Private Lawyers and the Public Interest: The Evolving Role of Pro Bono in the Legal Profession explores timely questions about the role of pro bono in the legal profession, the relationship between pro bono ideals and pro bono in practice, and the opportunities and limitations of pro bono in expanding access to justice. The contributing writers explore theoretical, empirical, and practical questions regarding the role of pro bono and public service in the legal profession and in law schools. The research presented not only highlights the increase in pro bono efforts across the legal profession but critically examines the limitations of pro bono work, as well as the potential problems such work may pose to the ideal of achieving greater access to justice.

Robert Granfield is Professor and Chair in the Department of Sociology at the University of Buffalo, State University of New York.

Lynn Mather is Profoessor of Law and Political Science at the University at Buffalo, State University of New York.

• Introduction


• Robert Granfield and Lynn Mather


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• Part I - Professional Socialization Through the Bar and Legal Education


• Shaped by Educational, Professional and Social Crises: The History of Law Student Pro Bono Service by Cynthia Adcock


• Good Lawyering and Lawyering for the Good: Lawyers' Reflections on Mandatory Pro Bono in Law School. By Robert Granfield and Philip Veliz


• Priming for Pro Bono: The Impact of Law School on Pro Bono Participation in Practice by Deborah A. Schmedemann


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• Part II - Economic Perspectives on Pro Bono in Legal Practice


• Lawyers' Pro Bono Service and Market-Reliant Legal Aid by Rebecca Sandefur


• Pro Bono as an Elite Strategy in Early Lawyer Careers by Ronit Dinovitzer and Bryant G. Garth


• The Institutionalization of Pro Bono in Large Law Firms: Trends and Variation Across the AmLaw 200 by Steven A. Boutcher


• Pro Bono and Low Bono in the Solo and Small Law Firm Context by Leslie C. Levin


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• Part III - Pro Bono in the Interest of Public Service


• Between Profit and Principle: The Private Public Interest Firm by Scott L. Cummings and Ann Southworth


• Issues Entrepreneurs: Charisma, Charisma-Producing Events, and the Shaping of Pro Bono Practice in Large Law Firms by Cynthia Fuchs Epstein


• The Role of Volunteer Lawyers in Challenging the Conditions of a Local Housing Crisis in Buffalo, NY by James Clarke Gocker


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• Part IV -The Future of Pro Bono


• Rethinking the Public in Lawyers' Public Service: Philanthropy and the Bottom Line by Deborah L. Rhode


• Bar Politics and Pro Bono Definitions: The New York Experience by Cynthia Feathers


• Conflating the Good with the Public Good, An Essay by John Henry Schlegel


• State, Market, Philanthropy and Self-Help as Legal Service Delivery Mechanisms by Richard L. Abel