A Swansea law firm has given its staff two days of paid leave to allow them to participate in local volunteering schemes, it revealed this week – but the Solicitors Pro Bono Group has warned that the initiative may not be suitable for all firms.

Solicitors and other staff at JCP will take part in the Wales Cares programme, a project led by charity Business in the Community, which encourages firms to use their time, skills and resources to make a positive impact on the community.


JCP managing partner Paul Newman said: ‘We have given the extra holiday so that staff will not have to juggle work responsibilities at the same time as volunteer work. It will cost us as a business, with the loss of two days’ fee-earning, but it is worth it in order to make a contribution to the community.’


However, Robert Gill, acting chief executive of the Solicitors Pro Bono Group, said: ‘Giving staff set time off to do voluntary work is a welcome step – but I would not want firms to feel they were under pressure to do this, because it may not be the right thing for them.


‘It can lead to people feeling that once they have done their two days, that that is enough, or a firm feeling that they have now ticked the pro bono box. Many staff will already have caring responsibilities, and they already give an enormous amount. We should not rush to say all firms should be implementing this by next Monday.’


Magic circle firms Linklaters and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer operate similar schemes allowing solicitors to take time off for voluntary work. Linklaters pro bono officer Kate Varah said: ‘We ran a pilot in our London and Prague offices giving all staff one day off to do voluntary work last year, and 250 London staff took part. We rolled that out to the whole firm in May. It sends a message to staff that the firm and the senior management support a commitment to social responsibility.’


She added: ‘We do this in addition to our other projects. I do not think it leads to any pressure on staff to participate – as a pro bono officer, I wish it did.’


Felicity Kirk, an associate who manages pro bono matters at US firm White & Case, added: ‘While we do not give lawyers specific “days off” for pro bono projects, they do take time out of the office for community projects in schools and at Tower Hamlets.

‘But what we also do at White & Case is we record all time spent on pro bono work and give it the same status as billable hours when it comes to targets and appraisals. Some lawyers can spend hundreds of hours on pro bono work.’