Yet, as recent disclosures about the extent of government surveillance of the internet demonstrate, they are breached with impunity. Law remains the most effective way of policing the powers of the state.214 X. Conclusion
The notion of service has been through several transitions. Pro bono publico is a tradition of service that has been reinvented. It represents a small but significant proportion of law firm work. The basis for the provision of these services, and how they fit into the long-term strategy for legal services, is unclear. It may be that the profession’s efforts are a bridge between legal aid and a mass legal services system operated by ABS. Free services will doubtless continue to be provided for a variety of reasons, but whether they can provide broad access to justice is doubtful.
The future for pro bono is as uncertain as it is for the professionalism on which it is built. Lawyers may desert low paid work, including legal aid and areas of law no longer covered by legal aid. Yet they would be ill-advised to surrender an institution, pro bono, that has potent ideological force. Many lawyers are highly motivated to act pro bono. They may see any attempt to end this tradition as a betrayal. If the data is reliable, the growth of pro bono activity may provide evidence that the idea of providing access to justice has meaning to many lawyers.
213 Ames, ‘Do the Right Thing’ (n 76); and see further E Wentworth, ‘Barriers to Pro Bono: Commercial Conflicts of Interest Reconsidered’ in Arup and Laster (n 200) at 166.
214 M Taylor and N Hopkins, ‘Amnesty in legal challenge to surveillance by state’ The Guardian 9 December 2013, at 4.