The 2022 TrustLaw Index of Pro Bono is the fifth edition of the Thomson Reuters Foundation’s survey mapping the global scale and trends of the pro bono legal sector. The index highlights successful pro bono programmes and provides benchmarks on pro bono participation.

The 2022 Index found that 3.5 million hours of pro bono were completed globally by more than 100,000 lawyers across 124 countries. This work took place across a range of issues such as access to justice, sustainability and climate action to human rights, women and LGBT+ rights, and freedom of speech.

Ninety-six per cent of firms reported that their motivation for doing pro bono was to support their local communities, while over a quarter reported an increase in pro bono activity as a response to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Lila Alejandra Gasca Enríquez, pro bono director at Hogan Lovells, said: “For me it has been an honour and a privilege to dedicate the last 12 years of my professional life to pro bono, where I find a space in which lawyers come together to solve enormous challenges, with a common goal that leads to solid objectives for the strengthening of the rule of law, access to justice and the culture of legality.

“Pro bono work is an opportunity to help through our profession, and to learn and understand how we can make a difference in the lives of others by providing professional services to those who do not have access.”

Carolina Henriquez-Schmitz, director of TrustLaw, Thomson Reuters Foundation, said: “The index remains the only one of its kind – a truly global look at the pro bono sector that fills the gap in jurisdictions where information on the scale and practice of pro bono is scant or non-existent. I believe using data as a tool allows us to understand better where the industry is going, set essential benchmarks, and build up support for the practice.”