Two-thirds of lawyers in the US do significant amounts of pro bono work, giving on average 77 hours each year, according to research by the American Bar Association (ABA).

The ABA's first national survey of pro bono activity showed attorneys gave on average 39 hours of free service to individuals of limited means or organisations serving the poor. In addition, they gave 38 hours to help individuals or groups seeking to secure or protect civil rights, to community organisations and other not-for-profit groups and towards efforts to improve the legal system.


A sense of professional duty and personal satisfaction were found to be the main factor motivating US lawyers to do pro bono work, with a recognition of the needs of the poor and responding to specific requests the second reason given.


Robert Gill, acting chief executive of the Solicitors Pro Bono Group (SPBG), said: 'We are aware that pro bono work is much more ingrained in US culture, but it is growing here. We don't have any statistics, but the large influx of US law firms in the UK has led to a boost in the amount being done here. The growth in our organisation and the advent of the Attorney-General's Pro Bono Group is testimony to the groundswell of more organised pro bono work.'


He added: 'Firms want to get a better handle on their pro bono activities as many of the corporate clients are big on corporate social responsibility and expect the firms they instruct to do the same.'


Mr Gill said: 'The fundamental difference between the UK and the US is that in the US there is no such thing as legal aid. For all its failings, we have one of the best legal aid provisions in the world and those with the least resources at least have that safety net.'