What is Pro Bono?
The term “pro bono” comes from the Latin pro bono publico, which means “for the public good.” The American Bar Association has described the parameters of pro bono for practicing lawyers in the Model Rules of Professional Conduct. Nearly every state has an ethical rule that calls upon lawyers to render pro bono services. For those states in which the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct have been adopted in whole or part, the pro bono responsibilitiy is usually defined in Rule 6.1. Model Rule 6.1 states that lawyers should aspire to render–without fee–at least 50 hours of pro bono publico legal services per year, with an emphasis that these services be provided to people of limited means or nonprofit organizations that serve the poor. The rule recognizes that only lawyers have the special skills and knowledge needed to secure access to justice for low-income people, whose enormous unmet legal needs are well documented. In the law school setting, pro bono generally refers to studen
