D.C. Lawyers Record One Million Hours of 公益性服务 Service
2021年10月25日
D.C. 酒吧公益中心 has released its new 公益行动报告 showing that 65 law firms across the District rose to the challenge of the COVID-19 pandemic, 投入破纪录的1,049,139 hours of pro bono work in 2020 to assist D.C. 需要法律帮助的居民.
Each year the 公益性服务 Center surveys participants of the 公益性服务 Initiative, where signatory firms pledge to meet minimum benchmarks for pro bono legal services. In 2020, 9,328 attorneys engaged in pro bono work, with each attorney contributing an average of 91 pro bono hours.
“D.C. lawyers have increased their commitment to their neighbors in need during the pandemic, which has hit communities of color particularly hard. The economic effects of COVID-19 only worsen existing inequalities,达里尔·麦克斯韦尔说, D .代理执行主任.C. 酒吧公益中心. 我们希望D.C. attorneys continue this trend of pro bono service, especially as the city and the courts prepare to confront the 即将到来的驱逐危机.”
根据报告, 39 firms engaged in innovative pro bono projects, including a racial justice task force, a legal clinic staffed by female attorneys as a safe space for women veterans, and unemployment benefits counseling for workers displaced during the pandemic.
Approximately 52 percent of all pro bono time recorded in 2020 under the initiative was devoted to assisting D.C. residents of limited means or the organizations that serve them.
“Given that the pandemic had significant economic ramifications for law firms across the country, the consistency of the signatory firms’ pro bono efforts this past year was not guaranteed. 虽然还需要更多, the signatory firms’ recognition that the pandemic demanded that their pro bono efforts continue unabated is to be commended,报告说.
