A pro bono lawyer is a legal professional who is giving his or her services on a case for free with no charge to the client. The term pro bono is derived from ‘pro bono publico’ which basically means ‘for the public good’.
In the USA many national and regional legal associations will recommend that their members take on a specific number of pro bono hours each year. And, some law firms will also require that their lawyers take on a certain amount of work of this kind themselves and will encourage them to do so.
So, most lawyers will take on pro bono work for the public good. This is also a good way for them to gain experience in different cases. Many lawyers will also take on cases that are of specific interest to them (or that would useful to their skills base) on a pro bono basis.
In certain cases a lawyer can take on a case pro bono but may well find that they do receive some payment for their work later on down the line. Say, for example, a lawyer works for free on a case that results in a significant cash settlement for his/her client. In this kind of case a judge may well make a recommendation to the client that they use some of their cash settlement to pay their lawyer for their services.
Many countries also use a legal aid/help system to provide pro bono services to people in need of legal help. In most cases the help that you are given at no cost here will depend on your financial circumstances and these kinds of aid programs tend to be reserved for individuals with a particularly low income.
So, for example, if you are arrested and charged with a criminal offence but cannot afford to retain a lawyer then you may well be given a court appointed representative or a lawyer from a private firm who is retained by the state on your behalf. Or, in a civil case if you are being taken to court by your landlord and cannot afford a lawyer to represent you then you may qualify for free help if you are on a suitably low income.
Also, some areas may offer free legal help to members of the community who do not qualify on an income level but who are helped as a matter of course based on some other issue. This can (according to the area in which you live) apply to you if you are disabled, in the military or are elderly, for example.
If you need legal help but don’t think that you can afford to pay for it yourself then you may want to check out whether a pro bono lawyer can help you out. Bear in mind that you may also qualify for free legal advice on general issues from consumer groups and legal aid offices and, in some regions, local lawyers will do pro bono work on legal hotlines that you can call for free advice. These hotlines may also be able to hook you up to pro bono programs if necessary at a later stage.
