Carolina Henriquez Schmitz

The launch of Thomson Reuters Foundations’ 2024 Index of Pro Bono this month marked the 10th anniversary of the survey.

Despite 10 years of broad progress on LGBTQ rights, sexual and gender minorities are increasingly under threat in many countries as authoritarian leaders, from Uganda to Poland, embrace overtly homophobic policies, the report finds. 

During this time, Thomson Reuters Foundation’s analysis also found that the percentage of law firms offering pro bono services in relation to LGBTQ+ rights matters has risen by 200 per cent.

This year’s Index compiled data received from 209 law firms in 123 jurisdictions representing nearly 100,000 lawyers.

The findings show that lawyers globally are dedicating an average of 35.6 hours per year to share their expertise with non-profits, social enterprises, small businesses, journalists and newsrooms tackling some of the greatest challenges of our time. This commitment is equivalent to a full working week.

In the context of 10 years of data collection, however, this figure appears to indicate lawyers’ commitment to pro bono may now be plateauing in much of the world. Having reached an apex during the onset of the pandemic (43.4 hours), lawyers’ average pro bono hours have not fully bounced back to pre-pandemic levels.

This finding likely reflects the increase in competition in the legal sector over recent years, as law firms find themselves up against new entrants and emerging technologies like Generative AI, forcing them to put more emphasis on billable hours.  

Despite this, the analysis shows a growing recognition amongst firms that pro bono is more than just altruism, it’s good for business. The percentage of firms that are utilising pro bono as a key tool for staff retention has risen by 104 per cent and those using it for training and skills development in their teams, by 62 per cent.

Firms that treated pro bono like a business function, investing in key infrastructure like dedicated pro bono employees, committees, or policies, on average performed 61 per cent more pro bono hours over the course of a year than those without.

Carolina Henriquez Schmitz, director of TrustLaw at the Thomson Reuters Foundation, said: “The foundation’s long track record of bench-marking pro bono excellence has uniquely positioned us to deliver a longitudinal analysis of this kind.

“Over the course of the decade, we can see incredible generosity from law firms in consistently shifting their priorities to meet the needs of the world’s most vulnerable communities, as well as the emergence of a compelling business case for pro bono work.”