Pro Bono Reporting for 2023 is now through the State Bar for Attorneys and directly to the Pro Bono Resource Center for NCCPs and other paralegals.

 

For NC Attorneys:

Beginning in 2023, the NC Pro Bono Resource Center is partnering with the North Carolina State Bar to implement a voluntary reporting category through the State Bar CLE annual reporting process, making it easier for lawyers to report their pro bono hours. You can review this video from the State Bar to learn more about this process. The deadline for attorneys to report through this process is Feburary 29, 2024.

 

For NC Paralegals:

All North Carolina paralegals, including NCCPs, can report their 2023 pro bono hours to the Pro Bono Resource Center directly through the Individual Paralegal Reporting Form. The deadline to report pro bono hours completed in 2023, is March 31, 2024.

 

More about pro bono reporting in North Carolina

North Carolina Rule of Professional Conduct 6.1 encourages North Carolina attorneys to engage in a variety of activities to increase access to justice:

– at least 50 hours each year of pro bono legal services to clients who are unable to pay, without fee or expectation of fee (this category solely leads to recognition through the North Carolina Pro Bono Honor Society);
– legal services provided at a substantially reduced fee;
– activities to improve the law, the legal system, or the legal profession;
– non-legal community service; and
– financial support to legal service providers.

For more information about the above activities included in Rule 6.1, please visit the Reporting Frequently Asked Questions.

Paralegal Reporting also collects information about the above activities. For guidance on paralegal legal services, refer to the North Carolina State Bar Paralegal Certification program.

Comment 12 suggests that lawyers should report information about those services “in order that such service might be recognized and serve as an inspiration to others.” Each year, the North Carolina Pro Bono Resource Center provides a venue for this voluntary reporting, joining 22 other states in collecting information about pro bono activities included in Rule 6.1.

There are four major reasons to report your pro bono legal service: (1) it’s a way to showcase attorney volunteerism in North Carolina – we want to share the good work being done by the legal profession in our state; (2) it’s an opportunity to encourage your peers to grow their pro bono involvement by sharing about your own engagement; (3) it’s a mechanism to identify areas to grow pro bono efforts in North Carolina; and (4) it’s an opportunity for recognition. Reporters may elect to opt out of recognition if preferred.

North Carolina licensed attorneys (or attorneys who provide services under North Carolina Pro Bono Practice Status) who report at least 50 hours of pro bono legal service in a year will be inducted into that year’s cohort of the North Carolina Attorney Pro Bono Honor Society and receive a certificate from the Supreme Court of North Carolina recognizing their achievement. Paralegals who report at least 50 hours of pro bono legal services in a year will be inducted into that year’s cohort of the North Carolina Paralegal Pro Bono Honor Society and receive a certificate from the North Carolina Pro Bono Resource Center recognizing their achievement.  To view information about the North Carolina Pro Bono Honor Societies and each year’s cohort, view this page.