Many of us who do pro bono work or are involved with pro bono work want to think about impact more broadly, more creatively and more effectively. This topic has been percolating around the pro bono community and the communities and jurisdictions in which our pro bono clients live and operate.

The initial objective of this project was for the IBA Pro Bono Committee to create resources relating to the measurement of the impact of pro bono work, with the further goal of generating a wider conversation about what measurement methodologies are effective, in what circumstances.

From this project, we hope that pro bono clients, those providing pro bono advice and the organisations and people who consider how, when, where and why pro bono work matters – who map their pro bono work against what the clients consider to be important impact – will take a broader view of how the effect of pro bono work can be measured in a meaningful way for each of these populations. In fact, as we have moved along with this project, many more discussions have occurred, and both of the authors of this study have participated in panels and group conversations including at the 2024 IBA Annual Conference in Mexico City and the 2023 PILnet Global Forum, multiple sessions at the Pro Bono Institute conferences and a set of virtual roundtables organised by Trustlaw, as well as many ad hoc conversations across the pro bono world.

We interviewed people who have different roles in pro bono work, including individual clients, organisations, clearinghouses, law firm lawyers and lawyers who work in other settings. In each case, the person interviewed is only an example, and by no means a representative, of the others within that person’s category. We are very grateful for their willingness to share their views and their stories and for their patience as we pulled the strands of this project together.

We view the publication of these interview snapshots as only a part of a wider discussion on the impact of pro bono. We hope that this is valuable and welcome comments and further conversations on the subject.

NB: references to “pro bono” are to legal work done on a pro bono basis.