Region Profile

Australia is generally recognised as one of the most sophisticated jurisdictions globally in terms of pro bono. Evidence of the value placed on pro bono can be seen from the fact that to qualify for the Australian Government Legal Services Multi-Use List, from which the Australian government selects the firms it works with, lawyers within a firm must subscribe to the Australian National Pro Bono Resource Centre’s Aspirational Target of 35 hours of pro bono per lawyer per year. Australia also boasts a strong and cohesive network of firms that come together to discuss issues and trends around pro bono, as well as providing a safe space to share challenges and limitations. These types of groups and events, both formal and informal, that bring the community together, go a long way to helping drive the country’s reputation as a leader in this space. Four firms with offices in Australia provided data relating to their pro bono practices to the Index. A further three firms provided information on the structure of their practice. Respondent firms reported an average of 44.7 hrs of pro bono per fee earner, with 45.0% doing ten or more hours of pro bono. 63.2% of partners at Australian firms worked on pro bono matters over the last 12 months, which was the highest percentage of any received for the index. Partners in Australia also averaged 18.4 hours of pro bono each. Every respondent with offices in Australia has a designated pro bono co-ordinator, and over 70% of respondent firms factor pro bono into compensation for lawyers in their firm. That both of these statistics is so high is another indication of how important and integrated pro bono is for Australian firms. Though only a small sample of firms responded to the request for data on their practices, the average number of hours of pro bono and the average percentage of lawyers in the firm that have done 10 or more hours of pro bono are both amongst the highest of any country or region. Only one of the respondent firms has a requirement for lawyers within the firm to do pro bono – given the high levels of engagement in spite of this, it is clear that in Australia, such a requirement is not a pre-requisite for engagement.