What are pro bono reporting requirements?
To encourage participation in pro bono programs, fourteen states have developed pro bono reporting systems. Reporting systems can increase pro bono participation as well as recognize the pro bono services of lawyers. A pro bono reporting system makes attorneys aware of and accountable for their professional responsibility to provide legal services and to make financial contributions to the poor. It focuses attention on Model Rule 6.1 of the ABA Rules of Professional Conduct and encourages compliance with that rule. A reporting system is also beneficial because the information collected records the number of attorneys performing pro bono service, the number of hours served, and details about financial contributions made to pro bono and legal services programs. The two types of reporting systems used are mandatory reporting and voluntary reporting. Until 2002, Florida was the only state that mandated pro bono reporting, and it did so by Rule 4-6.1 of the Rules of Professional Conduct. Th
