Why Reporting Your Pro Bono Hours Matters
As attorneys and paralegals in North Carolina, you play a vital role in ensuring access to justice for all. By providing pro bono legal services, you not only help individuals and families in need, but you also contribute to strengthening our legal system and improving access to justice.
However, one crucial step often gets overlooked: reporting your pro bono hours.
The Impact of Reporting
- Demonstrating Commitment Reporting your hours helps quantify the legal profession’s commitment to serving the public. It shows the collective impact of the legal community in addressing unmet legal needs across our state.
- Securing Funding and Resources Many organizations use pro bono data to advocate for funding and resources to support legal aid initiatives. Accurate reporting strengthens their case and ensures sustained support for these critical services.
- Celebrating Achievements By reporting your hours, you allow the NC Pro Bono Resource Center and other professional organizations to recognize and celebrate your contributions. Highlighting your efforts can inspire others to get involved.
Review the information below regarding attorney and paralegal reporting. Contact Sylvia Novinsky, Director of the NC Pro Bono Resource Center, with any questions.
For NC Attorneys:
Update: For those attorneys whose firms paid the attorney’s dues:
The State Bar has developed an alternate portal for attorneys whose firms who paid dues for all their attorneys and pro bono hours were note reported. Please check your dues portal!
In 2025, the NC Pro Bono Resource Center will once again partner with the NC State Bar to implement a voluntary reporting category through the State Bar Membership fee process. The State Bar sent an email to all NC licensed attorneys with information on how to access the member portal which includes voluntary pro bono reporting.
Attorneys have a professional responsibility to provide at least fifty (50) hours of pro bono service per year (NC Rule of Professional Conduct 6.1(a)).
Comment 12 of NC Rule 6.1, notes that, “Lawyers are encouraged to report pro bono legal services to Legal Aid of North Carolina, the North Carolina Equal Access to Justice Commission, or other similar agency as appropriate in order that such service might be recognized and serve as an inspiration to others.”
The North Carolina Supreme Court recognizes attorneys who voluntarily report at least 50 hours of pro bono service in a year, through the NC Pro Bono Honor Society. This recognition will be highlighted on the Pro Bono Resource Center website, the Administrative Office of the Courts’ website, and by a certificate signed by Chief Justice Paul Newby. By completing the questions below, you are reporting your pro bono hours for the preceding calendar year, which will be provided to the Pro Bono Resource Center for tracking and recognition. Please note that, while a minimum of 50 hours results in Honor Society Recognition, the Pro Bono Resource Center welcomes and encourages any number of hours to be reported.
Question:
How many total hours did you perform of pro bono service in the immediate past year?
You should be reporting in this section hours performed in accordance with Rule 6.1(a). https://www.ncbar.gov/for-lawyers/ethics/rules-of-professional-conduct/rule-61-voluntary-pro-bono-publico-service/
0 hours
1-10
11-20
21-40
41-50
50-100
100+
Links above: RULE 6.1(a) VOLUNTARY PRO BONO PUBLICO SERVICE
Every lawyer has a professional responsibility to provide legal services to those unable to pay. A lawyer should aspire to render at least (50) hours of pro bono publico legal services per year. In fulfilling this responsibility, the lawyer should:
(a) provide a substantial majority of the (50) hours of legal services without fee or expectation of fee to:
(1) persons of limited means;
(2) charitable, religious, civic, community, governmental and educational organizations in matters that are designed primarily to address the needs of persons of limited means; or
(3) individuals, groups or organizations seeking to secure or protect civil rights, civil liberties or public rights, or charitable, religious, civic, community, governmental and educational organizations in matters in furtherance of their organizational purposes, where the payment of standard legal fees would significantly deplete the organization’s economic resources or would be otherwise inappropriate.
For NC Paralegals:
Paralegals are an essential part of improving access to justice in our state. In recognition of the valuable contributions that paralegals give in addressing North Carolina’s unmet legal needs, the Pro Bono Resource Center is proud to, for the fourth year in a row, recognize paralegals who report their pro bono information.
The NC Pro Bono Resource Center is partnering with the North Carolina Board of Paralegal Certification to implement a voluntary reporting category through the revamped certification process. This will make it easier for NCCPs to report their 2024 pro bono hours by ensuring that every NCCP is aware of the option to report their pro bono service.
Please note that you need only report your pro bono hours through the State Bar’s recertification process OR via the submission form available through the Pro Bono Resource Center. You do not need to report your hours to both entities. The deadline to report pro bono hours completed in 2024 is June 30, 2025.
For paralegals who are not certified or certified by another state or national program, we will continue to collect pro bono reporting hours through the Individual Paralegal Pro Bono Reporting Form.
Pro Bono reporting is voluntary and is not limited to certified paralegals. For more information about the ethical obligations of a paralegal in pro bono service, refer to the Guidelines for Use of Paralegals in Rendering Legal Services as published by the North Carolina State Bar Board of Paralegal Certification.
Paralegals who report at least 50 hours of pro bono legal services completed in 2024, will be recognized through the North Carolina Paralegal Pro Bono Honor Society and with a certificate from the NC Pro Bono Resource Center.