Last Updated on March 23, 2024 by Ranking
The analysis reveals the psychological characteristics, collective norms, exchange relationships and organizational dimensions that shape legal volunteering. A cultural norm supporting volunteer efforts is a powerful driving force for voluntary legal services.
Volunteering can be formal or informal. Formal volunteering usually aims to contribute to the creation of common goods that benefit others. Informal volunteering usually involves helping friends and neighbors. Is pro bono assistance provided voluntarily, or is it an “at-will” arrangement in which lawyers are required to volunteer their time as a condition of employment? Do the benefits of probono undermine the altruistic basis of action?
Theoretical explanations of altruism remain fragmented across disciplines. Psychologists test whether people volunteer based on their personality and values. Sociologists assess the role of normative expectations of others and social resources in promoting volunteering. Economists assume that volunteering is based on rational behavior that encourages exchange and career building.
This article attempts to fill these various gaps in altruism research through three strategies. First, we draw from the literature on altruism in psychology, sociology and economics. Second, we compile research. altruism on the one hand, and research on the pro bono work of lawyers on the other. Third, we leverage new insights from a mixed methods approach.
Psychological research on altruism focuses on personality traits. These personality traits are stable dispositions to act in a specific way, regardless of the situation. Research consistently shows that self-reported prosocial motivation is strongly associated with volunteering. Additionally, psychologists note that some people have a strong need for meaningful work. The sense of meaning that comes from volunteering is an internal motivation that guides subsequent behavior.
It is important to note that psychologists who study altruism consider factors beyond personality traits and tendencies. A strengthened sense of community increases trust and generates a sense of belonging among community members. Sociologists study altruism by emphasizing one of two perspectives: culture and social norms versus structural and network dynamics.
People with higher education have a greater sense of civic responsibility. Married people are more willing to engage in volunteering than single people. Having children encourages volunteering to help community-oriented groups and with children’s sports and activities. White people volunteer more than African Americans. We explore the economic prospects of altruism and volunteering.
Volunteers also receive personal benefits (Snyder and Omoto 2008; Hustinx, Cnaan, and Handy 2010). Thus, although the economic approach emphasizes exchange, economists acknowledge that reciprocity is not necessary. Then we will deal with volunteering (e.g. in public service), which takes place during professional work.
Research on volunteering typically highlights the organizational efforts of charities and community organizations. Organizations play a different role in providing professional services. The organizational contexts in which lawyers work are key factors shaping the importance and effectiveness of pro bono behavior. For lawyers working in small firms and sole proprietorships, pro bono work is both a routine and a strategy in acquiring clients.
Our study takes place in the province of Ontario, Canada. Like the United States, Canada struggles with an access to justice gap. To address unmet legal needs, Canada operates Legal Aid, a government program that helps low-income people obtain legal representation and advice.
The market for pro bono services is much larger in the United States (with a population 8.8 times that of Canada). The two countries may also have cultural differences when it comes to volunteering. In 2018, 41% of Canadian adults volunteered for charitable, non-profit and community organizations compared to 30% of American adults.
Lawyer: “It’s not just because pro bono is the right thing to do. Marketing benefits of no advertising for paying customers and joining their community to recruit customers. Another attorney at a large Toronto law firm was particularly highlighted in his description of financial and client development goals rooted in pro Bono.
We conducted our study in September 2009. We sent the surveys directly to the respondents’ workplaces. In the two-reminder survey, the response rate was 47% (N = 1,270). In our sample, 61% of lawyers practice law in the field of private law. Private lawyers are more likely to perform pro bono work (63%) than lawyers not in private practice (24%).
Meaningful work consists of a 2-point scale. Respondents were asked to circle the number on each scale that best described their political beliefs. Likert-style response categories ranged from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree) (alpha reliability = .869; standardized item used in regression). Pro bono is the minimum number of pro bono hours you are willing to commit.
We used two indicators to assess personality and search for meaning: empathy and meaningful work. We used psychological measures of empathy and kindness to develop a measure of lawyers’ empathy for clients. Because attorneys feel a strong connection, appreciation, and inspiration from their clients, they are more likely to be motivated to provide pro bono time.
Elite education is coded as a dummy variable based on Maclean’s (2013) law school rankings (see also Dinovitzer and Garth 2009). This ranking identifies the University of Toronto as elite and provides a rating of all common law schools in Ontario. Lawyers specializing in business law are 33% less likely to perform pro bono work than lawyers specializing in other areas of law.
Lawyers working in the area of labor law (i.e. family law and divorce, employment and labor relations) are 39 percent more willing to undertake pro bono work than lawyers working in other areas. Lawyers working in large firms (seventy-five or more lawyers) are 43 percent less likely to participate in a lawsuit advocating for non-application of the law than lawyers in smaller and medium-sized firms. Lawyers in the highest salary quartile are 50 percent more likely to be accepted. for pro bono activity (odds ratio = 1.500; p < 0.05). Lawyers who report time constraints limiting their ability to perform pro bono work are 28 percent more likely to do so.
A strong pro bono cultural norm encourages lawyers to provide pro bono services. Lawyers who adhere to this cultural norm are 264 percent more likely to perform pro bono work than lawyers without this commitment. Lawyers who are strongly involved in social activities are also more willing to provide pro bona services.
Cultural norms favoring pro bono may be praised for their voracity, but their impact is significantly weakened when lawyers struggle with pressing time constraints in the workplace. A strong commitment to pro bono cultural norms combined with success in attracting new clients can encourage lawyers to take risks and expand pro bono services. Psychological factors play an important role in generating interest in pro bono services, although not in the way you might expect.
The triad of collective norms – the cultural norm of pro bono, civic engagement in the community, and political-legal activity – influences the activities of pro bono lawyers. However, elite legal education fails as a tool to instill collective norms regarding pro bona service and does not anticipate the occurrence of pro bono work. Organizational aspects shape lawyers’ pro boni behavior in several ways. Lawyers who are successful in attracting clients are more likely to work pro bonos.
Pro bono managers were most common in large firms employing more than seventy-five lawyers. A significant portion of these large law firms – 27 percent. – employed a pro bono manager. Generally speaking, law firm policies specifying a minimum or maximum number of trial hours were rare.
In the Canadian system, non-governmental organizations play a key role in connecting lawyers with pro bono projects. Like law firms in the U.S., Canadian firms have policies that allow pro bono work. The pro bono culture in many Canadian provinces is based on separate, local non-governmental organizations. The failure of the legal aid program to meet growing demand has been a catalyst for the growth of pro bono programs.
Based on data provided by the American Bar Association’s (ABA) Pro Bono Center, Rebecca Sandefur (2007) reports the total number of attorneys in each state working in organized pro bono programs. Our larger data set shows that even among non-private lawyers, the percentage supporting a participation ban is higher (24% vs. 21%) in Ontario, Canada.
They called on researchers to examine personal values, culture, and philanthropic dispositions in inducing altruism among professionals working in various organizational settings. Our integrated altruism framework for pro bono work among lawyers takes up this call. This nuanced, multidimensional approach to altruistic behavior highlights how lawyers’ individual actions are stimulated and guided by normative expectations and emergent organizational arrangements.
Dalton, James G. and Monica Digman. 2007. The decision to join: How individuals determine value and why they choose to belong. Friday, Jaclyn. 2016. “Time is on My Side: A Framework for Studying Unemployed People as Volunteers” Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly 45, no. 6: 1169–90.
