What do you think when someone says "pro bono"? Do you jump to altruism—helping, yay!—or do you become anxious, thinking of presumably "lost" billable hours or personal time? Neither view is helpful, particularly for junior associates. The altruistic view may be insufficient motivation to do pro bono work, based on a 2018 study by the American Bar Association standing committee on pro bono and public service. While the study notes that the one of the top-three factors motivating attorneys to engage in pro bono work is a desire to help those in need, the published report showed that fewer than half of the 47,000 attorneys asked said they were "likely" or "very likely" to take on pro bono work. The top-three reasons why not? Lack of time, personal obligations, and lack of relevant experience in working with pro bono clients.

We need to bridge the gap between altruism and anxiety and view pro bono as a vehicle to invest in ourselves as legal practitioners, gaining valuable client-facing work and addressing real-life problems, in addition to helping others in the communities where we ply our trade. For junior lawyers in particular, pro bono work represents an opportunity to select our work and shepherd it from start to finish; from a practical sense, not engaging would be akin to leaving money on the table.