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PRO BONOWEEK 2016–
CARING, ONE PERSON AT A TIME
34
OCTOBER 2016
By Margaret C. Benson
Caring, One
Relationship
at a Time
Pro Bono: One Motivator at a Time
P
ro bono is pitched to attorneys from
the moment they enter law school.
Once they graduate, the volume
turns up higher as law grads are repeatedly
urged to help bridge the access to justice
gap. Many recent graduates also recognize
a significant incentive pro bono offers—it
lets them practice law with real clients
who have real problems. And, quality pro
bono programs provide themwith practical
training for areas of law.
Incentives, such as experience and train-
ing, encourage people to spend precious
free time to help strangers. The problem is,
once an attorney gets into the middle years
of practice, the practical but less altruistic
benefits of pro bono wane.
Or, do they?
Veteran attorneys should consider some
of the less obvious benefits that a steady pro
bono practice can offer.
Alleviate the Monotony of Daily Work
Whether you litigate, create and review
transactional documents or counsel cor-
porations for a living, at some point, your
everyday work becomes, well, everyday.
Not so tedious that you don’t like your
job, but enough that, once in a while, you
dream of doing something different. Con-
sider different as in…pro bono.