Can pro bono legal work help you grow your law practice? Yes it can.
When I opened my own office shortly after law school, I had an abundance of free time and a lack of clients or experience. Once or twice a week, I volunteered the day at a legal clinic for women. The clients had mostly domestic violence and other family law issues. When I started, I knew very small about family law but I quickly learned. I was able to use those skills in my private practice.
Last week was "pro bono" week. This article presents the "Top 5 Reasons to Do Pro Bono Work". I'm sure I can lay claim to all five. The article misses a reason, but. My pro bono work helped me to build my practice.
The clinic I worked at allowed us to offer our paid services to the clients. Granted, most of them had small or no money, but I did get some paying work. And small or nothing was certainly better than nothing. It allowed my nascent practice to stay afloat, which allowed me to continue to volunteer.
I also got some referrals from those clients. Yes, most of them were in the same financial shape as the clients who referred them, but not all of them.
I was also able to network with the administrators of the clinic, their benefactors, and the other attorneys who volunteered. I met people who introduced me to others and as my network grew, so did my practice.
I'm not ashamed to admit that on the rise my practice was one of the reasons I volunteered at the legal clinic. I don't reckon any of the hundreds of clients I saw for free or nearly free would have any objections.