity to provide a client with free legal services, the only reward they get is the satisfaction that comes with a job well done. In those situations, attorneys are reminded that their love of the law grew out of a desire to help others. They can take that greater sense of fulfillment with them as they serve other clients with more passion and joy for their work.
Spending more time on pro bono cases will also benefit your firm as a whole, helping your firm to earn a more positive reputation in your community. As word spreads about your firm’s willingness to take on pro bono cases, people will believe that your firm genuinely cares about the community. That perceived empathy will help your firm grow a more positive brand image, and that will drive more people to you when they need legal services.