Law for The Poor

MANAGING PRO BONO:
DOING WELL BY DOING BETTER
Scott L. Cummings*
Deborah L. Rhode**
TABLE OF CONTENTS
IN TRO DU CTION ........................................................................................ 2359
I. R ESEARCH D ESIGN .............................................................................. 2361
II. THE INSTITUTIONALIZATION OF PRO BONO PROGRAMS: CAUSES
AND CONSEQUENCES .................................................................... 2364
A . C auses ....................................................
2365
1. Transforming Private Legal Practice: The Growth of
L arge Finns ..................................................................... 2365
2. Decentering the State: The Inadequacy of Government-
Supported Legal A id ....................................................... 2367
3. Professional Incentives: Carrots Without Sticks ............. 2368
4. The Market for Talent: The Role of Rankings and
R eputation ....................................................................... 2370
B . C onsequences ................................................
2372
1. Institutional: The Rise of Organized Pro Bono
Program s ......................................................................... 2372
2. Systemic: The Social and Professional Impact of Pro
B ono Practice .................................................................. 2375
a. Economic Forces and Bar Responses ........................ 2375
b. The Trajectory of Large-Firm Pro Bono Programs
and the Significance of Pro Bono Counsel ............... 2376
3. Q uality? ..........................................
..................................
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* Professor of Law, UCLA School of Law.
** Ernest W. McFarland Professor of Law, Director, Center on the Legal Profession,
Stanford Law School. We are indebted to Joe Doherty, Director of UCLA's Empirical
Research Group, and Steven Boutcher, Research Fellow at Georgetown's Center for the
Study of the Legal Profession, for their assistance with our research design and data analysis.
We are also grateful to Amanda Packel, Executive Director of Stanford's Center on the
Legal Profession, for her assistance in the research design and approval by our universities'
institutional review boards. We also benefitted greatly from the thoughtful comments of
Rick Abel, Joanne Martin, Lynn Mather, and Rebecca Sandefur. Finally, our deepest
appreciation goes to Amanda Smith of Morgan, Lewis & Bockius and the Leadership
Committee of the Association of Pro Bono Counsel for their helpful facilitation of our
project.
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