The impact of pro bono: interview series
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.
Hunter Carter
‘Most importantly, the way that I measure pro bono impact is one client at a time. What happened with this client? Were we able to win some money for these children so that they could make a new life in the US away from the gang violence in Central America? Were we able to find a way to ensure the healthcare access for this individual and his spouse so that they can deal with a life-threatening disease? I look at the housing situation of an unhoused client: were we able to find them housing? I look at someone who’s stateless, who’s escaping a violent regime: is there asylum?’
Anis
‘[Pro Bono advice] made something that was otherwise impossible possible.’
Pro bono lawyers advised Anis and his family on his Afghan Special Immigration Visa, which allowed him to obtain permanent residence status in the US. Anis is now based in the US and works as a groundwater geologist for an international geoengineering firm. In this short interview for the IBA Pro Bono Committee, Anis discusses his experience receiving pro bono support.
Ignacio Obando
‘When we talk about empowering, promoting, strengthening pro bono work; I need to determine how I tell the person who volunteers to do pro bono work that the impact of their work is not just that five people benefitted, but that there was also a change in behaviour.’