So you need to hire a lawyer for your divorce. But you do not have any money. So you are looking for a Pro Bono law firm to help you for free. But don’t fool yourself. You can’t expect the quality of service from a Mcdonald’s compared to a fine dining restaurant.
When you ask a lawyer to work for you for pro bono, remember you are asking a professional to:
- give his time to someone he doesn’t know
- not make money
You never know what you are getting in terms of lawyer experience, competence for your issue, and time or interest to spend on your case.
Also, the most frequent ethical issue that arises in pro bono representation is conflicts of interest. In accepting a pro bono matter, an attorney must perform the same kind of conflicts check that he or she would for a paying client, and decline representation for the same reasons.
In 2023, law became so complex that lawyers are overloaded with cases, which make their time very precious. They prefer to put it into making money, which leave inexperienced lawyers handling pro bono cases. This means worst results, and the need to pay an experienced lawyer to fix issues created by an inexperienced lawyer. This would end up costing more than regular lawyer’s fees: to cover the time to fix issues then to do the proper work. Pro bono lawyers might cost more at the end…
You never know what you are getting in terms of lawyer experience, competence for your issue, and time or interest to spend on your case.
