Pro bono legal service

The Supreme Court (SC) has approved the Unified Legal Aid Service (ULAS) rules requiring all covered lawyers to render 60 hours of pro bono legal service every three years to indigent Filipinos who cannot afford legal assistance. Some lawyers are exempted, as discussed below.

Pro bono is short for the Latin phrase pro bono publico which means “for the public good” and refers to professional work done without payment or compensation. Although not strictly applicable to lawyers only, it is often used in the legal profession when lawyers provide free legal services to people who are less fortunate in life and cannot afford to pay lawyers’ fees.

Under the newly approved rules, any person unable to pay for adequate legal services, as assessed by a covered lawyer according to guidelines to be issued by the ULAS Board, qualifies for free legal aid.

“The legal service itself will be free for such qualified beneficiary and the necessary expenses for the rendering of the service will be borne by the Court through the ULAS Fund, which will be set up for this purpose,” the SC said in a recent news release.

The new rules explain that pro bono legal aid services include court representation, legal advice, preparation of legal documents, developmental legal support and involvement in approved legal outreach initiatives.

The rules further allow lawyers to compensate up to 50 percent of their required pro bono hours with financial contributions to the ULAS Fund. Law firms and organizations may also aggregate their lawyers’ hours to fulfill the compliance requirement, provided each lawyer personally completes at least 25 percent of their required hours.

There are incentives under the new rules provided for lawyers who meet the 60-hour pro bono requirement, including the earning of 15 credit units toward fulfilling their Mandatory Continuing Legal Education (MCLE) duty. Lawyers who comply may also qualify for tax incentives under existing laws.

The rules make the inevitable administrative burdens easy by expanding the types of creditable legal services and relaxing restrictions on where notarial acts may be performed.

The ULAS board, chaired by one Supreme Court justice, will be responsible for overseeing the proper implementation of the new rules. The board will include representatives from the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP), the MCLE Governing Board, the Philippine Association of Law Schools, and the ranks of active law practitioners from all over the country.

Lawyers who fail to provide the minimum number of pro bono hours will be sanctioned with penalties, including fines, delinquency status in the IBP, and ineligibility for a Certificate of Good Standing.

The SC noted that a 60-day grace period will be given to noncompliant lawyers, counted from their receipt of the noncompliance notice. The penalties will be implemented if they still remain delinquent.

Certain lawyers, including those employed in the judiciary, the Public Attorney’s Office and those with over 35 years of practice, are exempt from the rules. Lawyers who are already senior citizens or those with disabilities are also exempted.

The ULAS rules are the result of over a year of focused deliberations by the SC’s technical working group, which developed them after extensive consultations with the Court en banc, various lawyers’ groups, and organizations in different regions and in major cities.

The new rules will take effect on 3 February 2025, following their publication in the Official Gazette or two newspapers of general circulation. The first compliance period will be from 2025 to 2027.

Before anyone reacts, it is worth noting that pro bono requirements are not unique to the Philippines. In New York, for example, persons applying for admission to the New York State Bar must file an affidavit showing that they have performed at least fifty hours of qualifying pro bono service.

We just need to do it more often but this isn’t such a bad thing.