What is pro bono: Meaning
Pro Bono (English: “for the public good”; usually shortened to pro bono)  
It’s a Latin phrase for professional work undertaken voluntarily and that too without payment. Unlike traditional volunteering, it uses the specific skills of professional to provide services to those who are unable to afford them.
It works without undertaking any charge and is especially a legal work for a client with low income.
It’s a community service in a way that only a lawyer and law students can provide by using their legal skills to help people with legal problems and helps them to get access to justice.

Why we need Pro bono?
A sufficient majority of our country may not live below the poverty line but still chronically poor and under severed, they do not have the access to their basic human rights, even they do not have the access to justice. In the everyday news, we read that, the country is facing lots of problems as;
Communalism, everyday violence, corruption, sexual harassment etc. There is a vast variety of problems which affects the most to poor and poverty line sections. They are not well educated and knowledgeable to face it properly and get rescue from these problems. Even our culture does not allow them to come out and express properly and even sometimes if they try to stand for their rights but because of a powerful person, their voice is buried.
As we know, lawyers are eye witness, usually silent witness of these crippling barriers or these unpleasant obstacles, they can only fight for them and can save them from all these things.

 The major reason why people can’t access justice
      A.    Illiteracy
      B.     Cultural barriers
      C.     Institutional reason
      D.    Lack of government concerns

Why lawyers need to work pro bono?
By pro bono, the poor can access benefits and justice without any burden of cost. Lawyers can give legal advice and also litigate the case. And also, lawyer enjoys it because they also feel happy to do these kinds of things for our country.
Usually, three factors which motivate lawyers to do Pro Bono: -

  1.    Empathy: the ability to perceive and respect there Clint situation and recognise the difficulties from which the person is going on.
  2.     By the help of pro bono lawyers also enhance their practices and also their interrelatedness increases
  3.     By pro bono activity lawyers also pursue happiness.
Lawyers awarded for their pro bono work
·  South Korean lawyers are required to do at least 30 hours of pro bono work per year, (the local bar associations can reduce the hours to 20). Those who have a good reason not to fulfil the requirement may pay ₩20,000–30,000 (US$17-26) per hour instead.
· Since 2003, many UK law firms and law schools have celebrated an annual Pro Bono Week, which encourages solicitors and barristers to offer pro bono services and increases general awareness of pro bono service.
· Lawyers in the United States are recommended under American Bar Association (ABA) ethical rules to contribute at least 50 hours of pro bono service per year.

Ranjeeta is a student of Maharishi Law School, Maharishi University of Information Technology, Noida and presently interns with MyLawman. She can be reached at ranjeeta27muit@gmail.com. alert-info