How To Make Time For Pro Bono Work
There are many benefits associated with carrying out pro bono work.
Firstly, it’s a great way to support people in need, who would otherwise be priced out of receiving legal support. Regardless of your specific niche, this can be incredibly rewarding. However, beyond this, it’s also a smart business decision.
After all, pro bono work is a net positive in terms of your firm’s reputation. This is because it shows that you have a genuine interest in supporting people through tough times, even when there’s no profit to be made. In the long run, it could help to improve your bottom line, as potential clients are more likely to choose firms that showcase this kind of morality.
In addition to this, it also provides you with ample opportunity to gain practical legal experience. As such, it’s a great course of action for ‘new’ law firms who are working to establish themselves within a particular field.
That being said, it can sometimes be difficult to make time in your schedule for pro bono work. After all, you’ve got bills and employees to pay, and you don’t want to risk burnout within your team, either. With that in mind, here are some practical steps that you can take to make time for pro bono work!
Decide to take on a specific number of pro bono cases each year. Deciding to take on a specific number of pro bono cases each year will make it much easier to integrate these projects into your workflow. This is because you can keep it in mind when organising employee schedules or delegating tasks. This way, those working on the pro bono case aren’t trying to find time they simply don’t have. It also means that you can manage expectations accordingly.
This also gives you the chance to decide when you take on this work, such as during what would usually be considered your downtime.
Utilize time-saving technology. Using technology in the day-to-day running of your firm can also help to free up time in your employees’ schedules. This is because tasks that could take hours will now take no longer than a few minutes. This, again, makes the process of taking on pro bono work a little more manageable.
In some cases, it can even help them to carry out the pro bono work itself. For example, when utilized correctly, AI tools can help with research or summarizing lengthy documents, making it easier for legal professionals to seek out important information.
Outsource accounting tasks. Outsourcing tasks, such as your accounting, can also prove useful when it comes to taking on pro bono work. Firstly, it gives you greater control over your budget and cash flow, meaning you can determine whether it’s feasible to take on this kind of work at this current time or whether you need to postpone it.
However, it also means that your team can focus solely on their legal cases and pro bono work, as opposed to trying to wrap their heads around budgeting and cash flow forecasts.
